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What is Happiness?
It is a simple question, yet it has a lot of different answers to it, depending on who answering it. Happiness seems like something that you can find in common, yet not few are struggling to experience the true feeling of it. Ever wondered why as a kid, happiness came to us even in the most ordinary and simplest way, but as we grew up, many of us will do anything just to feel the pure happiness again. So what exactly is happiness, and why is it important?
Definition of Happiness
There's no doubt that a lot of people, including myself, have a misunderstanding on the real meaning of happiness. We often mistook happy moments as the true happiness, when in reality, these joyful experiences are just pleasure, something that can be felt only during the moment. Furthermore, if we experience happy moments all the time, our brain eventually will adapt to it and turn it into a routine. As a result, we'll want more, so that we'll feel good again. From the look of it, it seems like we're chasing for pleasure, and that's not a sign of happiness.
In the end, what is happiness?
In short, happiness is when you feel content with your life - when your life fulfills your needs. If you feel satisfied with what you have in your life, and accept it the way it is, now that IS the true sign of happiness. Basically, happiness is a combination of how satisfied you're with life, how good you feel on daily basis, and how engaged you're with family and friends (because as a social being, relationship is important to us humans). And as I've mentioned earlier, too much focus on trying to be happy can actually make you feel less happy - so just allow yourself to enjoy your life.
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It is a simple question, yet it has a lot of different answers to it, depending on who answering it. Happiness seems like something that you can find in common, yet not few are struggling to experience the true feeling of it. Ever wondered why as a kid, happiness came to us even in the most ordinary and simplest way, but as we grew up, many of us will do anything just to feel the pure happiness again. So what exactly is happiness, and why is it important?
Definition of Happiness
There's no doubt that a lot of people, including myself, have a misunderstanding on the real meaning of happiness. We often mistook happy moments as the true happiness, when in reality, these joyful experiences are just pleasure, something that can be felt only during the moment. Furthermore, if we experience happy moments all the time, our brain eventually will adapt to it and turn it into a routine. As a result, we'll want more, so that we'll feel good again. From the look of it, it seems like we're chasing for pleasure, and that's not a sign of happiness.
Ø Happiness ≠ Being happy all the time
Another thing that people
often mistake is that, a sign of happiness is when you’re feeling happy all the
time. Contrary to popular belief, trying to feel happy all the time can actually
mean you’re not psychologically healthy – after all, what goes up must come down,
it cannot stay up forever.
“Even a happy life
cannot be without measure of darkness, and the word ‘happy’ would lose its
meaning if it were not balanced with sadness” – Carl Jung
Furthermore, a happy
feeling is just temporary. Therefore, if you’re trying to feel happy all the
time, wouldn’t it be even harder to maintain it, as it is the opposite of our
nature as a human, who has other feelings beside happy? Focusing too much on
trying to be happy may actually reduce your happiness as well.
Ø Happiness ≠ Having a lot of Money
How many times have we
ever thought to ourselves, “Ah it would be better if I had a lot of money”? We
often think that rich people would have a level of happiness higher than us,
the common people. Well, that’s another misunderstanding. ‘Money doesn’t buy
happiness.’ I believe a lot of people have heard this phrase countless times.
While it is true that being in poverty certainly makes it hard to be happy, having
a lot of money doesn’t guarantee us with happiness either.
“Money has never made
man happy, nor will it, there’s nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The
more of it one has, the more one wants.” – Benjamin Franklin
When it comes to improving
day-to-day happiness, money generates diminishing return. In some cases, it
even makes the happiness level decreases as the incomes rise. There are many
proofs to this, with the nearest example being the celebrities. We always envy
celebrities’ luxurious and fun life, with them being able to buy and do
anything they want, yet at the same time they’re not feeling happy with their
life, despite having a huge amount of money. Thus, this shows that even with a
lot of money doesn’t mean that you can avoid feeling empty from the inside.
Ø Happiness ≠ Destination, (Happiness = Journey)
We often treat happiness
as if it’s a destination. We keep looking at the future, and forget that we’re
living in the present. Most life events that we look forward to (because we
believe that it will bring us happiness), will fade over time as we adapt to
it. So again, we’ve mistaken happiness as the final destination, when in
reality, happiness can be found throughout the journey.
“Happiness is not a station
you arrive at, but a manner of traveling” – Margaret Lee Runbeck
In the end, we may reach our
destination, but we might miss the journey that got us there. Therefore, we
need to enjoy the journey as much as the destination, as the saying goes, ‘cherish
the moment.’ We need to keep reminding ourselves to live in the present, while
trying to move forward.
In the end, what is happiness?
In short, happiness is when you feel content with your life - when your life fulfills your needs. If you feel satisfied with what you have in your life, and accept it the way it is, now that IS the true sign of happiness. Basically, happiness is a combination of how satisfied you're with life, how good you feel on daily basis, and how engaged you're with family and friends (because as a social being, relationship is important to us humans). And as I've mentioned earlier, too much focus on trying to be happy can actually make you feel less happy - so just allow yourself to enjoy your life.
Sources:
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