Happiness

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University information

‘Happiness’ for a long time has been a subject of discussion on what it means and how it should be use. Daniel Kahneman defines happiness as an experience at a given time in a given place (Carder 2019). This concurs with dictionary definitions and refers to a feeling of emotions like joy and amusement. Another point of view is by Ruut Veenhoven, 2017 which looks at the overall quality of life of an individual and their satisfaction with that life. According to him, happiness is a comprehensive appreciation of a person’s life. Other definitions have been derived from considerations of factors such as the subject well-being that measures the emotions, moods and feelings of an individual at a given time.

There are various ways people try to find happiness, experiences such as coming across sudden positive events and having others pour their praises on you. Considering Maslow’s hierarchy of needs on the pyramid, it is revealed that as one gets to the top of the pyramid, the feeling of self-actualization and satisfaction brings about happiness. These are moments of love, rapture, and understanding and of peak experiences that makes an individual to feel alive, autonomy and as a part of the world (Csikszentmihalyi and Lebuda, 2017). Another source of happiness to individuals is having the freedom of choice. When an individual has freedom to choose what they like, their domestic necessities well provided to their satisfaction, the level of happiness is likely to be high (Rahman and Veenhoven, 2018). Other factors like the economic and cultural that have effects on people’s choices are also influencers of happiness. Some countries have limitations on religious choices thus affect the happiness of some of their citizens.

Some people also believe that happiness is best enjoyed when it is achieved rather than when it was sweat for. The feeling of self-interrogation, imagining and scrutiny are really considered on aspects of happiness. Some people believe that the happiest individuals are those who look to be happy without a specific reason for them being happy except for the fact that they are just happy. Personally I am happy. I can confidently say this because looking at my entire life, I have my basic needs provided from food, shelter, clothing to quality education, quality health care and accessibility to these facilities. My family is also another big reason behind my happiness. The love and care provided is just amazing. In addition to my family, my friends also play a big role in making me happy, this is so because most of my achievements have come as a result of the help and support granted by my family and friends added on to the different teams’ or parties involved. For example, my academic performance is all because of the support from teachers, family and friends in and out class.

Despite being happy already, I intend to be happier by passing my final examinations and making my family, school and friends proud. I also want to have a well-paying job, own a good house and compound of my own and also have a beautiful family. At this time, my parents will be in their old age and will need us for provisions, it will be my source of joy seeing them happy and well taken care of as they live the last years of their lives with everything they need well availed. With this done, I will be satisfied with my achievements and my old age will be full of laughter and joy.

ReferencesCarder, B. (2019). The happiness effect. Quality Progress, 1, 25-30.

Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Lebuda, I. (2017). A window into the bright side of psychology: Interview with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Europe’s Journal of Psychology, 13(4), 810.Rahman, A. A., & Veenhoven, R. (2018). Freedom and happiness in nations: A research synthesis. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 13(2), 435-456.Veenhoven, R. (2017). Measures of happiness: Which to choose?. In Metrics of subjective well-being: Limits and improvements (pp. 65-84). Springer, Cham.