How happy are you?  You may think you know, but this little test will help you keep score. The Satisfaction with Life Scale was devised in 1980 by University of Illinois psychologist Edward Diener, a founding father of happiness research.  Since then, this scale has been used by researchers around the world.

Read the following five statements.  Then use a 1-7 scale to rate your level of agreement with a score of 1 meaning  not at all true, 4 meaning moderately true and 7 meaning absolutely true.

A.  In most ways my llife is close to my ideal.

B.  The conditions of my life are excellent.

C.  I am satisfied with my life.

D.  So far I have gotten the important things I want in life.

E.  If I could live my life over I would change almost nothing.

Scoring: 

31-35 = Extremely Satisfied

26-30 = Very Satisfied

21-25 = Slightly Satisfied

20 = Neutral

15-19 = Slightly Dissatisfied

10-14 = Dissatisfied

5-9 = Extremely Dissatisfied

Polls have shown that Americans are overwhelmingly happy and optimistic people.  One poll of over 1000 adult Americans revealed that 78% are happy most or all of the time.  Need to improve your score? Here are a few simple things you can do everyday to help you be happy. As Happy as You Wanna Be

Gina