Definition Essay On Happiness

785 Words2 Pages

Happiness, a complicated nine letter word. Many have sought to narrow down the definition of happiness, but have found it a difficult task to do. As I started researching the word happiness I found that happiness lies in the eye of the beholder; everyone has their own definition. Influencing the human body mentally, emotionally, and physically happiness has strong attributes; not just on ones’ feelings but on their overall well-being. Lazy fall days, colorful leaves, cooler weather, birds singing, frogs croaking, crickets chirping, relaxing to the sounds of nature. Waves of water crashing, fishing, telling stories around a campfire, making s’mores, cookouts, and time spent making memories with my family and friends; this is how I define the …show more content…

To them happiness is concentered a continuous act of a good life. A life without suffering, full of pleasure, prosperity, things of material wealth. However, there has to be more to happiness than this. Happiness has to come from within, it cannot be bought. Everyone seeks happiness. It is not measurable, profitable, nor is it something that is tradable; so, happiness cannot possible be bought. The old cliché “Money cannot buy happiness” is a true fact that many people say all the time. A man with all the riches of the world cannot buy happiness. However, a poor man, without a cent to his name can obtain happiness if he wants, because happiness comes from within. Aristotle, an ancient Greek Philosopher and scientist proposed the idea of Eudaimonic Happiness nearly two and a half years ago. His idea was essentially that to obtain happiness one must practice being engaged in the process of happiness. Aristotle is known for the statement “Happiness, it’s living in a way that fulfills our purpose” …show more content…

One of those studies results showed a change in the human body’s genome system. In 2007 a professor of psychology and behavioral neuroscience at the University of Chicago John Cacioppo, and professor of medicine at the University of California, Dr. Steve Cole, along with many others, collaborated together and identified a link between loneliness and how genes express themselves. The results were astonishing; it appears that the brain is wired to equate loneliness with danger. Making the human body go into a defensive state, causing the body to have inflammation promoting the growth of cancer cells and the development of plaque in the arteries of the heart, disabling brain cells which causes neurodegenerative disease. After administering several studies Dr. Cole, declared that the lack of eudaimonic happiness was as fatal to human health as smoking or obesity. While attending Dr. Coles conference about his new discovery on loneliness; Dr. Barbara Fredrickson, a noted positive psychologist from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill had an idea. She wondered if loneliness could have such a detrimental effect on the human body, what could positive experiences such as happiness have on the human body. So, after the conference Dr. Fredrickson sent Dr. Cole an email asking him if he would be interested in collaborating with her on a new

Open Document