While nihilism is defined as a viewpoint that rejects the existence of genuine values and beliefs and asserts the meaninglessness of life, the posts shared by the ‘Cheerful Nihilism’ Instagram account are not exactly focused on this viewpoint.
In their own words, “Cheerful Nihilism is just sparkling absurdism,” and absurdism can mean both—the viewpoint that the universe is irrational and meaningless and intentionally ridiculous or bizarre behavior. (It’s safe to assume that many of us have taken part in the latter.)
But today, let’s not focus on nihilism, nor absurdism. Let’s delve deeper into the cheerful part and focus on happiness instead.
In a piece for Positive Psychology, behavioral scientist Nicole Celestine, Ph.D noted that the science of happiness is a rather new subject in the world of psychology, which used to mainly focus on the less positive aspects of life. However, nowadays, there’s much more information on what makes us happy and what we can do to continue to feel this way.
“The science of happiness has opened our eyes to a plethora of new findings about the sunny side of life,” Dr. Celestine wrote, before sharing some interesting facts based on research on happiness.
For instance, did you know that money can only buy happiness up to roughly $75,000? After this sum is reached, the monetary gains reportedly have no significant effect on our emotional wellbeing.
Another fun fact suggests that pursuing happiness through social means, such as spending quality time with friends and family, is believed to be more effective than other methods.
Another interesting thing about happiness is that it can, to some extent, be determined by genetics. But our experiences and our day-to-day lives reportedly play a more significant role than genetics does.
- Other correlational factors that affect our happiness include:
- Personality Type
- Positive Emotions Versus Negative Emotions
- Attitude Toward Physical Health
- Social Class and Wealth
- Attachment and Relatedness
- Goals and Self-Efficacy
- Time and Place.
An Ipsos poll from 2022 found that the things that give people the greatest happiness are their health and well-being (both physical and mental), their family, and a sense of purpose. Back then, three years ago, across 30 countries, roughly two-in-three adults considered themselves “happy,” with the Netherlands and Australia topping the list of countries with the happiest people.
According to more recent data, The World Happiness Report from 2025, Finland is the happiest country in the world, followed by Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden, respectively.
In addition to the warm and fuzzy feeling happiness creates, it also brings a number of health benefits. According to the Greater Good Magazine, happiness helps protect your heart, strengthens your immune system, helps combat stress and aches, minimizes the risk of certain long-term health conditions, and can even lengthen your life.
Happiness might not be something that comes easily, but it can make people’s lives significantly better, which is why it’s important to continue your pursuit of happiness or look for ways to be cheerful, at least. One of the arguably easiest ways to become just a little more cheerful is browsing funny memes, and if you’re done with the ones on this list, you can find more on our meme category here.
