Happiness and Relationships

Sonja Lyubomirsky, well known author and psychologists once said, “Happiness is not out there for us to find. The reason that it’s not out there is that it’s inside us.” The reason I believe she said this is because so many people are out there looking for happiness in a place they won’t find it because little do they know, happiness lies within in them. This means that your own level of happiness depends solely on who you are. But what is happiness? According to Lyubomirsky, happiness is, “the experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that one’s life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile.” One may wonder though, just how is happiness determined? Lyubomirsky conducted a study to

There are different factors that affect happiness and it is rooted from the country you were born in. “We are shaped not only by our current geography, but by our ancestral one as well" (Weiner 112). Most countries have different culture that contributes to people 's happiness. People who live in America will not be as happy as the one who lived in Moldova. In Eric Weiner 's, book The Geography of Bliss. He was searching for data on happiness. He conducts a study on how people in different countries understand and measure their happiness. The biggest factors that affect people 's happiness are the environment and cultural differences. Where you live is a big factor of who you are. People find happiness when they feel comfortable and

Unsatisfied with their partners results in divorce rates and infidelity. These have increased over the years, blemishing the institution of marriage. People may believe that compromises and self sacrifice in a marriage make it a failed institute but the same reasons make a marriage successful. A married man has a constant in his life- his partner. The security and companionship in the relationship helps him achieve happiness. The same sharing is now a pleasure, a way to prevent loneliness (Argyle; 1999). Marriage is known to cause greater satisfaction, greater self esteem and less distress. Evidence shows that married men and women are happier.

There are many perspectives on what makes you truly happy. Some think that being alone in solitude brings true happiness, while others believe it is communicating with nature and then there are those who believe it is flirting with danger that brings true happiness. I personally believe that having good relationships is what makes a person truly happy.

A heathy relationship foster, genuine love, that's evident by openness, trust and the freedom to give oneself to another' Happiness is not a simple thing. I believe in order to achieve healthy happiness, it beings with a grateful mindset. According to psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsk, "Happiness, more than anything, is a state of mind, a way of perceiving and approaching ourselves and the world in which we reside. (Pursuing Happiness 185). I believe the right mental attitude, plays a major roll, in healthy happiness. On the other hand, a mind that harbor's anger, bitterness and hurt reduces that chance, these emotions foster unhealthy happiness and the possibility of a unhealthy life. Lyumboirsky notes you can manage your state of mind (185). There are many contrast levels of happiness. In this essay we will compare healthy vs unhealthy. While relationships in general are important for ultimate currency, romantic relationships reign supreme (Happier 111).

On the one hand, the concept that people have in mind about happiness is really important in order to achieve what they want in life. This moves them to do new things and to be creative. Also the way of thinking and the reaction to each situation that confronts. The results are good or bad according to the decision that they took in the moment to face the situation, and also, they make people happy or unhappy.

To begin with, in most of the circumstances marriage and family takes an enormous role of happiness in human’s life. Moreover,

Happiness is an internal feeling of the pleasure and joyful that comes from a thing that the person loves. All people want to feel happy and many of them seek for things that make them happy. However, there are two different opinions about how happiness comes. Many people find that it is choice that people can choose. On the other hand, some people think that happiness is a thing which people cannot control. Therefore, it is argued that because the contentment, the thoughts and the actions are things that the person can control and can bring to him the happiness.

Humans are wired to pursue happiness, proven both by science and psychology, but ironically, it is through this pursuit, that humans become unhappy, both in real life, and in literature. Happiness can be seen as an emotional or mental state, in which you can be seen as positive or overall content of a raging joy. Since birth, our culture and society pushes us to become ordinary individuals—a part of the giant melting pot. Individuals pursue happiness by attempting to be ordinary and by blindly adhering to the societal methods of happiness, because they fail to recognize their true happiness which leads to future regret and unhappiness.

The Science of Happiness is the study of emotions and their cause. Though it mainly studies happiness, other feelings are researched too. Over thousands of years, this topic has evolved and grown, helping us to learn how emotions and feelings affect daily life all over the world. The Science of Happiness is the advanced research on happiness and its causes, effects, and purpose in human life.

Everyone everywhere has happiness as an emotion, some people are truly happy and others are living in a fake world they’ve made themselves to satisfy their need for the feeling of belonging and thriving. People have their own definition of happiness and it is always changing because everyone has their own idea, from the happiness of bringing a new life into the world or getting an A on a test we all have our own idea and experience and age help make a new idea for others to define happiness. Happiness is a goal that most everyone has whether it is good or bad, he all want to survive but happiness is thriving through life and it’s many challenges.

Weiner is continuing his research, by staying with a journalist friend from New York; her name is Susan. She invites him to meet with a couple of Swiss people to interview their views on happiness. A wealthy banker, a doctor, and a former Hollywood agent who’s lived in Switzerland for the past ten years. Weiner asks them on a scale of 1-10; “how happy are you these days?”, and the responses are as expected, many eights and nines and even a seven. The Swiss interviewees were as shocked as Weiner to see that they were pretty happy with their lives. During the interview with them, he further asks, “what is it that makes them happy?” , the doctor replies, “ Envy.”, explaining that the Swiss will do anything to avoid envy with each other. They live by rules and judgment. Examples: no flushing the toilet after ten or no laughing after midnight, etc.

Happiness as a phenomenon is a subject that has attracted attention from researchers in psychology. It is baffling how happiness is an intrinsic desire all wish to attain. There are many theories throughout time about how to achieve it and debates about whether it is even an ongoing process or a place. Many famous figures from ancient Greeks, Plato, and contemporary philosophers, Robert Nozick, have queried the meaning of it. Thus, there is no one set definition for happiness. Amongst the many concepts of happiness, is the one by Ed Diener and Shigehiro Oishi in their article, The Nonobvious Social Psychology of Happiness. They examine happiness in a non-conventional and psycho-social viewpoint. To them, there are three main factors that contribute to happiness; close social relationships, the ratio of negative events over positive events in relationships and culture and well-being (Diener & Oishi, 2004). Another minor finding discussed is the hedonic treadmill of adaptation which essentially the theory that life stresses and pleasures only provides temporary sadness or happiness. In other words, the effect it has neutralizes with time and adaptation to it occurs.

So, what is happiness? The research suggests that happiness is a combination of how satisfied you are with your life. For example, finding meaning in your work and how good you feel on a day to day basis. Both of these are relatively stable. Life changes and our mood changes, but our general happiness is more genetically determined than anything else. The good news is that with consistent effort, this can be offset. Think of it like you think about weight: if you eat how you want to

Suffice to say happiness is a reaction, so basically one becomes happy after they have done or received something. There is the odd occasion of a person who is happy for no reason. Like morality though, the person’s personality, upbringing, and thinking all have an effect on what will make them happy. A simple example of this: Bob and Mary and brought up in two different homes, environments, with different family values. Now as teenagers Mary finds it a drag to look for and have a job, where as Bob gets satisfaction out of working because it is apart of his upbringing.