Reflection About Happiness

Success is extremely coveted in the society, however on the path to success, obstacles will stand in the way. Failure is inevitable and the response of an individual towards these obstacles and the failures in their lives determines whether or not they will have success. Failure gives allowance to learn from mistakes and motivates to do better the next time. The Pursuit of Happyness uses lighting, music and camera angles to give viewers an insight into Chris’ journey through the film demonstrating his resiliency, optimism and loving personality. Filmmaker, Gabriele Muccino, uses the protagonist, Chris’ final triumph to illustrate the significance of failure in achieving success.

Based on Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi “Happiness Revisited” People have many different points of view about how to achieve happiness, it can be based on the type of life one is having, an experience, a way of living, culture, and religion. Happiness can be defined in many ways but happiness is not something we find or get just by magic. In “Happiness Revisited” by Csikszentmihalyi, the author emphasizes that “It is by being fully involved with every detail of our lives, whether good or bad, that we find happiness, not by trying to look for it directly.” And just as he stays that happiness is when someone is involved in everything that happens in live either good or bad, one example that I think Csikszentmihalyi will describe as an optimal experience

The story of the movie The Pursuit of Happyness directed by Gabriele Muccino portrays a family who struggles with finding enough money to pay taxes and afford living expenses. The movie takes a place in San Francisco during the 80s. The two main characters are the father Chris Gardner and his son Christopher, Will Smith and Jaden Smith respectively. Gardner tries to support his family. But every time he attempts to make things better, they always end up worse. Gardner in the story wonders on "how to be happy?" He earns his money by selling the bone density

He states "The surprising finding is that our relationships and how happy we are in our relationships has a powerful influence on our health. Tending to your body is important, but tending to your relationships is a form of self-care too. That, I think, is the revelation." The study also revealed that close relationships (more than money, or fame) are what keep people happy throughout their lives. Close relationships assist by offsetting mental, and physical decline. They are also better predictors of longevity, and overall health (better than societal class, IQ, or genes). This was found to be the results, across the board. Other studies also support this by showing that men's relationships in their 50's are a better predictor than cholesterol levels for a person's overall health. Stunningly, it also showed that marital satisfaction can have a protective effect on people's mental health. Those who had good standing marriages into their 80's reported that they had less change in their mood, secondary to them having physical pain. Those with unhappy marriages were more susceptible to more physical, and emotional

The sensation of happiness is something that has undeniably been argued about for many years by a wide range of philosophical individuals. Questions about the true meaning of being happy are very common, as there are many different viewpoints that have very different opinions on the matter. A well respected analytical philosopher, Richard Kraut, attempted to differentiate a few of these viewpoints, as well as his own standpoint in comparison with Aristotle, who had his own definition of happiness. Aristotle defined happiness in his Nicomachean Ethics as “eudaimon”, which has roughly been translated as “human flourishing”. The term does not directly mean happiness, rather, he implored that the term differentiates between the notion of feeling happy, and the act of leading a happy life. Aristotle argued that these happy feelings only pertain to one’s internal identity and are only experienced by that particular individual. Leading a happy life is also experienced internally, but it is subject to external criticism, thus giving meaning to a similar, yet different idea. One may argue that a person’s life is full of happiness and joy because they have experienced these emotions, while another, who may have witnessed a large portion of their life, might say they have not had a happy life, despite some of the happy instances had by the person.

Many individuals go through life looking to achieve a state of well-being called happiness. This state of well-being exceeds just an optimistic mood, it encompasses living a great life with deep satisfaction and meaning. In order to achieve happiness the main ingredient is a healthy relationship. A relationship is the state of two people being connected. Out of the many emotions that humans develop, love is the most profound. People seek love in relationships which leads to a cake full of happiness. When relationships fail so does happiness, whereas where relationships grow so does the positive happiness. Humans can be quite selfish, for they rely on others to feel happy. There is much evidence to suggest that relationships create happiness. Some of the evidence includes social connections, the quality of the close relationships, and lastly, good relationships protect the brain.

Happiness? What is it? Is it the feeling that I get when I laugh so hard I can't stop? Is it the feeling I get when I make a good grade on a test? Is it the feeling I get when I'm surrounded by people that I love? What is it?

Happiness has two definitions. One definition of happiness is the actual definition and the other definition is what happiness means to us as individuals. Are we in control of our happiness? A simple question with a complex answer. Some think the answer is as simple as black and white but in actuality it falls in a gray area. I personally believe that it solely falls upon the individual to control their happiness. For example when we as people tend to give others the chance to manipulate our moods. Now how does that happen? Simple, we give words meaning. Words can have weight , and when we decide to give those words meaning and weight it can affect our happiness. But that’s when you as the individual needs to be able to not let those words

Therefore, material things do not define happiness. In fact, a study of adult development that was conducted 75 years ago, says that the reason people are happy is because of the love, support, and the overall quality of the relationships they have with others, not money or material things. Robert Walkdinger, a psychoanalyst and the director of the study, says that founders of the study learned that “the quality of relationships we have with others, keep us happier and healthier.” Additionally, according to another study from Harvard University, “Stumbling on Happiness,” Dr. Daniel Gilbert, the social psychologist claims, “The best predictor of human happiness is human relationships and the amount of time that people spend with family and

It can be difficult to give a proper definition of happiness, because it can mean different things to different people. I believe happiness is a state of emotion where you feel pure joy from anything ranging from being with family to seeing breathtaking scenery. For me, the simple things bring me happiness; reading a good book, attending church, helping others in my community, they make me feel joyous.

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.

To gain happiness, people believe that they should have to change everything about themselves. Meanwhile, when they change themselves they would eventually go back to their old habits. It’s imperative that you’re happy with yourself and have determination to change for the better. The wrong determination to have is to try to fix everything that has gone wrong in their lives. You would need to plan how you’re going to change the way you live. Also, plan how to bring happiness into your life. Assuming changing my relationships with people, how I think of cognitively thinking about things around me, and change the way I see the world.

In the search of happiness, meaning makes an impact. When we experience happiness, we are placing meaning to that specific event. The association we make and link our happiness too has to have meaning. The reason person A enjoys long walks at the park and associates them with happiness is because it brings back happy childhood memories. Person B may not associate long walks at the park with happiness, but Sunday meals with the family with happiness. The reason different people have different meanings of happiness is because we can create and bring our own meaning to happiness. To know what brings meaning to your life is a crucial part of finding happiness. When someone can establish what brings meaning to their lives; they can stat to embrace those relationships more. Jeff Haden writer of the article, “Want to Be happier? Science Says Do These 11 Things Every Single Day,” says “staying in touch with friends and family is one of the top five regrets of the dying” (Jeff Haden, “Want to Be Happier Science Says Do These 11 Things Every Single Day”). The relationship we form with the people we love creates a happy experience; those who do not invest the time to spend to cultivate their relationships run the risk of missing out on happiness. In the search of meaningfulness, we have to let go of the meaning we put on the things we acquire like: money, clothes, house, cars. If we neglect our meaningful relationships in order to obtain riches and wealth, it will be at the expense of

When I was reading Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt, what he had to say about relationships really resonated with me. Whenever he spoke on relationships or interactions between people, my mind immediately turned to my high school choir. They were the most important people in my life throughout all of my high school career, and many of the concepts illustrated in Haidt’s book resonated with me deeply. Haidt’s statements particularly resounded with me when he spoke on the topics of divinity (in my case, divinity with God), companionate love, the importance of a present and tangible parent, and flow. Divinity and companionate love I felt when I had real and emotional experiences with them, the importance of a present parent was reinforced for me when I saw how much they depended on each other when their parents were divorced, and flow I felt whenever I sang with my choir. These experiences shaped me and turned me into the man I am today, and Haidt’s book certainly helped me explain and understand these experiences in a more profound way.

As I sit here pondering the question, can I be happy and know that I am, I find myself looking back at the moments in my life where I knew I was happy or that left a pleasant mark on my mind. I reflect on what Mark Kingwell wrote “… [comparing] happiness to a butterfly which, if pursued, always eludes your grasp, but which, if you sit quietly, may just land upon you” ( p. 531). I wonder if by sitting quietly, I would know when happiness arrives or if the quiet time is a time to reflect back on what made me happy. With my current work load, I have not had much time to sit quietly, which brings me to what Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi wrote about flow, in which he states, “when we are in flow, we are not happy, because to experience happiness we must focus on our inner states, and that would take away attention from the task at hand” ( p. 547). The rigors of my daily routine are a part of my flow, which takes time away from reflecting back on what has happened or what could. So when asked if I am happy in the middle of my daily routine or in the middle of a task, I expect that I would not know that I am happy according to Csikszentmihalyi. And as Kingwell claims, I will be perplexed or despondent when asked about happiness ( p. 531). The definition of happiness eludes us on the grounds that we are all diverse individuals and cannot agree on a singular definition that could encompass the whole ( p. 530).