"Worldwide, participants most often gave a psychological definition of happiness. Of these definitions, the notion of harmony dominated, including the components of inner peace, inner balance, contentment, and psycho-physical well-being. This surprised the researchers somewhat, as the almost Zen-like idea of harmony is often neglected in psychological research on happiness, especially in the Western world. Harmony was regularly characterized by participants as achieving emotional stability, 'being attuned with the universe,' and attaining a balance between what is desired and what is achieved ...
"Subjects from the US described happiness as a state of 'no negative feelings' and associated it with 'optimism' more than residents of any other country, whereas residents of Norway particularly cared about 'autonomy' and attaining 'mastery' in certain skills or other aspects of life."
- RealClearScience.com, "Surprising Findings from a Global Study on Happiness"
