By Diane R. Gehart, PhD

Positive psychologists studying happiness do not have happy news. According to the World Happiness Report, American happiness has been on the decline for over three decades. Although there’s no singular cause for this, several important findings can prevent you from making common mistakes. As a psychotherapist practicing for nearly 30 years, I’ve noticed five popular myths that contribute to the rising levels of unhappiness.

Myth #1: More Money Leads to Greater Happiness

Closer to the truth: Having enough money to meet your basic needs and afford some luxury conveniences is more likely to result in happiness than possessing significant wealth.

Although likely to surprise most Americans, the research clearly indicates more money does not bring greater happiness. In an international study on happiness conducted by David Myers at Hope College and Ed Diener at the University of Virginia, the researchers found that happiness peaks at $100,000 and then declines after $250,000. Furthermore, even as overall real income has risen dramatically in prosperous nations over the past 50 years, happiness has not. In fact, for Americans it has gone down. So, if you’re hoping a financial windfall will finally allow you to be happy, you’re likely going to be disappointed. Better Approach to Happiness: When you do have money to spend, focus on buying meaningful experiences, learning something new and building positive social connections.

Myth #2: More Pleasure Brings Greater Happiness

Closer to the truth: Avoiding habituation to pleasure increases happiness.

For most of us, a significant amount of time and money go into seeking pleasure: Enjoying good food and drink, engaging entertainment, passionate sex, beautiful clothes, a comfortable living space and inspiring art. Pleasure brings instant gratification and seeming happiness. The initial problem is that happiness derived from pleasure cannot last. You must constantly seek more.

The real problem is that your brain becomes programmed to habituate to any stimulus -- meaning the more you get, the less pleasure you derive from it, especially if you experience pleasure frequently. You need to constantly increase quantities and qualities to experience the same level of pleasure.

For example, if you enjoy ice cream on the weekends and then decide to have it every day, it will only be special and enjoyable in the beginning. After a few weeks, you’d likely need to add whipped cream, toppings and more flavors to have a “special” dessert. If you then ate a sundae every night, after a few weeks, you’d need to add something else to achieve the same level of pleasure.

Better Approach to Happiness: Consciously plan to reduce the frequency of pleasures you enjoy to avoid habituation, such as not eating a favorite meal too often, not playing a favorite song repeatedly and not binge watching your favorite TV shows.

Myth #3: Fulfilling Your Dreams Brings Happiness

Closer to the truth: Pursuing dreams increases happiness; achieving them increases happiness for only a short period.

In most cases, achieving a major goal, such as graduating, getting married, having a child and buying a home, increases happiness levels for about three months. However, additional evidence indicates that working towards a meaningful goal is more directly correlated with happiness. In fact, a study at Bielefield University in Germany found that subjective wellbeing was higher when pursuing the goal than achieving it. The major exception to this is being happily married. Those who are happily married are happier than most. However, those who are unhappily married are typically the least happy.

Better Approach to Happiness: When you’re pursuing a goal or dream, intentionally take time to savor the small achievements along the way, knowing that the journey rather than the destination is what brings the greatest joy.

Myth #4: Negative Emotions Reduce Happiness

Closer to the truth: Frequent, in-the-moment positive emotions are closely related to happiness.

Although it seems logical to assume that people who experience more negative emotions are less happy, positive psychologists have found otherwise. In fact, people who experience more negative emotions are not less happy, and ironically, those who experience more positive emotions are not necessarily happier either. Instead, having more in-the-moment daily positive emotions -- rather than a general positive evaluation of one’s life -- is correlated with greater happiness. For the record, women have more positive and negative emotions than men.

Better Approach to Happiness: Make it a habit to inject more positive emotions into your daily routine by mindfully savoring everyday moments, taking time to connect with others, showing gratitude and finding ways to laugh more often.

Myth #5: Good Health Increases Happiness

Closer to the truth: Health significantly affects happiness only if you have five or more ailments.

Having objective good health -- what a doctor would say -- is not correlated with happiness. However, your subjective view of your own health is. Surprisingly, severely ill cancer patients differ only slightly in global levels of happiness.

Better Approach to Happiness: Keep an optimistic and appreciative view of your health and wellbeing.

Unfortunately, contemporary culture ceaselessly perpetuates many myths about happiness that trip up most of us at one point or another. Thankfully, you have the option to avoid these traps by realizing that happiness is correlated with enjoying everyday moments and working toward what matters to you, making happiness attainable for all.