The Difference Between Happiness & Satisfaction: A Psychologist Explains

Eleanor Roosevelt once said that "Happiness is not a goal; it is a byproduct." As humans, we often believe that when we buy a house, or fall in love, or receive that well-deserved promotion at work, we will be truly happy. But why do we infer that happiness is only attainable through milestone events or achievements? 

The reality of this tendency is that it may not be happiness that we are seeking and experiencing on a daily basis but instead satisfaction. Perhaps we live our day-to-day lives pursuing the things that make us happy, which then contributes to our overall sense of satisfaction.

If you look up happiness and satisfaction in a dictionary, the two definitions are quite similar. Both use words such as "joy" and "contentment," describing a pleasant and delighted emotion. But why is it then that people often say, "Do what makes you happy" but never think to advise "Pursue what satisfies you"? It may have a different ring to it, but it is a good indicator of a different sense of contentment.

Research1 shows that the most frequent uses of the word happiness revolve around describing someone's personality, as in being characterized as a happy person. It is also used in association with materialism and experientialism, conveying that when you purchase or experience something, you may experience happiness. Although definitions are vague and vary, happiness ultimately seeks to portray a moment of temporary bliss.

"Happiness is fleeting," Guttman explains. "Happiness is a feeling someone gets when they experience something out of the ordinary that brings them joy. With that feeling, a neurotransmitter, dopamine, is released, which gives us an elevated mood state. However, this elevated mood state is not sustainable because it's reliant on the release of this neurotransmitter."

Satisfaction, on the other hand, is an enduring feeling experienced for a longer period of time, as a result of the collection of life events and feelings you've experienced. Guttman describes satisfaction as a more balanced, sustainable state because it's not neurotransmitter-dependent the way happiness is.

Or as Daniel Kahneman, Ph.D., Nobel Prize winner and psychologist, explained in his TED Talk, we experience happiness in our lives as well as happiness with our lives. This latter principle is akin to the concept of satisfaction, which we experience more frequently and thus influences our attitudes and behaviors2. Satisfaction is a better indicator of how content we feel toward our lives overall and may contribute to more mindful decisions that bring our lives meaning. 

Guttman describes satisfaction as a more long-term and tangible solution than happiness. "When people think 'happy' as joy or effervescence is attainable, it creates cognitive dissonance when that feeling is not sustainable," she explains.

That said, happiness and satisfaction are intertwined, as "most people experience satisfaction on an ongoing basis, interspersed with moments of happiness," Guttman explains. "They are both attainable, but satisfaction is more sustainable."

"People become more satisfied by becoming more self-confident, self-reliant, by developing a strong sense of self, by developing a sense of their effectiveness in the world, and by believing in their inherent lovability," Guttman says.