What is Happiness

It is difficult to define the word ‘happiness’ as people have different views on it. Happiness cannot be measured and may be related to different aspects of life. It is evident that happiness is something all people want to have. Happiness is often associated with life satisfaction, moments of pleasure, and appreciation of life. Very often, people are happy but they do not realize it. They are just feeling good and do not think about the sense of happiness. For me happiness is a multifaceted word as it unites health, family, and ability to live a life.

Happiness relates to how people feel, but it is not the same as a passing mood. People are emotional beings and tend to experience a wide range of feelings on a daily basis. However, negative emotions help to get away from danger, make us strong, and enhance the ability to defend. At the same time, positive emotions help people to connect with others and to cope when things go wrong. In other words, happiness is about the ability to make the most of the good times and cope with hardships. Some researchers claim that happiness has three parts, namely pleasure, engagement, and meaning. Pleasure presupposes feeling good, while engagement is living a good life. At the same time, meaning is the use of our strengths to make purposeful contributions.

I am really happy that I am healthy. Health is really essential and it substantially contributes to my happiness and the happiness of my family. It is a great pleasure to see that the people you love have no health-related problems and can enjoy the life with you. Also, I am happy that I get up every morning. I have realized it after a minor accident. That moment has changed my consciousness and the perception of the surrounding world. I am happy when I sit at home and do nothing. When I am with my family, we can sit several hours long telling stories, jokes, and laughing until tears are running down our faces. Actually, there are a lot of things which make me feel good. I like to go out, to do sports, to visit my friends, to go shopping, and others. But these activities rather make me feel pleasure.

Money does not make people happy. It only makes their life easier. People do not have to worry about lots of things and can cover distances to meet their friends and family members. Money can change a lot in our life, but it cannot solve problems and make people happy. I would never say that money should be equated with happiness. Of course, success and money make me feel well. However, I find that these factors should not belong to happiness. Money is material good and it may disappear in one moment. When people say that money is what makes them happy, they just do not realize the value of moral things. Only the loss of money or a close person can help such people realize the real values of life.

Some people find that handicapped people are unhappy as they cannot live the life of a usual person. However, they are more happy they healthy people as they appreciate the ability to live and admire the world. They are happy when they meet others, see a rainbow after a downpour, have children, met their family, and others. A lot of things, which seem to be common ones for healthy peoples, make them happy. There are people who are always grumbling about life, endless problems, weather, mishaps, and others. They see only the dark sides and it prevents them from being happy. At the same time, there are people who have almost nothing in life as they are poor, have no permanent jobs, and no own apartment, but they feel happy as they are healthy, have a family and are able to get up in the morning and begin a new day. I appreciate them and I believe that happiness is to live a life, to enjoy every day of life and to receive with thanks and smile everything that life offers.

Happiness can be easily found in work, family, nature, relationships, and others. However, it is essential to recognize it. Once people understand their vision of happiness, they can focus on their life and changes needed to become happy. Frankly speaking, my understanding and realization of happiness has changed since I have become a student. I have moved from my family and cannot visit my relatives as often as I want. I have realized that a family, a loving and supportive one, is of great value. Also, I do my best to make my family happy. Every short moment spent in a family circle make me and other family members happy. Happiness presupposes simple things in life. Things like a supportive family, healthy, and ability to see the world around us. People are happy in different ways. My idea of happiness is not having money and other material gains, but rather moral values.

Thus, defining happiness may seem as elusive as achieving it. People want to be happy, and they can say whether they are happy, but it is really difficult to define it. Happiness is essential for our survival as it encourage us to act, broadens our attention, helps to success, expands our thinking, improved our relationships, and others. Happiness is something that lives inside people. However, not all people have the ability to feel it. People can neither buy happiness, nor sell it as money does not help. But people can grow this feeling. I am a happy person as I am healthy, have a nice family, and enjoy every moment of life. Hardships and failures do not make me unhappy. I do my best to grow my feeling of happiness as I realize the immense value of the family, health, and life.