Happiness depends on expectations versus accomplishments. If you think that life is a competition, then the color of your medal is important. This is typical of “Contest” cultures like the US, UK, Canada and Australia. You think that others expect you to compete; and then you also expect that from yourself. When you feel that you are “winning,” you feel happy; but you are always comparing yourself to others in the room.

Why?

Well, because life is a competition, isn’t it?

Not necessarily. In many other cultures, life is not regarded as a competition. This explains (in part) why people in Scandinavian cultures tend to describe themselves as “happy” more often than people in Anglo-Saxon cultures.

It is also a different story in Latin cultures, in Asia, and so on. Different expectations, different concepts about what makes you feel happy.