The word “happiness” may seem for a moment easy to understand or interpret. However, after thinking deeply, one may change his/her thought about it. It is complicated to explain what happiness is; thus, it is difficult to identify what leads to happiness, which a reason for the disagreements of philosophers on this topic. There are steps before reaching the state of happiness and this paper is trying to reveal some of them according to two sources: “The Well-Ordered Soul: Happiness and Harmony” lecture by professor Gendler at Yale University, and the “Flow” TED talk by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. The ways of approaching happiness, if applied by people, can be used to enhance the society’s production in different fields, for example: technology, …show more content…
This state was named after asking people about their feelings when experiencing it; their answers revealed their imagination of being carried away by a boat or dragged away by a force from their real world. Flow simply means the state at which one feels they are completely involved without consciousness in an activity he/she enjoys. For example, playing a musical instrument or playing a sport for enjoyment can lead to flow. Moreover, flow can be achieved while working or studying in some people. Everyone has the control to achieve happiness by themselves by expressing who they truly are. To do so, one should figure out what he/she wants to do, how does he/she feels about it, and then act it out. There are five dimensions to the state of flow. The first one is that a one focuses his/her attention on a limited task. He/she cannot be distracted by other people or events happening at the same time. The second is as a result of the first where full concentration and complete involvement is achieved. The third is that awareness is not presence. This means, a one acts unconsciously when in flow. The fourth, failure is not a worry while in flow. A one can preform without being stressed about the outcome and its possibility of being wrong. Lastly, it is ‘auto-telic’. This means that no reward is expected after preforming a task. However, the experience and the feeling while doing the task …show more content…
When a one is happy with what he/she is doing, it is expected to have productive work from him/her. For example, in technology, inventors and innovators can be more creative when they experience flow while trying to develop new devices or services. Therefore, the society would benefit from the creations of those people in the would of technology and can also increase the economy in that society. Another example would be in medicine. If doctors were enjoying what they are doing and doing their work not only to get pay but to feel the flow, then the accuracy and efficiency in their work would probably increase. This will lead to better health services in a society. Education can be enhanced if teachers were experiencing happiness. A happy, well-ordered soul teacher is more likely to spend more effort in the process of teaching. Moreover, teachers in flow state can produce creative ways of delivering information to their students. This will have a huge influence on the education field and take it to higher levels which gives advantages to the society to have well-educated people. Being happy while doing any work that involves the society will add quality to the
Simply defined, happiness is the state of being happy. But, what exactly does it mean to “be happy?” Repeatedly, many philosophers and ideologists have proposed ideas about what happiness means and how one attains happiness. In this paper, I will argue that Aristotle’s conception of happiness is driven more in the eye of ethics than John Stuart Mill. First, looking at Mill’s unprincipled version of happiness, I will criticize the imperfections of his definition in relation to ethics. Next, I plan to identify Aristotle’s core values for happiness. According to Aristotle, happiness comes from virtue, whereas Mill believes happiness comes from pleasure and the absence of pain. Ethics are the moral principles that govern a person’s behavior which are driven by virtues - good traits of character. Thus, Aristotle focuses on three things, which I will outline in order to answer the question, “what does it mean to live a good life?” The first of which is the number one good in life is happiness. Secondly, there is a difference between moral virtues and intellectual virtues and lastly, leading a good life is a state of character. Personally and widely accepted, happiness is believed to be a true defining factor on leading a well intentioned, rational, and satisfactory life. However, it is important to note the ways in which one achieves their happiness, through the people and experiences to reach that state of being. In consequence, Aristotle’s focus on happiness presents a more arguable notion of “good character” and “rational.”
Flow is not a tangible reward for doing well in an activity, it is not a state of being you can achieve from a drug, or a type of mindset that certain people have. Flow is a state of consciousness. But before Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi can define flow, the definition of consciousness must be presented. Consciousness is the awareness of ourselves and our environment. This is so important to know because what breaks the threshold to achieve flow is when one is not conscious of himself or the environment. According to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, flow is a completely involved, focused state of consciousness, with diminished awareness of self and time,
Nakamura and Csíkszentmihályi (2001) identify the following six factors as encompassing an experience of flow.
In the book, The How of Happiness, author and researcher Sonja Lyubomirsky sets her book apart from other self-awareness books by being the first to utilize empirical studies. She uses data gained through scientific method to provide support for her hypothesis. This hypothesis consists mainly of the idea that we have the ability to overcome genetic predisposition and circumstantial barriers to happiness by how we think and what we do. She emphasizes that being happier benefits ourselves, our family and our community. “The How of Happiness is science, and the happiness-increasing strategies that [she] and other social psychologists have developed are its key supporting players” (3).
When we are engaged in "flow" we must be doing something that we enjoy, and as Csikszentmihaly so aptly states, "Allocation of time, presents difficult choices that eventually determine the content and quality of our lives" (146). It is important to note that these activities during "flow" are good only in small amounts; because in large doses can consume our lives and even be harmful. People who do spend large amounts of time on one activity will be consumed by it and not have room for anything else in their lives, so this can actually cause unhappiness. It is important to note that during a "flow" experience people have not been shown to have a increase in happiness, but only after the activity is completed they are in a more positive state. Over time small doses of flow can lead to an overall increase in well-being and happiness over a period of time doing these activities, Csikszentmihaly tells us, " The prerequisite for happiness is the ability to get fully involved in life" (150). From this we are able to learn and focus on building balance, happiness and we must experience everything life has to
The concept of happiness has been argued for thousands of years, and will probably be argued for thousands more. Wladyslaw Tatarkiewicz, a 20th century Polish philosopher, wrote an interesting paper, adding to the age-old debate, called, Happiness and Time. This essay correctly claims that for one to look at happiness one must also be aware of its relation to time.
will happen. They say that after happiness is sadness, but after the rain there’s a rainbow right? How
“The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living” is a collaboration by His Holiness the Dalai Lama XIV and Howard C. Cutler, M.D., who identify many possible components that could lead to a happy and satisfying life. Their approach combines and integrates the thoughts of East and West; Buddhist principles and practices on one hand and Western science and psychology on the other. Many everyday difficulties are highlighted in this book, and Dalai Lama and Dr. Cutler attempts to help the readers find appropriate solutions in order to find a balanced and lasting happiness. Dalai Lama’s understanding of the factors that ultimately lead to happiness is based on a lifetime of methodically observing his own mind, exploring the nature of the human condition, and investigating these things within a framework first established by The
You know when you’re watching a movie and you really connect with it, not just with the characters but you really just get the film? Ever wonder what it is that made you fall in love with a film even if the dialogue or cinematography isn’t everything you hoped for? It’s the sound design! Not to discredit any part of the film, The Pursuit of Happyness, because it is a beautiful film, but the sound design is what truly makes this film so great. It fills all the voids that are sometimes experienced in films. It does this by capitalizing on what the untrained ear calls noise. Another way the sound designers of this film really grab the attention of the audience is by creating a fluid way to make you listen to the sounds simultaneously with the images on the screen. In addition, the realistic sounds in conjunction with synthetic sounds complete the film by providing seamless cuts between scenes. The amalgamations of these three aspects are what make the sound design of The Pursuit of Happyness a truly vital part of the film.
Early Modern Europe experienced several tragedies in which the citizens sensed that there must be a better way to live where happiness was more familiar. Alterations for what truly defines absolute happiness in a society during these times of catastrophe were expressed through utopian literature. Thomas More’s Utopia, Tomasso Campanella’s City of the Sun, and Caron De Beaumarchais’ The Marriage of Figaro together attempt to answer what truly creates a happy civilization during different periods of crisis within Europe. Each of these utopian literature’s suggest a different origin that happiness derives from, soundly signifying that change in Europe would be beneficial. The revolutionary ideas of change in Europe proposed by Utopia, City of the Sun, and The Marriage of Figaro through their individual utopias, demonstrated their beliefs that such change of social classes, the expression of pleasures morally, and a more unified government would lead to a happier, less corrupt society.
Happiness is a feeling that everyone aims to accomplish, yet some people seem to only catch a sight of it. Gratifying atonement, a state of well-being, and serenity are the more eminent elements of happiness. David G. Myers and Ed Diener propose the article “Who Is Happy?” which present aspects of happiness, a theory that recognizes adaptation, cultural world view, and personal goals. I believe through word of mouth and through those whom we look up to, we are told many myths about happiness, especially the biggest myth that money can buy happiness. In Daniel Gilbert’s “Reporting Live from Tomorrow”, he argues that the definition of happiness is not defined by wealth and that we rely on super-replicators and surrogates to make decisions that we feel will enhance our happiness. Our economic history has proven the idea of declining marginal utility. If we pursue life and liberty without happiness, our lives, quality, and value will slowly vanish, but the absence of wealth has nothing to do with one’s happiness.
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.
Flow is a mindset that people feel when their mind is completely involved or focused on one specific task by losing track of time, unaware of fatigue, and oblivious to everything occurring around them except the task. Studies have that when an individual experiences flow they desire to experience the same joy again seeking after the same reasons. For the reasons that the person continues to set clear goals is flow compared to a motor for development of talent because as the person develops they must continually be actively involved in the skills they would love to develop. As the person begins to loss themselves subconsciously the person no longer stresses if they are amazing or not but more participate because of the joy felt during the activity. Lastly, the person must constantly find techniques to further their skills and continue to challenge them self or they may become bored bringing the motor to a halt or change of pace in development.
When we are young children, we are introduced to the concept of "living happily ever after". This is a fairy-tale emotional state of absolute happiness, where nothing really happens, and nothing even seems to matter. It is a state of feeling good all the time. In fairy tales, this feeling is usually found in fulfilling marriages, royal castles, singing birds and laughing children. In real life, an even-keeled mood is more psychologically healthy than a mood in which you frequently achieve great heights of happiness. Furthermore, when you ask people what makes their lives worth living, they rarely mention their mood. They are more likely to talk about what they find meaningful, such as their work or relationships. Research suggests that if you focus too much on trying to feel good all the time, you’ll actually undermine your ability to ever feel good because no amount of feeling good will be satisfying to you. If feeling good all the time were the only requirement for happiness, then a person who uses cocaine every day would be extremely happy. In our endless struggle for more money, more love and more security, we have forgotten the most fundamental fact: happiness is not caused by possessions or social positions, and can in fact be experienced in any daily activity. We have made happiness a utopia: expensive, complicated, and unreachable.
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.