Recently I read an op-ed column in The New York Times by one of its columnist David Brooks who discusses Happiness and Joys from his recent book “The Second mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life“. The op-ed column The Difference Between Happiness and Joy is an interesting and explains the difference between the happiness vs joy.
The following quote from David Brooks summarizes the difference between the happiness and joy:
Happiness usually involves a victory for the self. Joy tends to involve the transcendence of self. Happiness comes from accomplishments. Joy comes when your heart is in another. Joy comes after years of changing diapers, driving to practice, worrying at night, dancing in the kitchen, playing in the yard and just sitting quietly together watching TV. Joy is the present that life gives you as you give away your gifts.
David Brooks, The New York Times OP-ED Column