We all have had our “Cinderella” and “Prince Charming” moment, the moment when we find our soulmate or “the one” so to speak. This fairy-tale concept of “living happily ever after” were embedded in our minds since childhood as a goal that we need to. The irony behind this idea; however, is it was mainly based on finding our “true love”. So, to be happy, is love all a person needs? If you ask three different people what happiness mean to them, you would surely get three different responses; but do any of those responses correctly define the meaning of happiness? The word “happiness” is vaguely defined as “a state of well-being and contentment” but the paths to achieve this state of fulfillment are unclear itself. Happiness, however, does not …show more content…
In our modern society, happiness is being sold in forms of pills, vacation, and a number of luxurious material items; helping people find their path to happiness became a highly paid profession. Many psychologists apply this concept of “happiness” in their own term to their work in order to define this concept in their own perspective and to narrow the path to achieve the state of completion known as happiness. However, these thinkers seems to differ on their exploration to achieve happiness, they all seem to agree that we must create our own happiness and having a purpose in life or something to look forward to play a major role in how we experience happiness. Finding inner peace and having the feeling of contentment can be the first step to achieve happiness. For The Dalai Lama in The Art of Happiness, he believes that “The purpose of our existence is to seek happiness” and “by bringing about certain inner discipline, we can undergo a …show more content…
According to Abraham Maslow, an American psychologist, “our actions are motivated in order achieve certain needs.” He believes that, we have an inborn desire to be self-actualized, to be all they can be. In order to achieve this ultimate goal, a number of more basic needs must be met first such as the need for food, safety, love, and self-esteem. He also developed the “hierarchy of needs”, which is a theory of psychological health that highlight the needs mentioned in priority, culminating in self-actualization (Maslow). These needs plays a major role on the path to happiness because fulfilling these needs would lead to fulfilled life; however, it seems like Maslow’s theory would lead you to a cycle of wanting and greed. According Viktor Frankl, a Jewish psychiatrist and neurologist in Vienna that is a Nazi concentration camp survivor, in There’s More to Life Than Being Happy, written by Emily Smith, he argues in his book, Man’s Search for Meaning, that “happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue. One must have a reason to ‘be happy’” (Smith). This idea contradicts with Maslow’s theory of the “hierarchy of needs.” Frankl’s idea highlights that materialistic needs alone cannot provide complete satisfaction to one’s life because it is merely an ongoing
It is a common thought that happiness is key to a successful life, and many try to find out how to achieve the
Happiness has always been a desirable goal throughout our lives, but each actions we take might just affect the happiness of others. When humans seek happiness, we always seek for things that make us feel alive, or things that brings us the greatest comfort. Our contentment comes with the act of selfishness since we choose to prioritize our happiness above all other. We willingly classify happiness in two different types of meaning, both physical and mental happiness. People ought not be in title to happiness because it is classified in general as a physical desire by many people. Contentment is always known to be a physical satisfaction in life instead of a self-inducing satisfaction for life.
Happiness is a feeling that everyone tries to accomplish, yet some people sometimes only capture portions of it. In Brian Doyle essay, “Irreconcilable Dissonance,” he explains that divorce is becoming common among many couples today. Most couples are putting less effort into making a relationship/marriage work. There are many couples who get married, and most of them know that if the marriage does not work that divorce is always an option. With divorce in their back of their mind they lack the true meaning of having a happy marriage. In Eduardo Porter essay, “What Is Happiness,” Porter states that happiness is determined by people’s qualities in their life. People who experience a positive viewpoint on life and about others are overall to
Abraham Maslow was an American psychologist who introduced the concept of the motivational needs in his paper “A Theory of Human Motivation” written in 1943. He explains that humans have certain needs that need to be fulfilled and when they are not met is what gives he or she the motivation toward achieving that goal. His work was popularized by a representation of the motives using a pyramid. The pyramid displays the needs in chronological order until one becomes self-actualized. Maslow states that a person will finally reach self-actualization when, “A basically satisfied person no longer has the needs for esteem, love, safety, etc” (1433-1434). The lower levels of the pyramid are more easily accomplished as compared to the higher levels that are more challenging. In order to graduate from one level to another, the lower levels must be satisfied first or else one cannot progress further according to Maslow.
Everyone chases after happiness. Everyone’s goal of life is being happy. Each of them chooses a variety of measures, such as earning money, to be happy. However, there are many people that are not happy. People always endeavor after happiness, but they never reach it. For what reason are they not able to fulfill their standards of happiness? What effort should they put into their lives to meet them? This essay will explain why people fail to be happy and what people are supposed to do in order to gain happiness.
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.
Abraham Maslow produced an idea dealing with needs. In his theory, needs are prioritized. The lower needs must be fulfilled before moving to the next need. The lowest need is survival. Every human is programed with this need. According to Maslow, our second need is security. We like our life and we want to make sure to keep it. Signs of affection and love fall in place as the third need. The fourth need is esteem. Everyone desire to be reminded of how wonderful they are. The fifth need is driven by the thirst to obtain knowledge, we have a brain upstairs and when it is not put to use it can lead to detrimental acts. Aesthetics, the need for a beautiful self-image and environment, is the sixth need. The last need may be the hardest to obtain,
What defines happiness? In the words of positive psychologists Stephen Schueller and Acacia Parks, “happiness is characterized by positive subjective appraisals and feelings.” Martin Seligman, father of positive psychology, kickstarted an initiative that aimed to “increase global well-being.” Positive psychology alludes to the evolution of human flourishing, by using methods that enable individuals to thrive. It also concerns “self help” as a way to aide scientists and therapists in the study of psychology and happiness. People of all cultures have been continuously striving to reach such a state of contentment by utilizing techniques termed by positive psychology. Research has been done by numerous psychologists in order to unravel the truth; does it really make us happier, or is happiness biological and dependent on our environment - and thus mostly out of our control? These two antonymous viewpoints have led to multiple discoveries concerning whether or not positive psychology truly makes us happier.
In 1954 an American psychologist Abraham Maslow proposed that all people are motivated to fulfill a hierarchical pyramid of needs. At the bottom of Maslow's pyramid are needs essential to survival, such as the needs for food, water, and sleep. The need for safety follows these physiological needs. According to Maslow, higher-level needs become important to us only after our more basic needs are satisfied. These higher needs include the need for love and 'belongingness', the need for esteem, and the need for self-actualization (In Maslow's theory, a state in which people realize their greatest potential) (All information by means of Encarta Online Encyclopedia).
Happiness. A sensation that is not of any materialistic value, but above all else in the world, it is a common asset that society continuously pursues to achieve. But how does one know if they possess true happiness? Is it just a feeling? And if someone does not feel happy, how can they go about achieving that feeling? These questions can be answered through analysis of two writings: the essay The Four Secrets to Making Our Own Happiness by Jane McGonigal and the song Better Than by The John Butler Trio. These literary pieces approach a common idea as how to achieve perpetual contentment with one’s life. With intentions to allow their audiences to evaluate his or her own life view of happiness, both pieces persuade their audiences through different
The Promise of Happiness by Sara Ahmed is a cultural assessment and exposition of the one of the most ask questions of life and most asked and written abstract concept of “What is happiness?” Sara Ahmed by no means is trying to tell us how to be happy or how to define happiness. Rather, as she states in the introduction of her book is “What does happiness do?” Ahmed, like the great Aristotle, both surmise that we need to align our actions, our cultivations of virtue and we need to align them all; as well as align ourselves with the good. The social directive of happiness constantly encompasses our life.
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.
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.
Everyone has their own opinion of what happiness truly is. Now that happiness has been defined, you can begin to clearly understand and ask the question of what makes someone happy. When doing a survey on happiness I asked the question of, what or whom is that one special thing, event, person, or experience that makes you happy when you think about it? The responses that I received where simply mainly centered on family relationships. While the remainder was focused on adventures and food.
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.