Contentment in life

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Recommended: An essay about happiness

Over the last fifty years, life conditions have improved dramatically. Life span is longer. People are wealthier. Technology is better. The paradox of happiness is that even though the objective condiditons of our lives have improved radically, people actually haven't gotten happier.

There are thousands of different ideas of what it means to be happy. These theories range from anything from good deeds to self-acceptance to having enough money to purchase all the materials a person's heart desires.

It is believed that each person has a baseline happiness level, which greatly reflects how happy he or she is the majority of the time. Different things can sause a persons happiness level to fluctuate below and above their baseline happiness level, such as a breakup, seeing something that reminds them of a happier time in their life, or something as small as seeing a puppy. These things only falter your happiness level temporarily, and the you revert back to your baseline level. Baseline levels vary from person to person. The key is to figure out how to raise your baseline level...

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