Happiness: Enough Already, By Sharon Begley

"Happiness: Enough Already" by Sharon Begley summary

People push being happy on society as a total must in life; sadness is not an option. However, the research that has conducted to the study of happiness speaks otherwise. In this essay Sharon Begley's article "Happiness: Enough Already" critiques and analyzes societies need to be happy and the motivational affects it has on life. Begley believes that individuals do not always have to be happy, and being sad is okay and even good for us. She brings in the research of other professionals to build her claim that extreme constant happiness is not good for people. I strongly agree that we need to experience sadness to build motivation in life and character all around.

Begley argues that sadness

Begley introduces sources such as Ed Diener, a University of Illinois psychology professor, who has studied happiness for twenty-five years, to further the point of her claim. In the article, she accounts an interaction Diener had with Scotland's Parliament and business leaders on the value of using traditional measures to compare what policies makes the country happiest. The Scottish were all in favor of increasing policies that increased wellbeing, but not because they make people happier. "They said too much happiness might not be a good thing, they like being dour, and didn't appreciate being told they should be happier" (555). Diener later concludes that levels of happiness coincide with longer, healthier, relationships. He contrasts this conclusion with an article he cowrote with, stating “once a moderate level of happiness is achieved, further increases can sometimes be detrimental to income, career success, education, and political participation” (556). Diener believes that negative emotions make you “more analytical, more critical, and more innovative” to help direct your thinking. Diener gives much evidence and experience towards Begley’s claim of happiness not being the best for you. Another source Begley uses to back up her claim that

America's fixation on happiness is the true disease, not sadness. American society pushes happiness on us from the moment we are born, it corrupts our perception of how beneficial sadness can be. Sadness is a necessary evil, if individuals do not experience sadness they cannot appreciate happiness truly. That is not to say that depression is not real but from experience, all I need, still, is a little time. I lost my best friend Sam in a drunk driving accident almost two years ago, even now two years later I am still heartbroken, still sad. Losing someone is hard and you do not get over a death of someone who was a big part of your life so easily. I have not recovered completely, nor do I think I ever will but I keep moving forward cherishing every day I have, even the bad ones. Going through this grief, whether it be through the loss of a loved one or the heartbreak of an ended relationship, it shows us that we are strong and we can prevail through times of darkness, all we need is time. In the end, it leaves us with a stronger character, sense of self-worth, and a new outlook on the life we take for granted. Sadness is very much an "integral place in the great rhythm of the cosmos" because without sadness we would not be