Examples Of Life Liberty And The Pursuit Of Happiness

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Three examples of unalienable rights, given to us by our forefather in the Declaration Of Independence. However, is there a universal definition of happiness that we must all follow, or is it something that we must decipher for ourselves? Humans have a set notion that if things don’t pan out the way that they envision it, that they are stuck in this hole of unhappiness. Dan Gilbert and Carl Rogers try to put into perspective exactly what happiness is, and can be. Gilbert takes the stand that happiness is all in our minds. Yes, there is such thing as natural happiness but not everyone can obtain that state of happiness. Instead he believes that people have the ability to synthesize happiness and should …show more content…
He says, “Natural happiness is what we get when we get what we wanted, and synthetic happiness is what we make when we don 't get what we wanted. And in our society, we have a strong belief that synthetic happiness is of an inferior kind.” (Gilbert 2004). Although it is true that our society tends to look down upon synthetic happiness, I think there’s merit behind it. If a person has to force himself to be happy, then it really isn’t happiness. It’s contentedness. Accepting a current situation isn’t happiness. Understandingly, not everyone can reach a state of happiness and so synthesizing it would be appropriate. However, it should not be classified as happiness because they are simply accepting a situation that they are in and cannot change. I think that it is perfectly acceptable to synthesize “happiness”, only it shouldn’t be called happiness. There shouldn’t be a stigma about how people perceive and live their life but it shouldn’t be called something that should come naturally. A crude example is if someone got a boob job. Yes, they’re yours. Yes, they look real and feel real, but at the end of the day they’re sacks of silicone inserted into your body. There’s nothing wrong with getting one done, and others see them as real but at the end of the day, it’s …show more content…
He gives examples of politicians, prisoners and failed musicians. However, would his theory work for those diagnosed with various mental illness? People diagnosed with mental illness aren’t often looked at as people. Any person with a form of disability tend to get pushed aside by society but they are still people and deserve a shot at happiness. Depression, or any mental illness is an emotionally tasking illness, it drains you of energy, motivation and happiness. As a person diagnosed with depression, I don’t think that synthesizing happiness would work for most. As a matter of fact, I know it doesn’t work for me but I can’t speak for others who are in the same situation as I am. Before I even knew what synthesizing happiness was, I tried to force myself to be happy. I tried to convince myself that I could get through it and I wouldn’t have been dealt these cards if I couldn’t get through it. Unfortunately that didn’t work out for me. My brain was just deeply wired in its own negativity that no matter how hard I tried to convince myself I could be happy, it wouldn’t stick. Rogers theory can certainly be applied to the mentally ill because even if you aren’t in congruence, you take the steps to get there. A study was done to see what effects valuing happiness had on those who were deeply depressed, “valuing happiness was associated with increased depressive symptoms in a community sample with