Is it better to be happy now, or happy later?

Many decisions come down to happiness. If we spy a chocolate cake we'd like a bite of, many of us would grab a fork and take the plunge. Others, however, might show more self-restraint.

Whether or not we believe in delaying gratification over taking short term pleasure can often make or break decisions like these. Those of us who prefer to seize joy in the moment might be more inclined to go for that little treat that doesn't contribute to a longer-term goal, while those more into delayed gratification may find it easier to say 'no'.

A new study by academics from across the US and Australia has taken a look at the decisions we make in pursuit of happiness — and finds that our beliefs about happiness influence our actions. Writing in the journal Emotion, the team suggests that thinking of happiness flexibly, changing our behaviour in different contexts, could offer significant wellbeing benefits. 

In the first study, 298 students were asked to think about an important goal that required them to make sacrifices in order to reach. They were then asked how much they agreed with statements such as "it is worth sacrificing now for happiness in the future" or "I believe in working hard now to achieve future happiness, even if it means missing out on fun times." To assess their feelings around living in the moment, the investigators also looked at how much they agreed with statements such as "I want to seize the moment and enjoy life as much as possible." 

These answers were analysed alongside how much time and effort participants spent in an average week working on the focal goal they had written about earlier, how often they participate in fun or enjoyable activities instead, how happy they expected to feel when they achieved their goal, and how regretful they felt when they ignored their goal in favour of fun activities. Measures on grit — (which measures perseverance and passion for long term goals), self control, mindfulness, delayed gratification, and other personality traits were also completed.

Results suggested that those who felt more connected to the idea of delaying happiness spent more time pursuing goals, and felt more anxious and regretful when engaging in non-focal goal activities. Those who believed in living in the moment, as expected, engaged in more fun activities and experienced greater wellbeing in the form of feelings of competence, meaning, purpose, relationships, and optimism. A second study replicated these findings in an older sample, additionally suggesting that delayed happiness may result in greater wellbeing, as people pursue goals that contribute to a sense of deeper meaning and purpose in their lives. 

To extend these findings, the team's next study looked at the malleability of our beliefs about happiness: can we change the way we think about happiness, and what is the result of doing so? Participants were randomly assigned to read a fake New York Times article, which was intended to activate theories that happiness was either an investment that grows over time, or something that comes and goes. They then reported their delayed happiness and living in the moment beliefs. 

Swayed by the articles, when people read the story about happiness as an investment they were more likely to identify with beliefs in delayed happiness, and in turn state that they were more likely to pursue their longer-term goals. This suggests that beliefs about happiness are indeed malleable: we can change what we feel about happiness, and that this can then change our behaviour. 

A final study saw participants complete a daily diary. Each day for twelve days, they stated a goal, as well as how long they had spent that day pursuing it, how satisfied with life they were, and any positive or negative feelings. Again, the results suggest that different beliefs about happiness predict how much we pursue goals, our emotional reactions, and our wellbeing; those who lived in the moment were more likely to engage in fleeting, non-goal-oriented activities, while those who believed in delayed happiness focused on goal pursuit. 

If you're in search advice on whether to delay gratification or live in the moment, this study bears good news: across the studies, both beliefs generated happiness and wellbeing when participants followed their beliefs about delayed happiness or immediate gratification. The authors suggest that, rather than one belief about happiness being superior to another, a flexible approach in which we both engage in fleeting pleasures and work towards bigger goals and in which we recognise the benefits of both, could ultimately make us happier.     

In this study, delayed happiness and living in the moment were seen as oppositional beliefs. The authors note that they may, in fact, actually be complementary, which may limit the validity of these findings. Future research could also look at how different beliefs about happiness actually impact how we feel and experience our lives in reality; when we reach a long-term goal that we sacrificed short-term pleasures for, how happy do we really feel? 

As lead author Lora Park writes, "happiness is often viewed as something to enjoy now or later, but our research suggests that there are costs and benefits to both, and that these beliefs are malleable as well. Simply being aware of these different beliefs about happiness — and that one can be flexible in these beliefs — is something to consider in maximising happiness and well-being in one's everyday life." 

Read the study in full: https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000850