The Happiness Formula

In 1979, Dr. Alphonsus Obayuwana was awarded a national research grant and Smith-Kline Medical Perspective Fellowship to develop an instrument for measuring human hope, with the purpose of detecting hopelessness early enough in troubled human individuals so assistance could be offered in time to prevent suicide. The Hope Index Scale (HIS) that resulted from this grant became very popular with Fortune 500 companies and government institutions both in the US and in other countries. This led to the foundation of decades of research on the mathematics of happiness and the basis for The Happiness Formula: A Scientific Approach to Personal Satisfaction.

Unlike other books about happiness, which are too often filled with dos and don'ts, wishful thinking, and empty aphorisms, The Happiness Formula breaks new ground. It introduces a universal unit of measure called the "Personal Happiness Index" or PHI--making it possible for the first time to assign a numerical happiness score to human individuals--by plugging their unique hopes, hungers, assets, and aspirations into an equation.

Despite its title, The Happiness Formula is much more than a mathematical equation for measuring happiness. It is a book about life: the relationship between human hope and hunger and one's ultimate overall feeling of subjective wellbeing. It begins with a brief history of positive psychology, then introduces the Triple-H Equation--the simple but profound formula that is at the core of the mathematics of happiness and serves as a reminder of what makes life worth living. Each of the subsequent chapters provides detailed definitions and explanations of the variables in the equation as well as other important aspects of the human happiness narrative--including a theory explaining why humans are in constant pursuit of happiness. And finally, it ends with numerous self-help tips and a very comprehensive guide for happiness coaches and advocates.