Wisdom And The Search For Happiness: Five Ways To Define These Terms

When people are asked to describe the features of a “good” life, both wisdom and happiness are common themes. Throughout human history and across cultures, wisdom and the search for happiness are enduring goals—but at an individual level, what does it look like to pursue these two ideals?

As human beings, we get to create our own definitions of happiness and wisdom and refine them as our needs and goals change. To guide you in your own unique pursuit of wisdom and true happiness, we’ll explore some of the most common definitions of these concepts. Then, we’ll cover five ways to apply this information and develop a personal philosophy that honors your experiences and goals for a happy life. 

What is wisdom?

While wisdom can be an elusive concept to define specifically, the word generally refers to a type of accumulated knowledge gathered from life experience applied with a sense of empathy, virtue, ethics, and humanity. Wisdom is often distinguished from knowledge alone, which can be acquired more passively through reading or listening rather than through life experience.

Wisdom comes in various shapes and forms. Similar to the concept of intelligence, wisdom can also hold different meanings depending on the context, culture, and an individual’s unique experience of the world. 

What is happiness?

Like wisdom, happiness can be tricky to define. Your definition of happiness may be impacted by particular people, places, activities, memories, or other concepts as well as by your own unique priorities and what is prized in the society or culture in which you live.

While we can choose to engage in practices that cultivate happiness, emotions are fleeting—so realistically, we can’t always be happy. However, there are steps you can take to increase your opportunities for and appreciation of feelings of happiness or contentment, accumulate more wisdom, and build a life grounded in these two components of well-being.

Five tips to help you form your personal definitions of wisdom and happiness

By formulating personal definitions of wisdom and happiness, you can identify the activities and perspectives that contribute to these in your own day-to-day and track your progress as a student of life. The following five tips offer definitions as well as strategies to guide your pursuit of wisdom, happiness, and the associated potential benefits for your health and relationships. 

1. Consider the historical roots of wisdom and happiness

To define both wisdom and happiness, it can help to reflect on the historical applications of both words. In various regions of the world, wisdom has long been associated with practical knowledge, common sense, and cleverness. In religious contexts, wisdom may also refer to a person’s spiritual insight or understanding of spiritual truths. Scholars and students often reference “ancient wisdom” as well, which holds various meanings depending on the context and culture. One could glean ancient wisdom from a religious text, a spiritual mentor, or a tradition or ritual steeped in years of history, emotion, and meaning. 

Scholars trace happiness to the Old Norse word hap, which meant chance, fortune, or fate. Today, the word “happiness” can connote a sense of good fortune but more broadly describes a sense of well-being and contentment. These positive feelings may come from good luck, a joyful activity, or meaningful connection with another person, for example.

Learning about the history of these words and concepts can guide your own approach to happiness and wisdom. Do you identify with a more spiritual definition of wisdom, or a notion of happiness rooted in joy and physical well-being—or both? As you develop your personal philosophy, there’s no wrong answer—only opportunities to reflect and improve your self-awareness. 

2. Learn from the psychology of wisdom and happiness

Both wisdom and happiness are popular areas of study in psychological science. 

The American Psychological Association (APA) defines wisdom as a person’s ability to make sound decisions and find the right—or, at the very least, “good”—answers to the various questions of life. A wise person may be able to offer reasonable advice about complex problems and situations from everyday life, from interpersonal relationships to career challenges. 

In its definition of wisdom, the APA emphasizes the dual contributions of knowledge and life experience. When pulling from these dimensions, a wise person may be better able to balance their own interests with those of others. The application of wisdom could also have the potential to generate happiness, specifically when someone imparts wisdom to serve a greater or common good. 

In studies on this broader topic, researchers commonly use “subjective well-being” to measure levels of happiness. This involves asking people to report their life satisfaction, their relative experience of positive and negative emotions, and their sense of meaning and purpose. Collectively, these dimensions form a psychological notion of “happiness,” which has been described in positive psychology as the experience of joy and contentment coupled with a view of one’s life as “good, meaningful, and worthwhile.” Yet at the same time, researchers recognize the challenge—and perhaps the impossibility—of formalizing fixed, universal definitions of happiness and wisdom. 

One reason is that social and cultural factors also influence how we think about and experience these concepts. For example, in more collectivist cultures, people tend to think about happiness in terms of community harmony and often elevate respect for the wisdom of elderly family members. In contrast, individualistic cultures (primarily Western societies) tend to associate happiness with joy, exuberance, and other individual emotions and often prize the trait of individual intelligence more than shared wisdom. 

3. Reflect on your personal experiences of happiness and wisdom

From ancient knowledge to psychological research, there are numerous resources that discuss deeper meanings of wisdom and happiness. As you continue to learn, grow, and live, however, your own life experiences can be an equally valuable resource.

To inform your philosophy of what makes a good life for you personally, take a moment to reflect on activities, places, and relationships that bring you a sense of lasting happiness. Perhaps you can pinpoint a specific memory, a special place, a particular activity, or a friend whose advice or sense of humor consistently brightens your day. You might even create a list of things that bring you joy or peace or make you feel more connected to your inner wisdom to help guide your future decisions and orient yourself toward longer-term happiness. You can always add to this list and consult others for more ideas and inspiration. 

4. Write about moments of joy and insight

When you take a moment to slow down and appreciate the little things and the special moments of daily life, you may be surprised by the number of opportunities for joy and insight. Some people use a daily journal or diary to reflect on and preserve these moments. Whether you’re journaling about wisdom or just narrating your day, any form of expressive writing may help you tap into your own wisdom and clarify your goals for health and happiness. 

5. Seek further insight from a licensed therapist

The “work” of cultivating happiness and wisdom often takes time and patience. Some of this work may happen in solitude, while other elements of it may be done primarily in close relationships with others. If you’re looking for guidance along the way, a licensed therapist may be able to help you sort out the meaning of wisdom, happiness, and other dimensions of mental health in your own life.

While some people prefer to begin this process in person, many others now use online therapy to invest in their mental health from the comfort of their homes. With a digital platform like BetterHelp, you can get matched with a licensed therapist within a few days of completing a brief questionnaire. From there, you can connect with your therapist virtually via phone, video call, and/or in-app messaging.

A growing body of research suggests that online therapy can be just as effective as face-to-face options in many cases, including a 2021 study of the effectiveness of internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT) for symptoms of anxiety and depression. After engaging in iCBT sessions, participants reported significant improvements in depression and anxiety symptoms as well as reduced psychological distress. The study also highlighted the increased need and demand for online therapy, which grew considerably during the COVID-19 pandemic. These online interventions are part of a larger effort to make mental health care available to more people.