Wars erupting around the world, whole nations sinking into the sea, species dying out faster than we can name them. Amid all this, it might seem like an eccentricUnconventional or erratic. idea to ask people how happy they are feeling.

But, even more bewilderingly, it turns out that when you do, they reply: very happy indeed.

According to a new poll, when asked how successful they consider themselves to be, 56% of people give themselves a rating of 7-10.¹

Of course, this could just be a category error. PhilosophersPeople who ask big questions about the meaning of life and how we should live. have long debated both what happiness really means and how important it is.

PlatoOne of the most important Ancient Greek philosophers.  claimed that happiness meant a life committed to virtueA good moral quality. .² His student AristotleA student of Plato, tutor to Alexander the Great and the father of political philosophy. identified this happiness as the highest possible good, since all other goods, like wealth and brains, are only valuable because they make us happy.³

Building on these ideas, Islamic philosopher AvicennaAlso known as Ibn Sina, a philosopher and doctor of the Islamic Golden Age who served in the courts of Iranian rulers. argued that all humans strive to be happy, but the only true happiness they can find is separate from all worldly interest.⁴ 

But this new poll suggests that all of them are wrong. For most of us, happiness really means having control of our lives.

Top of the list of things that make people successful are: owning your own home, building up a good pension, not needing to work, and having time for hobbies.

In other words, people feel happy when they have enough financial stability to be in control of their time, and do not have to spend all of it working to scrape a living.

This also means most people want to think they are responsible for their own happiness. Only one-fifth to a quarter think factors that come down to random chance, like family background and just being plain lucky, are important.⁵

Yet plenty of research suggests that luck is the only thing that really separates successful people from unsuccessful people.⁶

And some say too much control can be self-defeating. We can risk developing an illusion of control - the belief that we have more control of a situation than we actually do.⁷

Yes: When it comes down to it, all we want is a nice house and enough time to do the things we love. To be happy, we need to be able to control our own lives to that extent.

No: Control means eliminating the uncertainty and unpredictability that makes life exciting. Having control might make us satisfied, but it does not make us truly happy.

Or... Too little control certainly makes us unhappy, but then so does too much. Everything in moderationAvoiding extremes and doing something within reasonable limits. . The real secret to happiness is learning not to need to feel happy all the time.