within the past decade, there has been an explosion of research on happiness. Scientists have charted regions of the brain implicated in positive disposition and have even linked this to practices such as meditation and mindfulness. What's more, some scientists believe that each person has a happiness set point influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. On the other hand,they claim that a large part of a person's well being under his or her direct control and that happiness is a skill that can be learned.