Happiness Is Not What I Thought It Was

Lazy fall days, colorful leaves, cooler weather, birds singing, frogs croaking, crickets chirping, relaxing to the sounds of the outdoors. Waves of water crashing upon each other, fishing, telling stories around a campfire, making s’mores, memories with family and friends; this is what happiness is to me. Happiness is in the eye of the beholder, what brings happiness to one person may not bring happiness to another person. When I think of the word happiness, I think of descriptive words like Contentment, enjoyment, satisfaction, delightfulness, something that makes a person smile. I have always looked at the word happiness as a feeling, an action, never have I thought of happiness as an overall affect. However, it is a proven fact, that happiness can affect the over-all health and longevity of human life. Happy people live longer than those that are lonely, stressed, or depressed.

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

Students prefer to attend school out-of-state may be doing so for the reason of atmosphere. The college of ones dreams may not be in the state they currently reside, it could be in a state that's three thousand miles away. Experiencing “new foods, different geography, and perhaps a climate change” may be exactly what the student wants to experience when gathering an education (Baron). Another thing a student wants to engage in when attending college is independence. Independence may be a very important quality when choosing a school. Being responsible for things such as “schedules, making and keeping appointments, shopping, healthy eating, laundry, and budgeting” can give students higher confidence levels which will increase the college experience. The temptation of driving home with one's laundry basket to make one's mom do their laundry will decrease as the miles from home increase, forcing students to become more confident and independent. The out-of-state experience for a college student may be the best part of attending college. The college three thousand miles away can be more “alluring, to be able to spread their wings, especially if their college of choice holds the lure of prestige” causing the out-of-state college to be desirable to any student looking to attend a university of any kind

A sense of humility came over me as I searched to find my way. It was difficult to make new friendships overnight. In this time I learned to branch out and find the right people to build relationships with. Sometimes it was hard to find the right people. I had optimism that the year would go great, and I overcame the doubts in my mind. The treatment I received from my classmates was humbling. Their appreciation made me feel comfortable in my new surroundings. Looking back to my first day at Larned makes me realize how great it was. I learned valuable lessons about myself and how to become a better person because of

People usually hear the word goal and they immediately consider their pursuit of happiness. Often, this goal has been in pursuit of a relationship, wealth, or great notoriety that they want; then they will be content. Although many may argue that pursuing happiness as a goal does not have detrimental effects, psychologists, previous wars, along with immigration all illustrate that pursuing happiness has more inimical consequences than advantageous.

Happiness is often confused with acceptance, which means some people accept their lives and protect themselves with a false sense of happiness , instead of striving for the life that brings them the most joy Many people in their lives have a false sense of happiness, instead of seeking out for what they want in their life they try to be content with themselves. For example Brave New World is all about a false sense of happiness and how everyone should always be happy and content, in the book they all take soma to escape their feelings and their life, “ she

Essentially, seeking happiness is necessary in life. We often hope to find happiness from other people, other things around us and forget that we can create it by ourselves. The novel “The happiness project” by Gretchen Rubin is sufficient evidence. The author states, “I am happy – but I’m not as happy as I should be.”(13) Then she started a project within a year to change her life and seek for a happier life. By making a list of things she has to do in the next twelve months, the author have done many things which affects her “Vitality” (1), her “Marriage” (38), her “Leisure” (112), her “Friendship” (141),etc. positively so that she can achieve her goal, which is a life full filed of happiness as she dreamed before. We can also do that. We know that if everyone of us set a goal and live purposely, we are all happy. However, we can be happier if we know how to change ourselves on the right way. We can make ourselves happy by doing simple things in our everyday life.

Everyone thought that our leaders were infallible, but they were wrong. Our civilization was at its zenith, and all the citizens were filled with euphoric thoughts about what the future held for us, happiness was ubiquitous nearly everyone was happy except for the ones who were different. The different ones were never seen on the surface because they were kept in cages to work for the government as their drones. No ones knows about this only the government and the few who find out and are estranged by society for their views. Over time, the civilization started to regress. There was happiness, but nothing was being done and technological advance halted and the people became more and more uneducated and ignorant because most didn't go to school

Imagine the senior year of high school when students are poised to enter college and become adults. It's a time of responsibility, of being on one's own, and of shaping lives by making daily decisions. One of the major decisions is where to attend college. Should a person stay close to home and attend an in-state school where people and even campuses are somewhat familiar? Or should the decision be to start a completely new chapter in one's life by attending a college farther away, with totally new challenges? I believe the answer is definitely to leave town.

The everlasting question of "What is Happiness?" has been inquired since the creation of men. Unfortunately, the only agreed answer that humanity came up with is that all the creatures seek happiness, but no one has the concrete directions for achieving it. Our libraries are overwhelmed with books about happiness, but no dictionary definition explains which path men must take to be happy. No mathematician gave us the axiom which we could use to solve the problem of living in bliss. No scientist brought up the formula of fusing certain ingredients to produce the "drink of happiness". Still almost all the people consider that their ultimate purport in

To begin the article the author Jennifer Senior gives a score out front on her test taking from the Authentic Happiness Inventory. The test designed by Chris Peterson to test ones level of happiness. She took the test at the Positive Psychology Center in the University of Pennsylvania. In a scale of 1 to 5, the author got a grade of 2.88 which she said was below average for her level. The score she received was below average for most components such as “age, education level, gender and occupation” (422). She also stated that her mark for her zip code was at fifty percent. She explained that according to psychologists, her happiness was probably caused by her job than any other

Happiness… It could be said that there is no one in this whole wide world who does not want to be happy. We live every single day in hope to find happiness, which also known as pursuit of happiness. We strive to bring happiness in our life. Nonetheless, along the journey to find happiness, some people stumble and find themselves unhappy instead. One might question why, but actually we all have different value and understanding to describe happiness. Therefore, we have our own unique approach to pursue happiness and there is no telling to the exact cause of our wrongs and errors in the process. What might have been the cause, which most people hardly notice, is their perception of happiness. There are three most common misconception of happiness that lead to unhappy life.

When you hear the word happiness, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Do you think of material possessions like designer clothes and accessories, the newest iPhone with the highest possible storage capacity, or a shiny red supercar? Do you think the amount of money you have or your current financial status has an effect on how happy you are? Plenty of college students, myself included, would associate happiness with possessing items like these or just having a lot of money in general. In today’s society, one common belief about social class is that the richer and more money or things that one has, the happier this will make them. This belief is reinforced by countless advertisements we see and hear everywhere, whether that be on

Hearing so many good things and bad things about college I didn’t know what to expect and look forward to. That change my junior year knowing different college come every year I didn’t really pay it any mind what college I wanted to go to until ODU, Virginia State University and Virginia Teach came. It was Virginia State first year of visiting out school and I knew I wanted to go there I start getting e excited for college that were talking about their experience at college and what to look for when we graduated if we decided to go to college. Eager to start a new chapter college sound like it could be a little nerve wrecking but I thought I could handle it.

I’ve lived in three different states and attended six schools over the past eight years. Relocating from Texas to Michigan, and later Michigan to Georgia were big adjustments for me. I missed my friends and close relatives. However, I knew I had to make the best of my circumstances. Through these experiences, I began to learn to be more flexible, become more open-minded to different traditions, and be adventurous in different parts of the country-I played volleyball, joined a dance team, and even went skiing! At school, I also focused on excelling in my classes and challenge myself like I did when adjusting to a new town.