Happiness is…

Timothy Meinberg / Unsplash

 We are comprised of two selves – the experiencing self and the remembering self. These two selves see happiness differently.

UCLA Marketing Professor Cassie Mogilner Holmes discusses her research into happiness and delayed gratification at Harvard Business Review.  (This article is not new, but it is new to me and maybe to you, too.)  She explains the difference between experienced happiness and remembered happiness. 

• If I sit on the sofa and watch the ballgame tonight, that will create experienced happiness, in the moment…but likely will not create remembered happiness because that moment probably will not stick with me.

• On the other hand, taking toddlers to an amusement park is stressful and may not lead to much experienced happiness. But it may lead to remembered happiness, because over time I’ll forget about the tantrums and the cost, but will remember the joy of my kids seeing a tiger for the first time.

Holmes’ research asked Americans what type of happiness they preferred, experienced happiness or remembered happiness.  When thinking about their lives as a whole, Americans want experienced happiness.  But when thinking about the next hour, the preference was for remembered happiness. 

In other words, when focused on the short-term, I am more willing to sacrifice experienced happiness.  So, there is a mismatch between what Americans want when thinking about their lives compared to what they are willing to accept in the moment.

This is not the case in Japan and China, where there was a strong preference for experienced happiness not only now but also in the future.  Holmes posits this is because of, “the long religious history in Eastern cultures of teaching the value of mindfulness and appreciating each present moment.”

This suggests that a brand that wants to communicate happiness should consider what that concept means in different global markets -- and also to consider the nuances of what happiness looks like in different situational contexts.