{"id":25488,"date":"2026-01-03T21:07:35","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T13:07:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=25488"},"modified":"2026-01-03T21:07:35","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T13:07:35","slug":"how-the-concept-of-happiness-has-evolved-through-the-ages-and-ways-to-achieve-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=25488","title":{"rendered":"How the concept of happiness has evolved through the ages and ways to achieve it"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">What is the quickest path to happiness? It could be to trade our smartphones for saffron robes and head to a monastery on Hong Kong\u2019s Lantau Island or in the Himalayas. There, we can lead a life of quiet reflection \u2013 with clean food, fresh air and few overheads.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">For most of us \u2013 navigating the pressures of career, family and a city that never hits the \u201cpause\u201d button \u2013 monkhood is not an option.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">As we begin a new year, the question remains: is happiness something we find or something we build?<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">For centuries, the quest for \u201cthe good life\u201d was the exclusive domain of philosophers and theologians. Today, it has shifted into positive psychologists\u2019 clinics.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">Whether you are looking to Ancient Greece\u2019s \u201cinner calm\u201d or the modern science of \u201cthriving\u201d, the consensus is shifting: happiness is not a destination we reach \u2013 it is a psychological muscle we must train.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">Views on achieving happiness have differed over time, but most agree that paying less attention to material goods, tamping down our physical desires, being content with what we have \u2013 and who we are \u2013 and being kind, or at least fair, to others all play a big part.<\/p>\n<div class=\"image-inline-container e1a5rv550 css-1llrc1m e1yqhwb40\" data-qa=\"Component-renderMap-StyledDiv\">\n<div class=\"image-inline caption e1fvabeq0 css-19sk4h4 ea9pn0s0\" data-qa=\"Component-Container\">\n<figure class=\"image-inline caption ea9pn0s1 css-1qeofuq e1gf69pb0\" data-qa=\"ArticleImage-ArticleImageContainer\">\n<div data-qa=\"ArticleImage-handleRenderImage-ImageContainer\" class=\"css-0 e1gf69pb3\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Paying less attention to material goods, tamping down our physical desires, being content with what we have and being kind to others all play a big part in happiness. Photo: Shutterstock\" data-qa=\"BaseImage-handleRenderImage-StyledImage\" class=\"e1gf69pb2 css-6ikqhs e445x7d0\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/img.i-scmp.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto\/sites\/default\/files\/d8\/images\/canvas\/2026\/01\/01\/78a33ad0-794f-4589-a88a-b4ee923c1599_d5a988d8.jpg\" title=\"Paying less attention to material goods, tamping down our physical desires, being content with what we have and being kind to others all play a big part in happiness. Photo: Shutterstock\"\/><\/div><figcaption data-qa=\"ArticleImage-DescriptionContainer\" class=\"css-1ixmelf e1gf69pb1\">Paying less attention to material goods, tamping down our physical desires, being content with what we have and being kind to others all play a big part in happiness. Photo: Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/lifestyle\/health-wellness\/article\/3338397\/how-concept-happiness-has-evolved-through-ages-and-ways-achieve-it?utm_source=rss_feed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is the quickest path to happiness? It could be to trade our smartphones for saffron robes and head to a monastery on Hong Kong\u2019s&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25489,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[15065,5123,10520,4672,9563,2470],"class_list":["post-25488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bored-interesting","tag-achieve","tag-ages","tag-concept","tag-evolved","tag-happiness","tag-ways","wpcat-33-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25488"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25488\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/25489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}