"Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be." -- Abraham Lincoln According to Cambridge's Online Dictionary, happiness is a state of mind or feeling characterized by contentment, satisfaction, pleasure, or joy. There are a number of attributes that correlate with happiness: relationships and social interaction, extroversion, marital status, employment, health, democratic freedom, optimism, religious involvement, income, and proximity to other happy people. Because the concept of happiness is complex and hard to measure, many people believe that happiness is mysterious, elusive, and totally out of their control. This is not true. Actually, happiness is a choice. Each person can decide whether to be happy or not. Wilhelm von Humboldt, a German philosopher, said, “I am...
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).
"Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be."『Abraham lincoln』
However, happiness also takes into account a wide range of other aspects of our lives, including our thoughts and actions, and even genetics. Therefore, happiness should be defined as the amalgamation of how we think and act, and how we interpret our experiences as positive or negative. What this means is that in order to become happier, we must simply force ourselves to become more optimistic. This is easier said than done, however. In order to have a noticeable increase in happiness, people must be willing to make lifestyle changes in addition to changing their mindset. However, the difference between optimism and delusion is a fine line, so people must be cautious to not exaggerate the positive parts of an experience or become overly optimistic. If we practice seeking out the positive views of our circumstances, with time we will find ourselves happier than
Ultimately being happy is not as great as it is talked up to be. Having too much happiness is not good. Being too happiness can cause us to miss the true value of happiness, only focus on ourselves, and it can cause us to be less alert to threats and dangerous situations around us. Being happy is a good thing but like all good things there are also some
Happiness is the positive emotion and contentment one feels naturally. Many Psychology studies have been concluded to display what pure happiness is. In the article, “In Pursuit of Unhappiness” by Darrin M. McMahon, he indicates that happiness cannot be forced. In the article, McMahon mentions a philosopher, John Stuart Mill, who acknowledges as well, that happiness can not be forced. He says that if one focuses on something other than their own happiness, happiness will come to them naturally. By what Mill says, people should be encouraged that happiness will come to them and can not force happiness to them. Another example is Jeffrey Kluger’s article, “The Happiness of Pursuit”, he talks about how people focus on never being happy. He says,
Happiness is scientifically proven to infact be a real and natural feeling produced by the body, but it is up to your brain to make you feel. When you are in a pleasing situation, your brain responds to the pleasing stimuli and releases endorphins that spread through your body making you feel good. We just call this feeling happiness. In America today we associate happiness with the bigger picture such as how successful you are or how many friends you have. In reality happiness is nothing
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.
In addition to anyone being happy, genuine happiness is vulnerable. “If happiness is similarly available to people of any age, sex, or race, and to those of most income levels, who is happiest?” (Myers and Diener 14), the capacity of peoples’ joy is undiminished. Self-esteem, personal control, optimism, and extraversion are four inner traits that classify happy people. People who are happy admire themselves and feel personal control, empowered rather than helpless about their lifestyle. They are also optimistic and tend to be more healthy, successful, and happier than pessimistic people. Also, people that are happy are extraverted and they are happy when they are surrounded by a lot of people and even when they are alone. They are not happy because of their status of wealth.
Happiness is a psychological term that is hard to define since it is particular to each individual. However, we can define it as a psychological sense of life satisfaction, pleasure, and positive emotional condition. For some people, it is difficult to achieve happiness. In contrast, other people can find happiness in the simplest things. However, remember that happiness is in our hands. Just keep seeking it and we will finally be
Happiness is an inner state of well-being and fulfilment, and therefore it has to come from inside. Every individual has his or her own emotions and way of thinking and as a result of this no one can really say what happiness is and what happiness is not. However, universally, happiness is a by-product of a healthy attitude and viewpoint. Happiness exists in everyone whether they choose to acknowledge and believe it or not. It is not rare nor is it something only the elite have: everyone has it but not everyone recognizes it. Contentment is finding a light at the end of every dark tunnel and in order to experience this we must ignore the pessimism surrounding us and remind ourselves that happiness is not a materialistic object but a choice and frame of mind.
What does it mean to be happy? Happiness is a sensation that people want to have, and a lot of it. Above all else in the world, it’s what we seek and long for. Though this feeling can be found in many different places and at many different times, it isn’t easy to acquire. For some people, happiness might be found in exercise and sustaining good health. On the other hand, others can discover it when they go on vacation and relax. The idea here is that we each have our own things that make us happy.
Happiness varies from age to age. The most innocent form of happiness is found in children. They become happy about playing outdoors and spending time with their family. Happiness seems to change as people gradually age. Teenagers are typically happy from spending time with friends and being involved with their school. Adults are happy from relaxing. They have been active their whole life, so now, they enjoy their free time. All in all, though, true happiness is the inability to stop smiling.
Happiness is a feeling that cannot be broken if strong enough, no matter how much sadness or hate is around you. Happiness can come from the smallest thing, for instance, music makes me happy and can easily change my mood, or when I am doing something I love my mood is easily changed. For others it could be whenever you do something well, or right and get recognition for it. It is the easiest feeling to be spread and given out but often neglected and forgotten about which is something we should all be more aware
Just about every important event in life is presented as a milestone on the road to happiness. Childhood is supposed to be a happy time where the child is protected and kept from fear and danger. Getting one’s driver’s license is seen as a step toward that child’s independence, his freedom, his happiness. Graduating from high school and going to college or entering the work force is another step toward independence, freedom, and happiness. Getting married is usually done because the person one chooses as a spouse makes them happy. Having children makes a person happy usually, hopefully. The career one chooses makes one happy hopefully, or at least it makes one flush with cash if not happy, perhaps rich is the next best thing. Looking forward to retiring after wor...
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.