According to aspiration level theory, happiness is increasing in attainment but decreasing in aspiration. The theory has been used to explain several pervasive phenomena in the happiness data. On the assumption that aspirations rise with attainment, aspiration level theory helps explain how it is possible for happiness scores to remain largely stable over the course of the last 50 years in spite of the fact that the standard of living has improved dramatically over the same period. On the assumption that aspirations are at least partially a function of other people's attainment, aspiration level theory explains why in some studies happiness has been found to be a decreasing function of other people's attainments. Although aspiration level theory is widely accepted, the supporting evidence is largely indirect. This study offers a direct test of a related construct – John Henryism – as a predictor of happiness. John Henryism is defined as a behavioral predisposition to cope actively with psychosocial environmental stressors, and is thought to have three main components: (1) mental and physical vigor, (2) commitment to hard work, and (3) determination to succeed. Because of the conceptual affinity between aspiration and John Henryism, we predicted that happiness would be decreasing in John Henryism even when controlling for attainment. We used a cross-sectional sample of 715 community-based adults from Jefferson County, Alabama, to test for an association between John Henryism and happiness, while controlling for demographic factors as well as attainment in the domains of relationships, children, education, employment, income and health. Happiness was assessed using the Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS); John Henryism was assessed using the John Henryism Scale of Active Coping (JHAC12). In bivariate analysis, John Henryism was negatively correlated with happiness (?=-0.339; p