Comparing The Pursuit Of Happiness And Very Happy People

A Harvard study conducted across 100 countries found that whether rich or poor, people who give to charity are happier. Perceived happiness increases, even more, when we see the impact of our gift has on someone.

“Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself,” says essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson. I believe this quote means that contagious happiness spreads through everyone, including yourself. For example, whenever I watch movies with my family, not only do I receive the benefit of watching a new movie, but I also spend time with my family. For one of my friend’s birthday, we volunteered at the Oregon Food Bank, and I have never experienced volunteering at a food bank before knowing I shared my time to care for the other people in my community. If someone volunteers to do special deeds for their community, such as asking a friend or a neighbor if they need help with their groceries, or even volunteering

Happiness, an elusive eight letter word with a mighty punch! Many have sought to define happiness, but found it a difficult task to do. While reading an article published in the New Yorker by Will Sorr on July 07, 2017 titled “A Better Kind of Happiness”, I was informed that happiness is more than just a word, happiness is essential to the well-being of human health. Dating back nearly two and half million years ago an ancient Greek Philosopher and scientist, Aristotle, proposed the idea of eudaemonic happiness. He stated that “happiness was not merely a feeling, or a golden promise, but a

Happiness is an essential goal for most people. From books and expensive classes that teach people how to achieve happiness to the fundamental right of “the pursuit of happiness” in the Declaration of Independence, the importance of happiness is evident in society. This causes the rise to two fundamental questions: “How does one attain happiness?” and “,How does happiness create a meaningful life?” Both happiness and living a meaningful life are achieved simultaneously. The search for happiness and the factors that make it brings meaning to life. Happiness can stem from several factors such as wisdom and knowledge, savoring life and its experiences, and even suffering and pain. Analyzing these factors brings meaning to one’s life.

A person’s happiness can have an impact on others. People can get agitated because a group or individual is at peace or sons and daughter can be happy as a result of witnessing their parents being content. Delightment is capable of encouraging expansion of one’s knowledge. For instance, if one realizes their potential in achieving greatness in a certain subject, the satisfaction could lead to desiring to draw in more knowledge, knowing the greatness that individual can achieve. Someone who is depressed doesn’t have the motivation to achieve something positive. There are people that misinterpret or have a negative pleasure and peace of mind. That’s the incredible potential happiness

People travel through life with what seems like a single goal: to be happy. This may seem like a selfish way to live, however this lone objective is the motivation behind nearly all actions. Even seemingly selfless deeds make people feel better about themselves. That warm feeling experienced while doing charitable acts can be described as happiness. But what is authentic happiness? There is an endless possibility of answers to this question, and man seems to be always searching for the solution. Although one may reach his or her goals, there is always still something one strives for in order to be happy. In the book Stumbling on Happiness, Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert takes the reader through

In the article, Determinants of Happiness in Undergraduate University Students, it says, “Researchers such as Cummins et al. (2009) go as far as to suggest that individuals are happier when whole society’s functions better” (Flynn and MacLeod 452). This shows that without happiness, people could not work well together. It is why so many people work together, and keeping the economy well. In the article Determinants of Happiness in Undergraduate University Students, it says, “It is well known in the positive psychology literature that increased happiness is related to multiple benefits including better mental and physical health, (see Lyubomirsky et al. 2005)” (Flynn and MacLeod 452). This is why people that are happier have a better life in their jobs and schools. It also shows that people have better eating habits if they are happy. In the article Determinants of Happiness in Undergraduate University Students, it says that, “The individual benefits can pale in comparison to the potential societal gains of having a population comprised of such happy and therefore “successful” individuals” (Flynn and MacLeod 453). This is why people who like their job are better at their job. People that are fortunate are ones who usually like their job. People are happier if what they are doing is what they like, and it helps them to be happier than they

The most universal goal every human has in common is the pursuit of happiness or “creation or construction of happiness” (Achor, 78). To be able to fulfill this wish of becoming happy, people often think the key to achieving happiness is success. In the book, The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor, he debunks this theory of success leading to happiness by illustrating the reverse theory of success. Through dozens of studies and experiments as forms of evidence, the author argues that an individual needs to achieve happiness in order to be truly successful. Achor 's argument is valid in that happiness should come before success because there is a clear advantage to being successful in an individual’s work life, personal sphere, and liveliness if they are happy first and foremost.

However, studies have proved something less easily inferred. Chiefly, that practicing generosity and love in our day to day lives, especially towards strangers has, also, the capacity to increase our happiness.

Though I agree that altruism is an important characteristic of a happy person, I also believe that being slightly egoistic is vital to our happiness. According to the textbook, happiness is found in our own state, how we perceive the world, and our actions towards our self and others. However, if we only focus on our treatment of others, and aiding others in achieving their happiness, do our feelings of joy and satisfaction get tossed aside? I agree that caring for others is critical for our happiness, humans still need to apply some effort into our own desires for happiness. It is because our devotion to other people happiness, does not confirm that others will help us in our pursuit for happiness (Paquette

As briefly mentioned by Dalai Lama the happiness is not something we have to seek outside

Furthermore, in the article, “Doing Good Does you Good” the author includes the statement, “helping others can have a positive effect on your own mental health and wellbeing. For example, it can reduce stress as well as improve mood, self-esteem and happiness.”

As human beings, we all have the capability of experiencing emotions and feelings. People can experience happiness,

We began this course with the question “What is happiness? and Can we all achieve authentic Happiness? In our life we are taught many things, but we are not taught how to achieve our own happiness. Over the last five weeks we truly learned what happiness is and I believe we all can achieve authentic happiness in our life. In Authentic Happiness, Martin Seligman uses happiness and well being as the terms to describe the goals of Positive Psychology. The desired outcome of Positive Psychology is happiness and well being. We learned from this course how to embrace both our positive feelings and activities to achieve authentic Happiness.

Credibility establishment: In an article entitled “Happiness for a lifetime” published in the 2010 issue of the Greater Good Magazine, psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky discusses a key insight from her research conducted with colleagues Ken Sheldon and Dave Schkade. 1. 50% of happiness is in our genes (a relatively small %), 40% in behavior and daily activities, and 10% on lifestyle. 2. In one of the studies, they asked one group of students to do all five of their acts of kindness in one single day (they felt one single day and a small act would be more powerful), did succeed in making them happier, when the acts were small and conducted that day, it was more powerful to be more concentrated “Why might kindness have these kinds of effects on our happiness? I believe that when you are kind and generous to others, you start to see yourself as a generous person, so it’s good for your self-perception. Plus, it helps you see yourself as interconnected to others, it makes you interpret other people’s behavior more charitably, and it relieves distress over other people’s misfortune—all things that are good for happiness.