The Definition of Happiness

705 Words2 Pages

Is life really about money, expensive jewelry, and shiny fast cars? Or having a group of loving and caring friends and family? Today everyone defines and looks for happiness in a different way. Many people usually search for happiness in money, material items, and meaningless relationships. None of the things mentioned solely leads to happiness. This is a problem in our society; everyone is on the “pursuit of happiness,” but what if we do not know the correct way on how to pursue it? From early times, philosophers and researchers have questioned the meaning of happiness. Various researchers have studied behaviors of a person after an action to determine a person’s level of happiness. Despite all the research done, there are very little studies, which examine the true meaning of happiness. Humans invest such a large amount of time on their “pursuit of happiness,” therefore the meaning of happiness needs to be researched more. This paper will explore the meaning of happiness, and the way various things affect a person’s happiness.
Unfortunately, the world is a very unhappy place, full of violence and suffering. Everyday the news tells about a senseless act of violence, or an innocent death. Money seems to be one of the largest to blame of the unhappiness across the world. For as long as money has existed, possessing a large sum of money has been the pursuit of many people around the world. Many people are convinced that happiness can solely be bought on by being rich. However, when most people reflect on how money would change their happiness, they usually think about having more time to spend with family, or not having to worry about paying their bills for the month. But in reality, it wouldn’t be the money that would be making a ...

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..., which says when a couple focuses on being committed to each other. In many cases companionate love often leads to marriage, which many people consider to be a top reason for their happiness.
Focusing on the illusion that happiness can be pursued threw one thing is clearly not realistic. Happiness is a very complex feeling to explain, since no two people feel the same way about everything. If a survey were to ask each person to rate his or her happiness on a scale from 1-10, how many people you think would be a perfect ten? Based on the research done on the topic, it is highly unlikely that many people would be. As written in the Declaration of Independence, every American has the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. However many people focus on being happy in the future and worrying about the future that they forget to actually stop and be happy.

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