Is eudaimonic happiness the best kind of happiness?
There are two types of happiness, hedonic and eudaimonic. While both support life satisfaction, research shows they serve unique purposes and are expressed in different brain regions. Eudaimonic happiness also appears to be more sustainable and seems to cultivate certain health benefits. T here’s a common perception that entrepreneurs and small business owners are overworked and stressed out. Both of those things can be true on occasion. At the same time, 94% of small business owners say they are happy with their lives , and 81% attribute this happiness to their entrepreneurship. The former value easily tops employees’ self-reported happiness. In a 2012 survey of 11,000 graduates of the Wharton MBA program, respondents running their own businesses ranked themselves the most content. “Entrepreneurship” even dominated “income” as a predictor of happiness. The reason for this may be that entrepreneurship stokes a type of happiness called “eudaimonic happiness....