Prof Martin Saligman explains in his book Authentic Happiness difference between Gratification and Pleasures. According to him Gratification is the biggest indicator of leading a good life. He explains,
In ordinary english, we do not distinguish between the gratification and pleasures. This truly a shame, because muddles together two different classes of the best things in life, and it deceives us into thinking they each be had in the same way. We casually say that we like caviar, a back rub, or the sound of rain on a tin roof ( all pleasures) as well as saying that we like playing volley ball, reading dylan thomas, and helping the homeless (all gratifications). “Like” is the operative confusion. The words primary meaning in all the cases is that we choose to do these things over many other possibilities. Because we the same word, we are inclined to look around for the same source of the liking, and we slip into saying, “caviar gives me pleasure” and “Dylan Thomas gives me pleasure” as if the same positive emotion existed underneath both as the basis of our choosing. Happyho also provide best Meditation classes and yoga classes in Noida and Delhi NCR India area.
When I press people about the existence of that underlining positive emotion, I find one underneath the pleasures, great food, a back rub, perfume, or a hot shower all produced the raw feel of pleasure I mentioned at the beginning. In contast, when i press people about the positive emotion of pleasure we allegedly when serving coffee to the homeless, or reading Andrea Barrett, or playing bridge or rock climbing, it is quiet illusive. Some people can find a discrete emotion within (“curling up on the couch made me feel cozy all over”), but most cannot. It is the total absorption, the suspension of consciousness, and the flow that the gratifications produce that defines liking these activities – not the presence of pleasure. Total immersion, impact, blocks consciousness and emotions are completely absent.
This distinction is the difference between the good life and the pleasant life. Remember Len, my bridge champion and CEO who is very low in position affect? it is the gratifications – which Len has in abundance – that are the key to my saying that he leads a good life. No magic, advice or exercise will catapult Len into bubbly good cheer or into deep feelings of pleasure, but his life is full total engagement, being a championship bridge player, options trader, and avid sports fan. The great benefit of distinguishing between pleasure and gratification is that even the bottom half of the population three billion people in term of positive affect is not consigned to unhappiness. Rather their happiness lies in the abundant gratification that they can have and hold.
