Eudaimonic happiness:
Happiness can be defined in many ways. In psychology, there are two popular conceptions of happiness: hedonic and eudaimonic. Hedonic happiness is achieved through experiences of pleasure and enjoyment, while eudaimonic happiness is achieved through experiences of meaning and purpose. Both kinds of happiness are achieved and contribute to overall well-being in different ways. [ThoughtCo.]
Noted in “How to be happy, according to the longest-running study of happiness,” an interview with Robert Waldinger by Alison Flood, NewScientist (14 January 2023, paywall):
Alison Flood: How do you define happiness?
Robert Waldinger: There are two big bins that happiness seems to fall into. One is hedonic happiness. It’s like, am I having fun now? It’s a moment-to-moment, fluctuating experience. Then there’s eudaimonic happiness, which is a sense of life having meaning and being worthwhile. For example, you’re reading to your child before bed. You’ve read the same book eight times, but she wants you to read it again. You’re exhausted. Is this fun? No. But is this the most meaningful thing you could imagine doing? Yes. In our studies, we think about well-being a lot, which is more eudaimonic happiness than moment-to-moment happiness.
