What is happiness? What makes people happy? These are seemingly simple question. Some people think it’s easy to be happy, and some have a difficult time just being okay. Some people think happiness comes in the form of money, success, and material goods. These people believe that once you have succeeded financially and live a comfortable lifestyle then that’s true happiness, but some people don’t agree to this. The people that don’t fall into the materialistic view of happiness fall into more abstract concepts. These people believe what makes you happy lies in family, friends, experiences, art, music, and many other things that are tangible and(or) non-tangible. Then there are people that believe what makes you happy lies in yourself, that
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In the dictionary happiness is defined as a, “ Mental or emotional state of well being defined by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy.” About forty percent of happiness is controlled by your thoughts and actions, ten percent is determined by your current circumstances, and about fifty percent is genetically determined, meaning some people are just happier than others. These statistics vary from person to person but in general it is a pretty accurate ratio on how happiness is distributed throughout one person. Many people believe that happiness is made up of your current situations and circumstances, but in actuality we get used to our circumstances over time. Circumstances only play a small role in your overall levels of happiness. The biggest part, and also the biggest challenge, of the science of happiness is defining happiness and identifying the different concepts of happiness, and when being able to, splitting these concepts into their …show more content…
Income or Attitude” written by Madhu S. Mohanty at California State University, Los Angeles, puts the two biggest theories of happiness against each other, income and attitude. Many people in today’s society link money and financial assets with a person’s overall happiness. They believe as long as you are financially stable and have all the money you will ever want, then you will ultimately be happy. On the other side of the spectrum we have the people that believe that happiness is rooted in your attitude. This idea is generally formed from people that have positive self-esteem, have an optimistic and outgoing disposition, and believe they are in control of ones life. Regardless of their financial situation they believe happiness can only be found in one’s self, and no amount of money or big house can give you true happiness. The study gives examples of many theories of happiness one being, “…in addition to income, good health, supportive marriage, good social relationship, freedom, democracy, lack of tragedy, and so forth also contribute significantly to an individual’s level of personal happiness”(Mohanty 82) as well as another stating, “Current stud[ies] claims that it is the positive attitude of the individual that determines his or her happiness more than any other factor, objective or subjective ” (Mohanty 82). The article favors the later statement of happiness being determined by ones attitude. Mohanty
In the dictionary happiness is defined as a, “ Mental or emotional state of well being defined by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy.” About forty percent of happiness is controlled by your thoughts and actions, ten percent is determined by your current circumstances, and about fifty percent is genetically determined, meaning some people are just happier than others. These statistics vary from person to person but in general it is a pretty accurate ratio on how happiness is distributed throughout one person. Many people believe that happiness is made up of your current situations and circumstances, but in actuality we get used to our circumstances over time. Circumstances only play a small role in your overall levels of happiness. The biggest part, and also the biggest challenge, of the science of happiness is defining happiness and identifying the different concepts of happiness, and when being able to, splitting these concepts into their …show more content…
Income or Attitude” written by Madhu S. Mohanty at California State University, Los Angeles, puts the two biggest theories of happiness against each other, income and attitude. Many people in today’s society link money and financial assets with a person’s overall happiness. They believe as long as you are financially stable and have all the money you will ever want, then you will ultimately be happy. On the other side of the spectrum we have the people that believe that happiness is rooted in your attitude. This idea is generally formed from people that have positive self-esteem, have an optimistic and outgoing disposition, and believe they are in control of ones life. Regardless of their financial situation they believe happiness can only be found in one’s self, and no amount of money or big house can give you true happiness. The study gives examples of many theories of happiness one being, “…in addition to income, good health, supportive marriage, good social relationship, freedom, democracy, lack of tragedy, and so forth also contribute significantly to an individual’s level of personal happiness”(Mohanty 82) as well as another stating, “Current stud[ies] claims that it is the positive attitude of the individual that determines his or her happiness more than any other factor, objective or subjective ” (Mohanty 82). The article favors the later statement of happiness being determined by ones attitude. Mohanty