General

The movie “Pursuit of Happyness” was a type of a movie that shows the love of a father that will face all struggles in life and do everything in order to be with his son because that is what makes him happy. But what makes a person really happy? How far will a person go in pursuit of personal happiness in life? Why are people unhappy despite having everything in life and sometimes there are some people who want to end their lives because of unhappiness? These are a few questions that you might think of especially when you feel sad and in the worst case, feeling depressed and anxious.

In psychology, happiness is defined as mental or emotional state of well-being, positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. In layman’s terms, we know it when we feel it, and we commonly use the term to describe a range of positive emotions. It is an affective state that can be individual or shared with others. People from all walks of life have their own distinct definition of happiness depending on how they perceive life.  For instance, a child may be happy with having simple toys while others feel happy of having gadgets, for some people personal happiness comes from having a lot of money, some people perceive happiness when having academic degrees and titles,   while some people think happiness can be acquired from simple things such as having a good family relationship or having a friend.  The definition varies from one person to another and it depends on what causes them to be happy.

In general, happiness affects the daily life of every individual.  It can affect your well-being, your health, your relationship with others and the people that surround you. It can make you have a comfortable life. There are different sources of happiness.  Success can be a source of happiness. Successful businessman, career and /or profession may lead to happiness. If you are successful in your chosen endeavour, you are going to be happy. This is for the reason that you feel accomplished. Being successful could also mean having a good relationship with others, being a good provider to the family, a good example to your peers and to the community as a whole.

Having sufficient and healthy food to eat may cause happiness. If you eat enough, you will feel healthy thus mentally active.  Being physically and mentally healthy will lead to happiness. It can help handle stress in life or reduce it if it cannot be totally avoided. Stressors in life are the fundamental causes of being unhappy. If a person cannot think properly, it may result in sadness in life.

Lastly, the cause of happiness is the power of optimism. Having optimistic mindset is to believe that things will work out.  The confidence that things will work out can lead to happiness. It is the faith on what we hope for that makes us happy.

To summarize, happiness is very fundamental in people’s lives. It can make our life meaningful. It can be sustained by having simple things to perceiving stress in life as challenges rather than threats. Life is too short. Love as long as you live. At the end of the day, happiness is a choice.