The Effects Of Routine Activities On Happiness Essay

In her article “How Happy Are You and Why?,” Sonja Lyubomirsky argues that people have control over their own happiness. Lyubomirsky supports her claims with her interviews with happy people and scientific studies. Her purpose is to consider steps that people can take in order to become happier. She establishes an informal relationship with her audience of unhappy people.

Waldinger has access to real evidence and data on happiness and satisfaction over adult development. Waldinger states that in 1938 they began to track the lives of the lives of two completely different group of men. The first group were sophomores at Harvard College, the second group consisted of boys from Bostonś poorest neighborhoods and those from troubled families. Throughout the seventy five years of conducting this study, the clear message that kept reappearing was that strong and comforting relationships allow us to remain happier and healthier. By being involved with the study firsthand, Robert Waldinger gives his audience a reason to continue

Mahatma Gandhi one defined happiness as “when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” Barring any better definition of happiness from either positive psychologists, self-help gurus, or any other academic source, I tend to think this is a great summation of the definition of happiness. Gandhi doesn’t say anything about how these things make you feel, rather looks at it from a point of view of harmony between thoughts, expressions, and actions. Since one single accepted definition of happiness doesn’t seem to exist, and happiness is different for everyone, this begs the question; how can you increase your own personal level of happiness?

Happiness is one of the most significant dimensions of human experience. Many people can argue that happiness is a meaningful and desirable entity. Studies indicate that everyone pursues happiness in various aspects of their life. Our four fathers saw happiness as a need, so they made the pursuit of happiness as one of the three unalienable rights branded in the Declaration of Independence. There is a sense of complexity behind the meaning of happiness; its definition is not definite. Think of happiness as a rope; there are many thin fiber strands bonded together to become the strength of the rope. Like the analogy of the rope, there are numerous factors that can contribute to an individual’s overall happiness in life. This study is going to

Happiness: a Human Disease -- An Examination of the Allegorical Theme of Existentialism in the Happy Man

In an unofficial poll of students at State University, I found that of the fifty-eight students and one professor, males and females of several ethnic backgrounds and age groups, that I asked the question "What is happiness to you?", all of them had very different physical, intellectual, or emotional motivator for their happiness. Only the

The myth that old age is typically associated with decreased happiness is one that can perhaps be easily believed at first glance. Never having experienced old age, it is easy to think: “all of one’s friends must be either dead or dying; disease at old age must be rampant; one’s partner may have already passed; the only thing one is looking forward to must be death” so therefore old age must be a time of unhappiness. In addition, this “age-happiness” bias is reported even by older individuals when attempting to rate their happiness at 70 vs. 30 years old (Lacey et al. 2011). However, research in the field of psychology does not fully support the assertion that old age should be equated with unhappiness (Lacey et al., 2011). Quite the contrary, many studies point to the conclusion that aging can actually increase happiness (Lacey et al., 2011). However, it is important to explore other factors that may contribute to that being the case, such as one’s expectations when it comes to aging, cultural expectations.

Happiness usually is derived from feelings of independence, competence, self-esteem, or relating well to other people (Sheldon et al., 2001). One aspect of adulthood that still remains the same, despite generational changes, is the development and maintenance of relationships. Erik Erikson spoke of young adulthood as the “Intimacy-Versus-Isolation Stage.” During this period, the focus is on developing close, intimate relationships

My belief is that happiness in the latter stages of life, or successful ageing, is a multifaceted phenomenon that cannot be attributed to any one factor. Moreover, there are bound to be numerous elements that affect an individual's perceptions and beliefs about what constitutes happiness in late adulthood, including personality, biology, upbringing, and so on. Evidently, there exists an expansive body of knowledge that explores factors that determine happiness in the late adulthood developmental stage. Some of them include socioeconomic status, gender, siblings, brains development, attachment style during infancy, the historical period in which one lives (times of war, or economic downturns have been linked to reduced quality of life in old age), level of education, health, career, work values and healthcare access. All these factors can subsequently be categorized into nurture or nature related factors, biological, social, psychological, cognitive, and so on.

According to authors Kottler and Chen, domains for enhancing happiness are relationships, environment, physical state, productivity, recreation, and distressing emotions. In addition, strategies that are related to these enhancements of happiness are finding a romantic partner, securing reasonable physical and financial safety and comfort, periodically enjoying fine weather, living in a stimulating environment (based on one’s value), eating healthy, engaging in regular physical exercise, achieving success and approval at work that is interesting and challenging, working towards a coherent set of goals, making leisure activities a priority, diversifying one’s life with multiple interests, experimenting with new and exciting options, avoiding distressing situations when possible, focusing on the positive as much as one can and practicing compassion and empathy toward others.

Happiness means many things to me, such as being content with my situation no matter how difficult or simply enjoying life. I have struggled at times and been unsure what the future holds for me, but I always have to look at the positives in my life and make the best out of the situation. During this time of my life, choosing a college and trying to figure out how to pay for it is very stressful. Instead of letting this stress get to me, I realize how I need to enjoy my last year with my closest friends. No matter how overwhelming senior year gets for me, I understand that there is more to being a successful and happy person than just doing well in school. My happiness depends on my outlook on the world, which is usually positive, because I

There are many studies that explore what “happiness” is. To evaluate “happiness,” a measurement called “Oxford Happiness Inventory” was developed. And this article tests the internal consistency—or the reliability—of this measure, and was performed to undergraduate students across nations, including the U.K., U.S.A., Australia, and Canada. Moreover, the study assesses whether Eysenck’s definition of happiness is valid. The study provides how Eysenck defined happiness: happiness is “a thing called stable extraversion… (and since) the positive affect in happiness seemed to be related to easy sociability, with a natural, pleasant interaction with other people… it only make sense that happiness can be associated with extraversion (Francis, 168).”

The subject of this paper is the age-old question, “Does Money Buy Happiness”. On the surface, this question appears to be an easy one. Happiness however, is a subjective item. To better answer this, several points must be analyzed such as, “What is happiness?”, “How is it measured?” etc. To better streamline this process, a research question was developed:

It is human nature to want and desire certain things out of life. For the most part, people want the same things. No one is the same as anyone else but we all share the fact that we want to make our lives as good as we possibly can. There are many ways to achieve happiness and everything that is wanted out of life can make you happy. Whatever a person’s truest desire may be, if they obtain that desire they obtain happiness. All that is desired falls under “What will make you happy in life?” We long to be happy, but what gets us there?

Psychologists have not located assured causes that lead people to well-being. David G. Myers in his article “The Funds, Friends, and Faith of Happy People” published in the American Psychologist (2000) and Michael Wiederman in “Why It's So Hard to Be Happy” published in the Scientific American Mind (2007), discuss the reasons which lead people to be happy, and the factors which contribute to unhappiness.