We might not have the same opinions, paths, and ways of living; but we all, millions of people around the world, share the same purpose of life: Being able to say “I am having a good life!” What we mean by “good life” is living in pure happiness and having a wonderful peace of mind. The difference between us is that each one of us chooses a different way in his pursuit of happiness. Some find it in stability with a big house, a family, and a good paying job. Some find it in adventure and wildness, travel, and taking risks. While others don’t really have specific criteria or an organized plan, they just believe that happiness comes with living each day as if it was the last, with no worries about the rest. Personally, I find it in trying to be the best version of myself, in staying true to my principles, and in the same time in being able to make my own decisions; which reminds me of what George Loewenstein said “Just because we figure out that X makes people happy and they're choosing Y, we don't want to impose X on them.”
Charles Bukowski once said in one of his letters “Find what you love, and let it kill you.” I strongly disagree with that. As a matter of fact, the greatest pleasure in life is being able to recognize what we really love and get to know how to live with it. Passions and dreams are what identifies our existence. If we were able to find them and concentrate on fulfilling them, we would realize that they are the only things that are worth living for. For instance, we probably can notice how an artist is always happier than an employee. Two persons: One devotes himself to his art and passion, takes each day as a new opportunity to make his talent more perfect than the day before. And the other one who wears ea...
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...f being satisfied in life: There is no rule. Each individual has the right to look at things from his own point of view. We can all choose different paths and ways to fulfill our happiness. We can see it in wealth, in the dream-job, or in the people around us. As long as we choose that direction and take those decisions by ourselves, without being influenced by any external thought, happiness is inevitable. Here, I agree with Daniel Gilbert when he said “I don't think that's the problem. The problem is you can't always know what you want.” That is why the most important thing for happiness to be achieved is recognizing our wants and desires because just when we do, we will finally get to say “I am happy with my life!”
Works Cited
• Gertner, Jon. “The Futile Pursuit of Happiness”. The New York Times 7 September .2003. Print.
• Bukowski, Charles. April 1998.
Humans are born with pursuits: some search for fame, some go after money, some seek achievements in professional fields, and some only wish their lives to be content . If one wants to become content with life, one should alter one’s old ways of living and embrace new things. Both in Cathy Jewison’s The Prospector’s Trail and Eva Lis Wuorio’s The Singing Silence, the main characters used to be dissatisfied with life. In search for true happiness, they begin to try things that they have never experienced before. At the end, the two protagonists find that their new activities can bring them happiness, and they start to live satisfying lives.
The philosopher Aristotle once wrote, “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” This famous quote compels people to question the significance of their joy, and whether it truly represents purposeful lives they want to live. Ray Bradbury, a contemporary author, also tackles this question in his book, Fahrenheit 451, which deals heavily with society's view of happiness in the future. Through several main characters, Bradbury portrays the two branches of happiness: one as a lifeless path, heading nowhere, seeking no worry, while the other embraces pure human experience intertwined together to reveal truth and knowledge.
Humans, throughout recorded history, have searched for a proper way of living which would lead them to ultimate happiness; the Nicomachean Ethics, a compilation of lecture notes on the subject written by Greek philosopher Aristotle, is one of the most celebrated philosophical works dedicated to this study of the way. As he describes it, happiness can only be achieved by acting in conformity with virtues, virtues being established by a particular culture’s ideal person operating at their top capacity. In our current society the duplicity of standards in relation to virtue makes it difficult for anyone to attain. To discover true happiness, man must first discover himself.
Many live attempting to decipher the riddle of life. What is life? What is the purpose? What makes? Even though we only seek happiness why can’t we ever seem to achieve it? When we do reach happiness why can’t we seem to grasp it and hold it for more than the few short hours that pass like seconds? The question we must answer first is “What makes happiness, true?”
The problem we have in today’s society is that people work to acquire as much money and possessions as they can and they think this will achieve happiness. Unfortunately, nobody told these people that happiness cannot be purchased and our possessions will fade no longer keep our interest. As we engulf ourselves in our daily busy work, our relationships are becoming strained and we are distancing ourselves from real happiness. We are seeking the means of work and money as an end, and we are chasing the wrong things in life. We hide from our unhappiness by watching television or partake in activities to distract ourselves from our problems. We need to find true happiness and this is found in becoming virtuous, creating good friendships,
The irony connected with the obstacle in achieving happiness is the pursuit of happiness. Those who pursue happiness with deliberate effort find themselves having to work harder and harder over time to achieve their ends. By trying to pursue happiness, we look for obvious, insubstantial objectives to achieve the happy life. Existentialism, however, may provide both the antidote to this vicious cycle, and give direction on how to find happiness-- by filling our lives with what T.S. Eliot calls real substance. Purpose is not easily found and comes with a costly price tag; we must look into ourselves, find the hollowness that exists in each of us, and dive into the abyss of our inner self. Most people are easily discouraged by the idea of shining a light into the shadowy realm of our mind and heart. We do not want to discover what may lie in the shadows, but if we have the courage to grope in the dark, we may discover our truest self. The darkness is a gift and not a curse.
The pursuit of happiness ultimately leads to disappointment and a lack of satisfaction because people’s cravings can never be entirely fulfilled. Dalai Lama once said “When you are discontent, you always want more, more, more. Your desire can never be satisfied. But when you practice contentment, you can say to yourself, ‘Oh yes – I already have everything that I really need.’” This quote shows that having high expectations of anything leads to disappointment when the expectation is not met. Also, having anticipations for what happiness is makes attained happiness irrelevant and inadequate relative to what one wanted to get
who achieve sense of meaning in their lives are happier than those who live from one pleasure to another.
Too often, we become too caught up in our everyday mundane routines that we forget, or perhaps, never truly see what our purpose is. We forget what truly motivates us to live and what truly drives us to reach a greater goal. Oscar Wilde once said, “To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.” As I look at the people around me, I see ones who furnish their goals with intents of gaining wealth, success, or recognition. However, are they truly happy? How many times have you actually sat down and asked yourself, “why do I do what I do?”.
Bowman, James. "The Pursuit of Happiness." The American Spectator. N.p., Sept. 2010. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.
Happiness is an inner state of well-being and fulfilment, and therefore it has to come from inside. Every individual has his or her own emotions and way of thinking and as a result of this no one can really say what happiness is and what happiness is not. However, universally, happiness is a by-product of a healthy attitude and viewpoint. Happiness exists in everyone whether they choose to acknowledge and believe it or not. It is not rare nor is it something only the elite have: everyone has it but not everyone recognizes it. Contentment is finding a light at the end of every dark tunnel and in order to experience this we must ignore the pessimism surrounding us and remind ourselves that happiness is not a materialistic object but a choice and frame of mind.
Happiness is important for fully enjoying freedom. The French artists of Café Guerbois thought that they were unhappy. They were poor, struggling, and most importantly not in the Salon. Likewise, while attending Brown University, Caroline Sachs, felt that she was unhappy and dissatisfied compared to her other classmates. She was learning what she loved, yet she still wasn’t happy. If she was going to compare herself, if she was going to compete she had to be successful. At its very essence the idea of being happy and fulfilled is in direct competition with not having a purpose and that our freedom is a burden. To take full advantage of the freedom we have and to not be burdened we must seek and achieve
According to Webster dictionary the word Happiness in defined as Enjoying, showing, or marked by pleasure, satisfaction, or joy. People when they think of happiness, they think about having to 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 form your soul. Happiness is can be changed through many things that happen in our every day live.
Achieving long-term personal happiness is possible with hard work and perseverance by using several methods. Understanding and following various steps to have fulfillment can change your life. By consistently following an assortment of important steps, you will develop a life pattern that is generally happy. Many people throughout history have attempted to find ways to become happier, and share the information with others. While there are occasionally things that should make a person unhappy, it is important to not allow unhappiness to become a lifelong pattern that destroys you mentally and physically. In addition, happy people tend to have more friends and success because they are fun to associate with.
Happiness is a state of mind. The dictionary definition is "feelings of joy and pleasure mingled together”. A feeling of happiness is more than just an experience of joy or pleasure. It is a state of mind where the individual feels that “life is good”. As Aristotle says, “happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” I believe that everyone wants to be happy in life. One is abnormal if he prefers to be sad and alone.