😊 The 6 Domains of Happiness

Harvard Tracked 200,000 Adults Globally to Find Out What Makes People Flourish, Solid Week So Far for FinTech Earnings — Plus, Cashtag Awards Recap!

Author

Katie Perry
May 01, 2025

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The Big Story: Are We In a Well-Being Recession?

Ask someone what the alternative to “surviving” is, and they’d probably say “dying.”

Not entirely wrong. But what about the alternative to the other direction: flourishing?

It’s a word that sounds a little soft and philosophical, but Harvard just put some academic rigor behind it. Their Global Flourishing Study, released April 30, tracks over 200,000 people in 22 countries, asking what it really means to thrive, and who’s actually doing it. 

The researchers aren’t just interested in how we feel day to day. They’re asking deeper questions about meaning, health, community, character, and how all these puzzle pieces fit together. The results raise some uncomfortable questions. But also a few hopeful ones.

What the Study Looked At

First, a little context. The Global Flourishing Study (GFS for short) is a collaboration between Harvard and researchers from institutions around the world. It’s a five-year longitudinal panel study, meaning they follow the same group of people over time to track change.

Wave 1 included 202,898 adults from countries as diverse as Brazil, Japan, Egypt, Sweden, the Philippines, and the U.S. The sample is nationally representative in each place, and includes people from all ages, backgrounds, and economic brackets.

This isn’t your typical “Western bias” psychology survey. The team went out of its way to include culturally and geographically diverse populations because what counts as a “good life” shouldn’t only be defined by American or European norms.

How They Measured Flourishing

The researchers define flourishing as “the relative attainment of a state in which all aspects of a person’s life are good — including the contexts in which that person lives.”

This is important! It’s not just about personal well-being; it includes the social and community environment, too.

I want to pause here for a second because this is a significant nuance. The Western perception of “thriving” tends to emphasize personal goals and achievements: health, financial success, status. But the world is a bit more communal than the U.S. on average, so this was a key factor to incorporate.

OK, now let’s talk about how they did it. Harvard built a composite index based on six domains:

  1. Happiness & Life Satisfaction

  2. Mental & Physical Health

  3. Meaning & Purpose

  4. Character & Virtue

  5. Close Social Relationships

  6. Financial & Material Stability

The researchers asked panelists two questions for each category. The index was averaged to give each participant a “flourishing score.”

The Initial Results Are In …

Let’s start with the good news. People over 60 are doing better than you might think. In fact, flourishing increases with age. As for the under-30 crowd? Struggle city.

Married people tend to flourish more than single or divorced folks. Employment and regular religious service attendance are also linked to higher scores.

But the big headline here, which corresponds to other data you’ve probably seen, is that young adults globally are struggling. Despite having more education, more tools, and more connectedness, they’re reporting lower levels of meaning, mental health, and even relationships. Japan, one of the wealthiest countries in the world, scored among the lowest overall.

Childhood Matters — A Lot

The researchers also found that flourishing in adulthood is closely tied to early life.

People who had strong relationships with their parents, reported good health, and financial stability in childhood showed markedly higher scores later in life. Those who experienced abuse or felt like outsiders as kids saw long-term negative effects.

One standout finding: attending religious services as a child is strongly associated with flourishing as an adult. That doesn’t mean religion is the only path to well-being, but it does suggest that early experiences of community and structure matter.

As society becomes more secular, at least in the West, pay attention to how people find community and meaning outside of religion. Bitcoin? I kid! Kinda.

Mo Money, Mo Problems, Less Meaning

Some of the most thought-provoking findings deal with the relationship between material well-being and emotional or spiritual health.

Wealthier countries, like the U.S., U.K., and Australia, tend to score higher in financial security but lower in areas like meaning, purpose, and relationship quality.

Meanwhile, countries like Indonesia, Mexico, and the Philippines often reported high levels of meaning and happiness, despite having lower GDPs.

This raises uncomfortable but important questions: Is economic growth eroding meaning? Can we scale innovation and income without sacrificing relationships and purpose?

The GFS will release data annually through 2027. For now, these early insights offer a roadmap for reflection — and maybe, for action.

Me? I’ll be zeroing in on these six domains and making some moves to level up.

You can read the full study here.

Live from New York, it’s the Cashtag Awards!

The moment I realized I was missing cards 2, 12, and 17.

Last night, Stocktwits held its inaugural Cashtag Awards, honoring the best of “social finance,” right here in New York. It was amazing to see the community come together. And I, for one, couldn’t believe there would be a line down the block to get into a glorified trading community meetup, but if you read the main story today, that might make more sense!

I tried my best to emcee despite the fact that I dropped my cue cards in rehearsal and neglected to put them back into the correct order, resulting in Stocktwits CEO Howard Lindzon being forced into an impromptu 3-minute standup set while I navigated a panic attack on stage. After that, it was smooth sailing. I finally got to meet popular YouTubers Ben and Emil IRL, and Robinhood’s CEO gave an unforgettable speech virtually after winning the Legend of the Year award. Thank you again to our generous sponsors!

But it wasn’t all fun and games! We’re still smack in the middle of earnings season, and there’s a lot of news happening even though Shay and I are taking a break from The Daily Rip Live this week.

Now Here’s a Chart

Which pockets of the market are recovering, and which aren’t? According to Bloomberg’s Joe Weisenthal, big tech and banks have erased their losses — but other areas, like trucking and energy, have seen relatively no recovery.

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Tuesday Thursday Saturday is written by Katie Perry, owner of Ursa Major Media, which provides fractional marketing services and strategy in software, tech, consumer products, professional services, and other industries. She is also the co-host of Stocktwits’ Daily Rip Live show.

Disclaimer: The contents here reflect recaps and summaries of pre-reported or published data, news, and trends. I have cited sources and context for the information provided to the best of my ability. The purpose of the newsletter is to inform and educate on larger trends shaping business and culture — this is NOT investment advice. As an investor, you should always do your own research before making any decisions about your money or your portfolio.