Definition Essay On Happiness

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We all have had our “Cinderella” and “Prince Charming” moment, the moment when we find our soulmate or “the one” so to speak. This fairy-tale concept of “living happily ever after” were embedded in our minds since childhood as a goal that we need to. The irony behind this idea; however, is it was mainly based on finding our “true love”. So, to be happy, is love all a person needs? If you ask three different people what happiness mean to them, you would surely get three different responses; but do any of those responses correctly define the meaning of happiness? The word “happiness” is vaguely defined as “a state of well-being and contentment” but the paths to achieve this state of fulfillment are unclear itself. Happiness, however, does not …show more content…

In our modern society, happiness is being sold in forms of pills, vacation, and a number of luxurious material items; helping people find their path to happiness became a highly paid profession. Many psychologists apply this concept of “happiness” in their own term to their work in order to define this concept in their own perspective and to narrow the path to achieve the state of completion known as happiness. However, these thinkers seems to differ on their exploration to achieve happiness, they all seem to agree that we must create our own happiness and having a purpose in life or something to look forward to play a major role in how we experience happiness. Finding inner peace and having the feeling of contentment can be the first step to achieve happiness. For The Dalai Lama in The Art of Happiness, he believes that “The purpose of our existence is to seek happiness” and “by bringing about certain inner discipline, we can undergo a …show more content…

According to Abraham Maslow, an American psychologist, “our actions are motivated in order achieve certain needs.” He believes that, we have an inborn desire to be self-actualized, to be all they can be. In order to achieve this ultimate goal, a number of more basic needs must be met first such as the need for food, safety, love, and self-esteem. He also developed the “hierarchy of needs”, which is a theory of psychological health that highlight the needs mentioned in priority, culminating in self-actualization (Maslow). These needs plays a major role on the path to happiness because fulfilling these needs would lead to fulfilled life; however, it seems like Maslow’s theory would lead you to a cycle of wanting and greed. According Viktor Frankl, a Jewish psychiatrist and neurologist in Vienna that is a Nazi concentration camp survivor, in There’s More to Life Than Being Happy, written by Emily Smith, he argues in his book, Man’s Search for Meaning, that “happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue. One must have a reason to ‘be happy’” (Smith). This idea contradicts with Maslow’s theory of the “hierarchy of needs.” Frankl’s idea highlights that materialistic needs alone cannot provide complete satisfaction to one’s life because it is merely an ongoing

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