--- title: The Way to Happiness: Remember the 4 P’s description: There’s an overwhelming amount of happiness research. Forget incorporating it all into your life — merely remembering it is daunting enough. I like to keep... canonical: https://time.com/95960/the-way-to-happiness-remember-the-4-ps/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-05-12T14:00:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:54:05.066Z article:section: Ideas og:title: The Way to Happiness: Remember the 4 P’s og:description: There’s an overwhelming amount of happiness research. Forget incorporating it all into your life — merely remembering it is daunting enough. I like to keep... og:url: https://time.com/95960/the-way-to-happiness-remember-the-4-ps/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd3c39434e0c2e042/69868ee455a8598265a80c8d/112156209.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 112156209 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Way to Happiness: Remember the 4 P’s twitter:description: There’s an overwhelming amount of happiness research. Forget incorporating it all into your life — merely remembering it is daunting enough. I like to keep... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd3c39434e0c2e042/69868ee455a8598265a80c8d/112156209.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Way to Happiness: Remember the 4 P’s by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker May 12, 2014 2:00 PM UTC  Woman standing outdoors underneath fabric Woman standing outdoors underneath fabricTom Merton—Getty Images/OJO Images RF by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker May 12, 2014 2:00 PM UTC There’s an [overwhelming amount of happiness research](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/01/the-way-to-happiness/www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/08/here-are-the-things-that-are-proven-to-make-y/). Forget incorporating it all into your life — merely _remembering_ it is daunting enough. I like to keep it simple: **Remember the 4 P’s.** 1. **Purpose** 2. **Perspective** 3. **People** 4. **Play** Work those into every day and you’ll be smiling more. ## Purpose This one gets short shrift in the modern era so we’ll put it first. You don’t need to live and die by the Bushido code but **the best lives have purpose**. Via [The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FC10FW/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000FC10FW&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): This can be religion or a set of ethics or goals. But your vision of your life needs structure. Via [The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FC10FW/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000FC10FW&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): And it’s not enough to just have beliefs. **We really feel good when we make progress toward our ideals.** Via [The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FC10FW/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000FC10FW&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): ## Perspective **Happiness is more about how you look at life than what actually happens.** Happy people and unhappy people’s lives, objectively, are not all that different. Via [The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FC10FW/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000FC10FW&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): **Compare yourself to those better than you and you’ll feel bad. Compare against those below you and you’ll feel better.** …despite that the circumstances might be exactly the same. Via [The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FC10FW/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000FC10FW&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): If you focus on the added work and pressure, even a promotion can be seen as negative. Via [The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FC10FW/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000FC10FW&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): Happy people see negative things as isolated incidents. Unhappy people see bad times as part of who they are. Via [The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FC10FW/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000FC10FW&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): ## People **70% of happiness is your relationships with other people.** Via [The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FC10FW/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000FC10FW&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): **Do you have a group of people you feel very close to? You’re four times as likely to be happy.** Via [The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FC10FW/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000FC10FW&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): **Friends and family were nine times more important than money when it comes to being happy.** Via [The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FC10FW/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000FC10FW&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): And it’s not just getting. **Giving has a huge effect on happiness.** Via [The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FC10FW/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000FC10FW&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): **It’s hard to tell how happy you are from knowing how many problems you have.** **It’s much easier to tell by knowing how many people love you.** Via [The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FC10FW/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000FC10FW&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): ## Play It’s not all serious, deep stuff. **You need to have plain old fun to really have a happy life.** Via [The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FC10FW/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000FC10FW&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): Laugh. Via [The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FC10FW/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000FC10FW&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): Rest. Via [The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FC10FW/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000FC10FW&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): Exercise. Via [The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FC10FW/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000FC10FW&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): Read. (Yes, blog posts count.) Via [The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FC10FW/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000FC10FW&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): ## Keep The 4 P’s In Mind Try to check off all four of these each day: 1. **Purpose** 2. **Perspective** 3. **People** 4. **Play** “Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself in your way of thinking.” – Marcus Aurelius, [Meditations](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0082XJGRK/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0082XJGRK&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20) **Join 45K+ readers.** 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/) [Here are the things proven to make you happier](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/08/here-are-the-things-that-are-proven-to-make-y/) [What are the three ways to train your brain to be happy?](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/12/train-brain-happy/) _This piece originally appeared on_ [_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/)_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/95960/the-way-to-happiness-remember-the-4-ps/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/95960/the-way-to-happiness-remember-the-4-ps/"},"headline":"The Way to Happiness: Remember the 4 P’s","datePublished":"2014-05-12T14:00:35.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:54:05.066Z","description":"There’s an overwhelming amount of happiness research. 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