--- title: Simple Secret to Happiness Most People Get Wrong, Backed by Research description: When it comes to happiness, quantity beats quality canonical: https://time.com/3690621/simple-secret-happiness/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-02-02T05:01:38.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T08:09:52.073Z article:section: Ideas og:title: The Simple Secret to Happiness Most People Get Wrong, Backed by Research og:description: When it comes to happiness, quantity beats quality. og:url: https://time.com/3690621/simple-secret-happiness/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt12e3bfc5bfa7e86e/69877cfd3c16391b4245183f/490951157-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5200 og:image:height: 2925 og:image:alt: excited-people og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Simple Secret to Happiness Most People Get Wrong, Backed by Research twitter:description: When it comes to happiness, quantity beats quality. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt12e3bfc5bfa7e86e/69877cfd3c16391b4245183f/490951157-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Simple Secret to Happiness Most People Get Wrong, Backed by Research by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Feb 2, 2015 5:01 AM UTC  Excited friends. Excited friends.Getty Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Feb 2, 2015 5:01 AM UTC Focus on increasing the amount of good stuff in your life vs. reducing the amount of bad stuff. Studies show that it really is [the little things in life](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-it-the-big-things-or-little-things-in-life) that make us happy. Researchers often tout the happiness-increasing powers of both religion and exercise. One of the lesser known reasons why they’re so effective is because [both provide regular, frequent boosts](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/why-are-both-exercise-and-religion-so-good-at). You may be focused on a big goal, something that you’re sure will make you super-happy for a long time… but [you’re probably misguided](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-many-small-pleasures-beat-fewer-larger-one). When it comes to happiness, [frequency beats intensity](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/8-ways-that-money-can-buy-happiness). Why? One reason is that [it’s harder to take for granted a lot of little things](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/8-ways-that-money-can-buy-happiness) vs one, big rare event. Another reason is that “[in everyday life, bad events have stronger and more lasting consequences than comparable good events](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-bad-truly-stronger-than-good)” — so we need more good to make up for unexpected misfortunes. This “more good beats less bad” theory works across many domains: **With friends:** The best way to maximize happiness when having meals with friends is for [one person to take a turn each time paying for everyone’s dinner](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-do-you-split-a-dinner-bill-with-friends-s). It’s a big hit but it results in many more “free” meals for everyone, boosting happiness. **At work:** The best work teams had a [five to one ratio of positive vs negative interactions together](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-5-to-1-the-golden-ratio-for-both-work-and). **In relationships:** Divorce may have less to do with an increase in conflict and [more to do with a decrease in positive feelings](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-determines-whether-a-marriage-succeeds-o). Wanna [stay together](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-simple-thing-kills-many-relationships)? Do [exciting stuff](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-to-quickly-and-easily-improve-your-marria) to keep things [fun](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/whats-an-easy-way-to-improve-your-marriage). But what if creating more good things in your life is difficult due to constraints of time or money? Just [savoring the good moments](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-can-you-seize-the-day-and-enjoy-life-more) you do have (even little ones) is the [single most proven method](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/the-most-proven-technique-for-increasing-long) for increasing happiness. It’s effectively treated people with[mild/moderate depression](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-you-improve-depression-and-anxiety-with-a). [Reliving fun moments with your partner](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/another-quick-and-easy-way-to-increase-relati) can improve a relationship. Savoring the good things in life is one of the [secrets of the happiest people](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-can-we-learn-from-the-happiest-people). **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/05/to-be-happier-should-you-increase-the-good-th/)**_._** **Join over 150,000 readers and get a free weekly update via email** [**here**](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD)**.** Related posts: [What 10 things should you do every day to improve your life?](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/05/what-10-things-should-you-do-every-day-to-imp/) [How To Make Your Life Better By Sending Five Simple Emails](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/07/make-your-life-better/) [4 Lifehacks From Ancient Philosophers That Will Make You Happier](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/01/ancient-philosophers/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3690621/simple-secret-happiness/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3690621/simple-secret-happiness/"},"headline":"The Simple Secret to Happiness Most People Get Wrong, Backed by Research","datePublished":"2015-02-02T05:01:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T08:09:52.073Z","description":"When it comes to happiness, quantity beats quality","url":"https://time.com/3690621/simple-secret-happiness/","keywords":["Psychology","Happiness","Research"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt12e3bfc5bfa7e86e/69877cfd3c16391b4245183f/490951157-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eric Barker","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eric-barker/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt12e3bfc5bfa7e86e/69877cfd3c16391b4245183f/490951157-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"excited-people","caption":"excited-people","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/psychology/","name":"Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3690621/simple-secret-happiness/","name":"The Simple Secret to Happiness Most People Get Wrong, Backed by Research"}}]}] ```