What Causes the Splendor of Happiness? Every person has a different understanding of happiness. Happiness is defined as an emotion in which one experiences feelings ranging from contentment and satisfaction to bliss and intense joy. Happiness may be defined in such a way, but it can be interpreted in many different ways by different people. There are many happiness triggers in life, and each person has a set of triggers that make them feel happy. Based on the readings “The Sources of Happiness” by the Dalai Lama and Howard Cutler, “If We are So Rich, Why Aren’t We Happy?” by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, and “July: Buy Some Happiness” by Gretchen Rubin, three of the causes of human happiness are a positive adaptation to life, the ability to get fully involved in life, and the wise use of money. According to the Dalai Lama and Cutler, one cause of human happiness is determined by our adaptation to life and one’s state of mind. People’s moment to moment happiness is largely determined by their outlook on life, and feelings that are strongly influenced by tendency to compare (Dalia Lama and Cutler 23). One example illustrated in the article is when Cutler’s friend finds out that he is HIV positive, instead of recoiling into himself and giving up, his friend states that he seems to appreciate and get more out of everyday things. He also states that in some ways the prognosis has transformed his life in a positive way.