Earlier this year, 13 people who helped build the science of happiness got together on Zoom. Not for another study, but to honestly take stock: what decades of research have taught them about a good life, and what they actually apply themselves. Between them, they have around 600 years of research. The conversation became a paper in the Journal of Happiness Studies.
One of them is Lara Aknin, a professor of social psychology at Simon Fraser University in Canada and a co-editor of the annual World Happiness Report. If she had to name one secret to happiness, she says, it would be our relationships with other people.
People come first
This is the most reliable finding the field has: relationships predict happiness better than almost anything else. Several of the researchers admitted that after seeing their own data, they started consciously spending more time with the people they love. They don't just know it - they rearranged their lives around it.
And the bar isn't as high as it sounds. According to Aknin, even one person you can count on makes a huge difference. Every group, club or community where you feel you belong adds to that.
Money works - up to a point
A steady income and some financial cushion are the foundation, no way around that. But once your basic needs are covered, each extra raise brings less and less. Work that feels meaningful and fits your values does far more.
Circumstances matter less than you think
There's a well-known model: roughly 10% of happiness comes from circumstances - where you live, your age, whether you have a job or a partner. Up to 40% comes from how you spend your time. The numbers are rough, and the model has been criticized for slicing things too neatly. But the point stands: moving countries, a new city or a new job change us less than what we do every day.
If you've only recently moved to Belgrade, that's good news. The city changed, but the part that depends on you came with you.
What the researchers do themselves
The participants shared what they've taken from happiness science into their own lives:
- expressing gratitude, out loud and to themselves
- savoring good moments instead of rushing past them
- investing in relationships
- listening more closely
- helping others and getting more involved in the life around them
Nothing revolutionary. The only difference is that they actually do it.
Happy people have bad days too
Another key point: happiness doesn't mean feeling good all the time. Generally happy people still get sad, angry and tired. And happiness isn't reserved for people with perfect lives or natural optimism. It's built from choices, self-awareness and the ability to adapt when life changes.
Aknin adds one more thing: when people feel well, they have the energy to take care of the people they love and of what's happening around them. And care comes back - the people we invest in pass it on, and back to us.
What about you?
Do you have someone in Belgrade you could call at 2 a.m.? If yes, that already counts for a lot. If not yet, start small: go to a concert, a talk or a dinner where people with similar interests get together. Find what's on at polakohedonist.club.
Which of these do you already do? And what works best for you? Tell us in the comments - we really want to know.
Source: Stenlund, O'Connor, Aknin et al. Reflections on the Past, Present, and Future of Well-Being Science from Several of Its Pioneers. Journal of Happiness Studies, 2026.
