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An essay about happiness
Philosophy of happiness essay
An essay about happiness
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Happiness has been and will be debatable topic that will carry on decades from now. It seems to be not one definite definition based on people’s perception of what it really means to be happy or what bring about happiness. Most people may believe it is just an end goal while others take it as the foundation to further greatness. People seem to usually draw happiness from a vast number of things. Generally, happiness comprises of an emotional and psychological state of well-being that can be characterized through pleasing and positive emotions such as joy contentment. Still, happiness has been researched and defined differently on the basis of religious views, biological views, philosophical and psychological views. In this essay, I will clarify …show more content…
Studies show that people confuses material things or momentary joy to be happiness. In both articles, Sex Makes People Happy and Happiness Study: Money, Sex, and Alcohol Are the Keys After All by William Smith, explains how people believes money, sex and alcohol makes them happy. All people are not alike, so what might bring happiness to someone might not be the same for another. College Students Who Binge Drink Say They're Happier by Alan Mozes, recounts how college student binge drink believes they are happier but in truth they are not. The article also states that even college students are supposed to be “happier”, they drink to fit in socially and receive higher status. Which proves Deepak Chopra article, Why You Don’t Want to Be Happy correct. Individuals tend to minimize their own happiness by pursuing short term joy. Most people may believe that they can be happy even with material wealth. But then again, not all wealthy individuals are happy. Not all drunks are happy, they are in fact mostly miserable. Therefore, happiness is definitely more than what we think it is. It’s not just an end goal. But, something that is unceasing and is originated on beliefs that go beyond having pleasure and attaining tangible things that we want than …show more content…
Everything I Know About Life I Learned from Groundhog Day by Tracy Moore, recounts the life of Phil and his quest to find and be happy. Phil never truly found happiness until he started to create relationships with people instead of trying to fake his way through life. Tracy Moore wrote “but it isn't until he taps into something authentic an actual, honest to god appreciation for his fellow man/woman — that he stands a chance in hell at being happy”. Happiness is a psychological well-being that brings inner fulfilment and not necessarily with the existence of substantial things. Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin recounts C.G. Jung’s five keys to happiness are good health, good relationships, having the ability to cope with life, the ability to notice the art and beauty in nature and being a hard working. Happiness is not something you seek but something that takes effort in connecting with oneself, people and the beauty of the world. Happiness is pleasing but most importantly, it includes engaging and discovering the meaning of life. Individuals can choose to be happy when everything around them is not perfect or where they will expect to accomplish in life. Never try to seek happiness, C.G. Jung believes “the more you are not to find
In Gretchen Rubin’s “The Happiness Project”, the idea of happiness is explored in great detail based on many different factors that may influence one’s own happiness. In Rubin’s case, she chose eleven concepts and ideas that she felt needed the most attention in her life and would dedicate one month out of the year to each individual concept; then, in December, she would reflect on all that she has learned and live the new lifestyle she had maintained for an entire year. Rubin started the book with a brief introduction that explained why she ultimately began on a year-long journey to find happiness and the steps she took along the way. Rubin explains that she felt that she first got the idea while sitting on a bus and pondering if she was wasting her life. Once she came to the realization that she would like to live a more eventful and peaceful life, Rubin set out to improve her own life without relying on anyone else. First, she wrote down everything that she had planned to improve upon over the course of the year in time for New Year’s Day and read many articles about happiness written by famous philosophers such as Plato to gain a further understanding of the overall concept of happiness. In addition to this, Gretchen Rubin also made a list of her Twelve Commandments and her Secrets to Adulthood, short statements that all individuals should live by to make his or her daily life much
Happiness plays an important and necessary role in the lives of people around the world. In America, happiness has been engrained in our national consciousness since Thomas Jefferson penned these famous words in the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (Jefferson). Since then, Americans have been engaged in that act: pursuing happiness. The problem however, as Ray Bradbury demonstrates in his novel Fahrenheit 451, is that those things which make us happy initially may eventually lead to our downfall. By examining Guy Montag, the protagonist in Fahrenheit 451, and the world he lives in we can gain valuable insights to direct us in our own pursuit of happiness. From Montag and other characters we will learn how physical, emotional, and spiritual happiness can drastically affect our lives. We must ask ourselves what our lives, words, and actions are worth. We should hope that our words are not meaningless, “as wind in dried grass” (Eliot).
Happiness is an inclination that everyone aims to fulfill yet only a few appear to be exposed to it. There is a constant developing issue within our reality which is despondency. It appears that people tend to experience depression and desolation rather than contentment in relation to their lifestyles. This derives from seeking happiness in the wrong things or formulating a sense of dissatisfaction by comparing one’s lifestyle to another. Happiness does not derive from an experience of joy and pleasure. In fact, two essentials in discovering genuine happiness are self-acceptance and solidarity. Throughout the Happy Movie directed by Roko Belic, there were various examples regarding the happiness and unhappiness of people in our society. The
What is Happiness? Well that’s a question that everyone asks to themselves. Happiness is not something that you can trade; it’s honestly what people find. They want happiness and want to know they will always be happy. But Happiness is like air and water it is a hard emotion to grab on to in one’s hand. How do you know you have happiness? Can you feel it? Does it just happen? These are questions everyone wants a answer to.
The studies given as examples and discussion focuses on teenagers and young adults, but includes anyone is struggling to find happiness. Evidence to Support Thesis: Point 1: The level of well-being is emphasized as more people continue to lose track of what makes them happy. Shawn Anchor is reminding people to capture the essence of simple contentment and asking his audience to think about what they value. Anchor’s book provides seven principles that involve having an open mind to becoming happier. Anchor includes other research studies as evidence to his claims throughout the book.
“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
Daisy Grewal, who holds a BA in psychology from UCLA and PhD in social psychology from Yale University, put an article on scientificamerican on February 18, 2014 —“A happy life may not be a meaningful life.” This essay points out that happiness and meaning do not always go together.
For example, for one person, happiness is a sense of satisfaction from success in a career, whereas for others, it may be a feeling of being loved by other people. Meanwhile, philosophers indicate that happiness has two senses. The first one is psychological sense related to a state of mind (Haybron). The other sense is “a value term, synonymous with well-being” (Haybron). First observation may be in our daily lives.
Happiness is a feeling that humans naturally desire. Without it, one feels incomplete. In this generation, happiness has taken on a definition by how we are presented to one another. It is measured by how much money we have, how famous we are, or the things we possess. When in reality, none of these things guarantee a happy life. Happiness is something that cannot be bought with money, but rather, it must be found, earned, sought after. Each and every one of us has our own list of things that we consider to make us happy. However, happiness shines brightest through the relationships we create, and the goals we make for ourselves to strive after. Along with these two essential sources, we then can mix and match those things in life that we enjoy to create our own unique formula for happiness.
Everybody wants to be happy. Parents want their children to have a happy childhood and a happy life, people wish newlyweds a happy married life, and when someone passes on, they say, “S/he had a happy life,” as if that is comforting to those who are already missing the person and who are very unhappy. Why is happiness so important to people? Perhaps it is because humans are competitive by nature and one person exaggerates his/her happiness so that others are envious. Maybe it is because humans like to be distracted by a story and if they can believe someone actually achieves perfect happiness, then they can hold out hope for themselves. What is happiness exactly? No one knows because everyone defines it differently. In general though, happiness is an overall feeling of pleasure and satisfaction. If that is the case, then happiness seems easy enough to achieve, but whether humans are actually capable of realizing they are in the state of happiness though is another issue.
Throughout my life, I have learned to see that happiness is not such an inaccessible dream. Although its notion varies from one person to another, happiness is often times only one inch away. Some people will experience happiness in the pursuit of it. Some will find it in sacrificing themselves for greater goals. Others will find it in people’s company, in lust or in drugs. There is no recipe for success or happiness, and it is only up to us to define what we want from life, and how we want to get it. The only certain thing is that it is never too late for anybody to achieve their dreams, to make peace with their feelings, and ultimately, to be happy.
But in this debate, one question still raises its head - What is happiness? Happiness is not actually leading a luxurious life, but the luxury of living a life. Happiness is not actually about expanding your business, but it lies in expanding the horizons of life. Happiness is not having a meal in the most famous restaurant, but having it with your most beloved family. It does not lie in attending honorable parties, but to attend a party with honor.
Success and happiness are typically seen as two ideas that are dependent on each other. People often believe that in order to be happy one must have a successful life. When reading about success, most of the time people stumble upon happiness bringing success. People have this typical idea of success being money, power, and a luxurious lifestyle with a promising future and a pinch of happiness. However, there will never be a universal explanation as to what success and happiness are because it’s different for every person. In order for someone to feel successful, one must learn how both happiness and success work together. People need to get over the idea of succeeding and achieving goals in order to be content and focus more on being happy with themselves.
Happiness, what is it, and why do we strive to achieve it so persistently? Happiness in some points of view is portrayed as the state that is derived from self-awareness of a benefiting action or moment taking place. What of the moments that are not beneficial? Can a person still find moments of happiness and success in discord, a little glimmer of light shining from the deep recesses of our own consciousness? Plucking it from a mere moment, achieved from money, or is it so much more, happiness is the precipice that all strive to gain to better perceive their success. As a person lives, they are in a constant struggle to be happy. For instance, even the United States Constitution makes reference to the idea that every person has the inalienable right to pursue happiness. This was the resulting outcome of the enlightenment from France, spilling out into the rest of the world from 1650 through 1800. This revolutionized the idea that every single person has the inalienable right to happiness or in different views the right to succeed. As to how one peruses or conjures their happiness that is an entirely different concept and completely up to their preferred preference, but it is something that a person needs to find on their own for true success.
I believe that happiness is the key to living a good and prosperous life. Through all of the sadness and hate in the world, happiness gives me hope. It gives not only me, but others hope and joy. Happiness gives us something to hold onto, therefore we cherish it as much as we can.