**3.3 Theme 3: happiness requires active, conscious adherence to social and moral norms**

There appears to be a sense that happiness is a cognitive state of contentment as opposed to an emotional response, and achieving it necessitates active pursuit and maintenance through cognitive processes of acceptance, self-regulation, and conscious positive attitudes (CIF1, IFF2, IFM2, IFM5, PIM5). One such response declared, "*when I catch myself comparing with other people I try and stop and think well I've got this already… I do feel at times that I am comparing but I try and think to cut it out."* (CIF1). Another respondent shares, "*I was complaining about everything and once I was in a very bad situation and I realised the life I'm having right now is what most of the people are dreaming for...and I realised I have to be happy in this moment. …at that moment I was devastated but the next day when I wake up I'm like okay why was I crying? I have a good job I'm really satisfied*" (IFF2).

In some ways respondent views were similar to the *positive worldview* domain of happiness descriptions from Indonesian respondents in Maulana et al. [41] which encompassed the active cultivation of gratitude and self-acceptance. In this domain, the Indonesian descriptions regarding active gratitude included, "*By grateful means that I do not worry about things [of ] something that I still don't have, no…but by being grateful we can be more relaxed in living the life*" ([41], p. 314). This is similar to the active cognitive creation of relaxation and peace in Fijian respondents. This cognitive

### *Understanding Happiness in the Pacific Islands: A Qualitative Study with University Staff in Fiji DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106771*

evaluation of contentment was also a product of leading a moral and principled life. Indeed, from the majority of responses, living according to rules is not only a moral imperative but is itself a source of pleasure and happiness (PIM3, PIM4, PIM6, IFF3). For example, one respondent shares: *"we were always big on protocols…our sense of who we are, our identities, are established within those structures. When those are taken away a lot of Fijians found themselves kind of cut off from the moorings that they (had)"* (PIM6). This emphasis on discipline and social norms results both in the preference for lower intensity emotions, and a belief in accepting and maintaining a status quo rather than striving for change and disruption. According to another respondent, *"(during COVID) whatever was happening, I have noticed….that (the) majority (of) people were adhering to rules and regulations set, and they were quite content with whatever decisions were made and I think that is this part of happiness as well. They are happy with whatever they have instead of getting aggressive and breaking down too many rules and going out of their limits."* (IFF3).

The understanding of happiness as a cognitive state driven by living according to religious or social structures is aligned with the dimension of eudaimonic wellbeing [14] often tied to collectivist cultures [48]. Within the current study, however, there are elements of both non-Western and Western approaches to happiness. For example, Joshanloo [13] has argued that eudaimonic well-being is valued in all populations but is just differently defined in the East as it is in the West. In this case, a Western eudaimonic well-being includes individualistic elements, such as self-esteem, meaning in life, mastery and control. In alignment with this, the Fijian respondents mentioned both happiness in terms of living according to traditions or religious teachings as well as a motivation for self-growth and fulfillment of personal goals. This could be a result of the present sample being drawn from a professional population within the university staff, which perhaps suggests the role of higher education as a pathway to 'westernizing' or indeed, continuing to colonize, indigenous populations.

Huta and Ryan [49] have argued that the two dimensions of well-being are related, rather than mutually exclusive, concepts; that eudaimonic and hedonic describe different aspects of (the same) well-being. That is, eudaimonic well-being is a process which for some may lead to positive affect, such as happiness or life satisfaction, while hedonic is the state and outcome of feeling good, more often than not [49]. In this way, eudaimonic should lead to hedonic, but may not, and hedonic can, but does not have to, come from a eudaimonic lifestyle. This combined model fits well with the descriptions of happiness from the Fijian sample where happiness was defined in terms of lifestyle, such as enjoying simple things, engaging in family, community and living according to faith and traditions, but through this the emotion of happiness would be experienced as contentment or freedom from stress.

### **3.4 Theme 4: happiness through personal growth that also serves others**

Several respondents linked their sense of inner peace to an emphasis on pursuing self-growth and personal fulfillment (IFF5, IFM1, PIF2, PIF6). This is evident in statements from respondents, such as: "*it's about achieving but not telling yourself that you are done with achieving... A human being is never complete, life is a process; my understanding of accomplishment is that it is never complete*" (IFM1). In addition, "*It's important…to be able to be positive and move forward and grow; we all want to - it's about growing in(to) whatever you want to grow in(to)."* (IFF5).

The mention of self-growth, and individual achievement and goals could be interpreted as a reflection of the western-educated, professional participants engaged in this study. However, autonomy and personal accomplishment are core elements of both the PERMA [50] and Self-Determination Theory [51] of well-being which have been applied across cultures [52]. In particular, Lambert and Pasha-Zaidi [53] determined that both internal motivations, including personal accomplishment, and external motivations, such as accomplishment to please the family, existed in the collectivist United Arab Emirates. It is interesting that the pursuit of mastery and achievement mentioned by the Fijian sample exists alongside an otherwise strong value placed on acceptance and contentment with their life situation. There is therefore a sense in the Fijian sample that one should be both content and accepting of where one is in their life, while at the same time, strive to achieve personal goals and growth. When one respondent was asked about this (IFM4), the explanation was that one should be accepting of their individual place in the community but should still aim for achievement as a way to push the community as a whole forward. As such, the pursuit of individual achievement here is understood to serve a communal role, and happiness is derived from that shared growth.

The researchers Huta and Ryan [49], and Kasser and Ryan [54] tie well-being to intrinsic and extrinsic goals. Eudaimonic happiness is living according to what is intrinsically worthwhile to individual well-being, while hedonic happiness is pursuing socially-oriented goals, such as fame, wealth and social image. Intrinsically worthwhile pursuits identified by Fijian participants in this study were personal growth, affiliation and intimacy, contribution to the community, and physical health. These intrinsic pursuits were reflected by the Fijian respondents' descriptions of happiness and some even made direct contrasts with Western extrinsic ideals of wealth and materialism. However, again, the Fijian drivers of happiness were less exclusive as they also placed a value on social recognition. For example, when asked how one would know someone had lived an optimal life, several respondents mentioned the sentiment "*how many people are at the funeral*" (IFM4, PIM5) and, "*if people don't visit your house then… you are not rich*" (PIF4). This suggests that social recognition, by way of respect or recognition of one's giving within the community, is part of an intrinsic, eudaimonic conception of happiness in communal societies with hierarchical social structures such as in Fiji.

### **3.5 Theme 5: happiness as fundamentally oriented to family and community**

The internal beliefs and attitudes of respondents shown here are a product of social and cultural structures which act to maintain the cognitive and emotional state of calm and contentment. Chief among these was the cultural focus on family and social connection which was described as an experience of happiness from *just being with* family members, and the act of maintaining social connections, in and of itself (PIF7, PIF1, IFF3, IFM5, IFF6, IFM1). In the view of one respondent, "'*I believe that most Fijians are happy when they have that connection. When they are in their group, that larger relative group, whether it's an extended family, whether it's their clan, their village, or whether it's their province*." (PIF7). In addition, the collectivist nature of Fijian culture also helps to bring personal inner peace through a sense of being valued and supported by family, and a sense of belonging. According to a participant, "*being close to home, where you belong, being appreciated and being comfortable; being close to where I am ... respected … as well, being close to my family and loved ones*"

*Understanding Happiness in the Pacific Islands: A Qualitative Study with University Staff in Fiji DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106771*

(IFF3). In the view of another respondent, "*my husband is always (saying) like every time you go to your family you're so excited, you are totally another person and I say yes, because over there I can be myself. I can joke, I can interact and it's people that I want to be with*" (PIF7).

Social needs are widely regarded as the universal cornerstone of well-being, happiness, and flourishing [42, 55]. However, there can be subtle differences in how interpersonal happiness itself is defined across cultures. Lu and Gilmour [17] in a study of China and the USA, and Kwan et al. [56] in their study of participants from Hong Kong and the USA, found that both US and Asian respondents emphasized the need for positive social relationships in their experience of happiness. However, the Asian definitions, but not those of the US, were reflective of a sense of interdependence and social harmony rather than social engagement to fulfill individual needs. As an exception were the Indonesian respondents in the study by Maulana et al. [41] where participants described the role of family in what could be interpreted as individual needs with descriptors including *"*nice communication with family*"* or "moral support from family" or "family as a source of personal life lessons and values." In the present study, the Fijian respondents showed indications of both these interpretations: the mention of family as a support mechanism, bringing a sense of stability and peace, and as valuing social harmony, and also, as a source of a more direct affective experience of bonding, belonging and attachment.

### **3.6 Theme 6: happiness as a collective experience**

Respondents appeared to suggest that happiness is a product of the collective well-being; that one simply could not experience personal happiness without also seeing the happiness, at least with respect to basic needs met, of others (PIM5, PIF1, PIF4, PIM6, PIF6, IFF1, IFF6, IFM3). On this belief, respondent statements included: "*happiness for an individual, you put that individual within the cultural or traditional context it has to do with this communal togetherness, it's not really something like when you exercise individuality in the Western world, it has to do with being together and (behaving) in line with expected norms of a given sub-clan, within a clan, within a tribe, within a district, within a province. It goes to all those levels*." (PIM5). Additionally, *"Happiness to me is the feeling of satisfaction, like, I'm satisfied that my family is ok, I'm ok…I feel content if my family is happy and I'm happy, that's my definition of happiness"* (PIF4). The collectivist dimension of culture puts an emphasis on helping, sharing, and caring for each other. For the respondents in this study, this meant that even when personal sacrifice was necessary, individuals still described themselves as happy from seeing the net happiness of the family or community. One respondent identified, "*you start contributing towards your family, parents, so we also have to take that aspect, okay now I've graduated we need to help the parents because they have done everything for us*" (IFM3). According to another study participant, "*I'll get a lot of happiness if I have a lot of impact upon those above, the elders, and those my age, and those who are much younger…. I feel happy whenever I go to my village and I'm able to carry out community awareness programs"* (PIM5).

The sense of happiness as a collective experience, or one that is fundamentally a response to communal outcomes, supports the Pacific Island region assessment of happiness, as proposed by the Vanuatu national happiness projects [32]. Importantly, this would move beyond the role of relationships within current models of happiness. While it is already established that an individual's happiness is a product of their

experience of connection to others in the community, in the Pacific region, an individual's happiness is a product of the community's happiness itself. This also reflects the Pacific region's cultural collectivism in which one's connection to the community is fundamental to one's identity and experience of self [57]. Another aspect of collective well-being is the role of obligation or duty either to be an active participant in collective support or to be happy as a duty to the overall well-being. Chen and Davey ([58], also [13]) discuss how well-being concepts of East Asians involve one's ability to fulfill a social role or obligation, and that striving for contentment is seen as a religious duty. The Fijian participants also described the importance of fulfilling obligations to family, or *Vanua*, meaning home or community. This was not, however, seen as burdensome but rather, a personal choice to achieve contentment. For the former, one respondent recognized hedonic pleasure, "*if you…see family as an obligation…I would just pity you because you don't know what you are missing out on!"* (PIF7). In the view of another respondent, *"some people who don't have a lot of other obligations you wonder what is driving them?"* (PIM2).
