The Gift Of Happiness

As human beings we are very diverse. We vary from numerous backgrounds, ethnicities, morals, and cultures. However, as much as we are unique, we all share one common goal in life. Everyone has a desire for happiness. I found that throughout my daily life I based my decision off of what would make me happy, whether it was for a long or short period of time. Often happiness is associated with successfulness and achievement. Though, like the saying, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”, happiness can be found in different ways by different people. This along with reading The Driest Season by Meghan Kenny, is what influenced me to want to find out more about happiness, if it is truly attainable, and how people achieve it.

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 is a fickle concept and is something every person on this planet seeks out for self-fulfillment. Happiness also gives our lives a sense of perfection. Everyone is in the pursuit of happiness, but not all will find it with guarantee. Happiness can occur at any point in someone’s life, depending on the circumstance or what the individual desires greatly. However, happiness does not come and should not arise from materialistic values. James Hamblin uses the rhetorical devices of ethos, pathos, and logos to promote this theory of how happiness is achieved in “Buy Experiences, Not Things” to show the reader that there is more to life than materialistic values.

Don Peck and Ross Douthat convey through their editorial, “Does Money Buy Happiness?,” that one’s level of content to a degree is contingent upon their ability to act as a consumer in society. Peck and Douthat base their assumption on research which shows, “For individual countries, with few exceptions, self-reported happiness has increased as incomes have risen” (332, par.4) Based on this statistic, it is being assumed that one’s ability to support their lifestyle and perhaps better it creates a sense of security that leads to happiness.

Is it impossible to capture happiness? Modern society would have everyone believe that the more things one acquires, the happier they will be. Taking a critical look at the messages that surround us, it becomes clear that this is nothing more than slick marketing and clever propaganda. Many people believe that it is the materialistic things that make us happy in life but is that really the case? Happiness can not be obtained by the things we have. Many people spend their whole lives chasing happiness and never reach it because they are chasing the wrong this to make them happy. This paper will examine what true happiness really is.

If you were to ask the average person if they believed whether or not money can buy one’s happiness, many would likely say no; but if you were to take a closer look at how they choose to spend their money, their purchases would say otherwise. Their purchases would likely say that money can instead buy you many things that make you happy, or at least temporarily. Our society condones the American dream to follow one’s desires because anyone who obtains any level of power, pleasure, and wealth is likely to also achieve a satisfying and successful life. “In a capitalist economy and a culture of consumerism and materialism, are we not bombarded with messages promising happiness through wealth and possessions? Aren’t we every day indoctrinated by advertisements promising bliss through the clothes we wear, the cell phones we buy, and even the beer we drink?”

Psychological Effects of Materialism and Work on Happiness by Matt Brundage talks about how happiness for many is the elusive butterfly. However the phrase Wealth does not ensure happiness is deptively simple but is unfortunately not heeded by many in our society. What makes one happy is hard to define because it is transient and differs from person to person. Unhappiness unfortunately generates a need for material possessions and more wealth. For this reason, unhappiness and materialism reinforce each other; materialism breeds unhappiness and vice versa. However Business and the consumerism mindset have helped to shift the source of true happiness from intangible entities such as relationships, faith, and security to material goods. Furthermore,

One may say that money can buy happiness through great inventions and endless greeds. Dropping a ton of cash on something extravagant doesn’t give it the special feeling after a while due to the fact that they’re so used to having it around and that it becomes just another object. A better use of money that generally creates more happiness is “spending their money on experiences [rather] than on stuff” (Gillespie). Spending it on a new phone or TV leads to activities that are done more lonesome such as watching videos or playing solitary games. Buying moments or “experiences that make you happier before they even happen” are more valuable than mere possessions (Gillespie). In fact, the day before the event of going out or for a vacation is the happiest for many rather than the actual event itself.

Ultimately happiness is something everyone wants to maintain, however some ways are only temporary or don't work at all. For example, people who treasure materialistic things such as clothes, cars and money will only be happy with it for a fleeting time. Materialism has become a substantial problem in society and is one of the reasons people struggle to be constantly happy. This is because people have been taught that success is measured in the amount of money you have and the worth and collection of the things you own. We live

Some of the direct effects materialism has on americans in our society is that earth’s resources are unable to meet the demands of all inhabitants ( An Exploration of Materialism and Consumption-Related Effect by Marsha L. Richins, Kim K. R. McKeage, and Debbie Najjar). So this forms the question we all want to know as consumers, does having more materialistic items make us more happy and improve our well-being? The answer is yes, the sole purpose of one’s possession is to bring them happiness and give them something to enjoy. The importance of knowing that you’re financially stable and are able to obtain pricey items give people a sense of comfort and confidence. This means that we expect our items to give us more positive emotion (An Exploration of Materialism and Consumption-Related Effect by Marsha L. Richins, Kim K. R. McKeage, and Debbie Najjar). However these people can also be seen as greedy and living for things without purpose. Thus meaning the overall negative side of being a materialist is that, those who solely base their happiness by the products they have achieved and are given are more likely to be dissatisfied or unhappy

In today’s materialistic world, the phrase that ‘money can’t buy happiness’ is tending to be proved hence otherwise. Social research and surveys have shown results based on an individuals income, health and the political scenario which is dominant in his or her region. It is quite obvious that the gap between the privileged and the not so is growing into a great divide giving rise to different class and status, thus defining ones social circle. It should therefore be understood how an individuals economic status affects their personal happiness throughout all aspects of life. Many tend to refer to this age-old quote especially when they tend to belong to sector of people who can’t afford the modern day luxuries of life. What they do not

This is a frequently asked question; "How to make life fabulous with happiness ?" Plenty of philosophers and social anthropologists have been seeking to answer it but they still can not suggest an obvious solution because various factors affect happiness and these are interacting with each other, thus, these points are not analyzed easily. However, even though analyzing happiness is complicated, it is studied by many groups in order to propose a measure of happiness for evaluating human life. Humanity is able to live with happiness if the factors are recognized. From the past, wealth is usually regarded as the main key for happiness. Money is the fundamental factor in order to sustain life because most countries practice capitalism. Although governments operate welfare systems such as public insurance and pensions, it is not enough to enrich human life with happiness. This is why a number of people desire to live in rich countries instead of poor countries. Actually, residing in a wealthy country does not guarantee citizens ' happiness. Nowadays, a new questionable point has risen about associative relations between wealth and happiness; it is about how six factors affect happiness in life. Money, together with social support are two major aspects, followed by four other factors that determine happiness. In this essay, the six causes of happiness are

For the foreseeable future, it appears that the days of living off the land for survival are over. Society is now driven by money because with it people can buy just about anything and without it they likely won’t have the means to get by. A side effect of this is that now people are striving to make sure there is plenty of money available to them rather than a bounty of essential and more fulfilling needs. The quality of life in many countries has become high, but for the sake of conciseness America’s quality of life has become especially notable. For example, advertisements flood the highways and television with things that people can buy to make life “more comfortable.” This increase in quality of life over the last couple of centuries has made survival a near given and has set forth a time where having disposable income is common. How people use disposable income can say a lot about how they view happiness to be fulfilled. Most income earners today have some amount of disposable income but the ways in which it gets spent differs widely due to the overwhelming amount of possible ways to spend that the highway billboards and television present. Some spenders will use disposable income sparingly and with care by saving it to ensure future needs are met and to best benefit themselves and their friends or family’s happiness, whereas many will spend it frivolously and feverishly in an act to find happiness; but happiness is instead often found in the more wise use of careful

Whoever said money can’t buy happiness? Today, the argument can be made that happiness and consumerism are directly linked. It is fair to say that happiness is a relative term for different people. However, the obtaining of new and shiny things has become such a part of everyday life, that it provides happiness when people are purchasing something new, and causes sadness when no buying is taking place. For many, it seems to be a protective coating against the harsh realities of everyday stresses from a job, or family 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