What contributes to a sense of happiness of course varies according to both our circumstances and our individual characters.  In the psychological literature on happiness, a major distinction is drawn between brief emotional episodes, periods of joy or acute happiness, and an underlying state of happiness.  This underlying state is conceptualized as a sense of well-being in one’s life, both in general and in specific areas of one’s life such as relationships, health and work.

Because happiness is subjective, there is debate around whether it can be measured.  But research has shown that individuals are fairly good judges of their own happiness relative to external measures such as mental and physical health.  Thus, we can measure happiness by relying on people’s subjective answers to surveys with a fair amount of confidence.

Just as happiness is not universal in its causes, not everyone responds in the same way to particular stressful conditions but, in general, stress negates happiness.  Many of the conditions that lead to stress are social, that is, they are more likely to be experienced in different degrees by different socioeconomic groups.

Stress, of course, can be caused by financial insecurity.  Although we do not yet have the data in hand, we can predict that the current economic depression will take a toll on many people’s sense of security.  Our sense of happiness is also linked to our personal feelings of physical safety.  A lack of safety, in turn, is usually a source of great stress. 

Justice matters.  For example, high levels of income disparity contribute to unhappiness in the population at large. Increasing the level of wealth beyond that which provides for the basic necessities of life does not make people happier in general, but decreasing income inequality results in a rise in overall happiness.  More income equal societies report higher levels of happiness than do countries with significant differences in income levels.  This is not to say that having a decent paying job doesn’t matter to our happiness. Having to work all the time to make ends meet creates stress and takes away from our time with family and friends. 

Similarly, inclusivity produces social well-being. Along with San Francisco, Seattle ranks high on measures of tolerance of diversity.  Another  measure of inclusivity is the ability of our public institutions to provide needed social services.

Health is strongly correlated with personal happiness.  But whether people are healthy because they are happy, or whether people are happy because they are healthy is not known.  It could be that health and happiness co-evolve, one feeding the other.

One reason for this my be that when we are happy, we are more likely to take care of our well-being.  People in King County report fairly high levels of participation in life-enriching activities. 

Improving the quality of our life delivers a personal satisfaction for which we all strive. It can also have substantial social and environmental benefits that help improve the quality of other lives. When we are happy, we are more likely to contribute positively back to our communities by becoming involved in our community and and by being better stewards of the environment. 
The data show that 84% of King County residents reported to be very or somewhat active in at least one community organization in 2007. The 2006 King County Environmental Behavior Survey revealed that 65% of residents polled recycle all or most of the time, and 90% said they would adopt some of environmentally friendly behaviors listed on the index if the conditions were right.