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Do money and possessions bring happiness essay
What constitutes happiness
Do money and possessions bring happiness essay
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Thich Nhat Hanh said, “Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, and sometimes your smile is the source of joy.” Joy is a feeling of deep happiness. It can be caused by someone or something that is great and satisfying. We express joy in many ways and feel positive towards ourselves. It’s doing the things we enjoy doing. It is a source of happiness. Joy is not always found in things people possessed.
Joy is not always about getting what we want. We buy the things because we believed that it can bring us joy. For instance, our parents spent so much money on toys as we were growing up. Also, whenever we go out, we see people buying expensive stuff. In the quote it says, “ You’re not rich until you have something that money can’t buy.” As time goes on, the things that people buy mean less and less to them. It gets boring overtime and outgrown eventually. The things that people possessed don't provide happiness they can’t
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There is no such thing as perfect relationship. For some reason, some people believe that being in a relationship brings joy to their life. In the quote, it says, “When the relationship brings you more pain than joy.” Being in a relationship can make people happy at first, but in the end they’ll end up getting hurt by their love ones. It doesn’t meant to make you happy. Being happy comes from seeing life without struggle not money or fame.
Furthermore, money can’t bring joy to life. Money could lead to conflict. For example, Britney Spears is rich but she has so many tragic flaws happened to her back then, She created all of her unfortunate circumstances on her own. In the quote, it says “ It’s good to have money and the things that money can buy, but it’s good too, to check up once in awhile and make sure you haven’t lost the things that money can’t buy.” They were other problems contributed such as becoming famous. Those who had attained wealth and fame goals were less
The quote “What does it take to be rich? My father has gold teeth, my mother has gold teeth, and my brother has a fountain pen” (269). I love this because it describes what it is like when you are a child in a poor family. Until you are around others who have more than you, you do not realize that what you have isn’t a lot. You think, “Wow, gold teeth, we must have a lot of money to afford those.” And then once you begin to interact with those around you that may be from different affluent backgrounds, is when you begin to realize that things are not as they
The article “High Incomes Don’t Bring You Happiness” verbatimly states, “Beyond $75,000, money is important for life evaluation, but does nothing for happiness, enjoyment, sadness, or stress” (Kenney 4). Those who spend prodigal amounts of money disdain plebeians because they claim that money is the foundation to living a great life. However, money only helps one meet certain needs and does not contribute in instigating true happiness within oneself. Happiness comes naturally by one’s actions and accomplishments. Although, money helps buy the commodities which satisfy one’s life, it is not the direct source for obtaining glee within a
Wealth and fame are not necessities that are needed to be happy with life. Fame and wealth are very sought after, because many people think those things and happiness go hand and hand. People are often mislead by this theory, money can make a person happy but it can also ruin every relationship they have and it can kill any ounce of joy they have. Wealth can be an idol that blinds people to the truly important things in life. When people solely focus on money to make them happy, they become emotionally and physically exhausted.
Written media discourses such as newspapers and magazines have a manifest influence upon people and in forming conventions of each society. Matheson (2005) finds the following:
In his essay, “Economy,” Henry David Thoreau argues that luxuries do not provide happiness. More specifically, Thoreau argues that luxuries hinder the development of humans; he says, “Most of the luxuries, and many of the so-called comforts of life, are not only not indispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind. With respect to luxuries and comforts, the wisest have ever lived a more simple and meagre life than the poor” (13). In this passage, Thoreau is suggesting that it is wise not to live a luxurious life. In conclusion, Thoreau believes the number of luxuries a person has should not determine if a person has led a good life.
In addition to the focus on the negative impact, the author also points out that money (and the things it can buy/attain) cannot buy/guarantee a person youth, health and “paradise” meaning internal happiness with themselves and life itself.
He further shows us that the people of today are richer than their grandparents but are not happier in their lives (from National Statistics of social pathology). Even with these facts, people in the United States still believe if they had more money all of their problems would be solved, but once they reach that next income bracket they are not satisfied and try to reach the next one. Myers et al tells us, "even if being rich and famous is rewarding, no one ever claimed material success alone makes us happy. Other conditions like - family- friends- free time - have been shown to increase happiness" (Csikszentmihaly 145). therefore we must find balance in our own lives, and not just focus on making money. Instead we need friends, family and even free time, as aforementioned doing an activity you enjoy such as listening to music or
Landau points out that this is because the bulk of our happiness in invested in getting our basic needs met. Basics needs are items such as food, water, clothing, and shelter. Having money to spend on items other than the basic needs does not seem to increase the level of happiness, however, spending the excess money on having more life experiences does seem to add to the level of happiness. Human nature is to always want more. It seems to be the push to get more that motivates us to work so hard.
Wealth Takes a Toll On the Mind In the short story “The Rocking-Horse Winner” written by D. H. Lawrence the author writes about how the pressure of having money puts on an individual or a family causes anxiety and can even damage one’s health, possibly to the point of death. The authors idea is true in some cases but it depends on how somebody pictures the idea of wealth and handles having money. In Lawrence’s story a woman has lives a fulfilling life and believed that love and family would make her life even greater however over the years the love she had fades away and the family she created primarily turned into an illusion. To others she had a wonderful life but in her reality all she had was a pointless existence.
Is life really about the 'money', the 'cash', who has the biggest gold chain or who drives the shiniest or fastest car, who sells the most albums or who has the most respect? Today happiness is viewed in many different ways. Everyone defines happiness according to their personal perpectives. Each individual describes their inner feelings in a way that you can't compare with another. Happiness originally and logically means the inner state of well being or a pleasurable or satisfying experience. It enables you to profit from your highest: thoughts, wisdom, intelligence, common sense, emotions, health, and spiritual values in your life. What makes you happy and what makes me happy are different things. Whatever it is that gives you warm fuzzes is determined by you, and only you. This difference is what makes the world interesting.
According to the Webster dictionary, the word happiness is defined as enjoying, showing, or marked by pleasure, satisfaction, or joy. When people think of happiness, they think about having a good feeling inside. There are many types of happiness, which are expressed in many ways. Happiness is something that you can't just get; it comes from your soul. Happiness can be changed through many things that happen in our everyday lives.
..., a person who earns $25,000 is happier than a person who makes $125,000 and an employee who makes $500,000 is only slightly happier than someone who makes $55,000. Lastly, there are more important things in life that and make you happy, for example, friends. They don’t come with a price tag, and if they do, you definitely need new friends. Money won’t make you happy since good times can’t be bought. You don’t need a fancy vacation to have a good time; it’s just a matter of who you spend it with. Over the years, humans have blown the value of money way out of proportion. People make it seem like if you’re not filthy rich, then you won’t live a good life but it’s not true. You can lack money and yet still live a perfect, happy life.
One element that brings me joy is my family. I enjoy creating memories with my family. Since most of my family works all of the time, it is always nice to spend time with each other. Another element that brings me joy is my friends. My friends bring out the best in me and allow me a better person. My friends know what makes me happy. I enjoy the adventures that I do with them. The last element that brings me joy is helping others. I mostly enjoy helping children. I work in a daycare and I love seeing the kids and seeing how excited they are to see me. Seeing the kids grow socially and intelligently brings me joy since I had an impact on their growth. Seeing the kids every week brings me so much joy. These are a few elements that bring me joy. The different gifts and talents play a part in my
The first component essential to living an abundant life is the ability to feel joy. Joy is an experience of wellbeing in a person’s life. Joy is in some cases something that a person has no control of feeling, but in many cases it is an experience that reinforces positive behavior. Therefore by experiencing joy, a person is more likely to do positive things for themselves and for others. Joy is the basis of many of the positive aspects of life as Abraham Hicks states, "If you woul...
Acquiring things like houses and cars only has a transient effect on happiness. People’s desires for material possessions crank up at the same, or greater rate, than their salaries. Again, this means that despite considerably more luxurious possessions, people end up no happier. There’s even evidence that materialism makes us less happy. People don’t shift to enjoyable activities when they are rich.... ...