Introduction

Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence. Aristotle

One of the main questions ever is what is happiness’.

Happiness intended as the search for well being and good life is probably the most enduring pursuit throughout the entire history of humanity. The answers, as obvious as they may seem, are not that simple and homogeneous and they have been extraordinarily diverse: some people have sought love and the joys of intimate relationships; others have pursued sensual pleasure. Some have worked toward the fulfilment of their potentials, while others have searched for the peace of mindfulness and spirituality. In spite of the importance of this search, the question of how to define and how to achieve these goals remains one of the most persistent questions even today. Whether we pursue a career, success, love, spirituality, and wealth or something else is because we believe that they will make us happy and increase our well-being and joy for life.

As I embarked on the endeavour of this paper, I kept discovering many fascinating things. One of the main things is that happiness is not just a knock of good fortune, something we acquire or find. It is an active and ongoing process of realization of one’s true nature and of fulfilling one’s virtues, which means living as one is inherently intended to live. Happiness is a state we are intended to create. One of the first steps toward creating happiness involves recognising that our yearning to increase happiness and live a happy life is not just wishful thinking. It is a vitally important goal that we all have the ability to achieve.

Let’s start looking into what happiness is, what its benefits are and how to achieve it.

What is happiness?

Happiness is the perfection of human nature. Since man is a rational animal, human happiness depends on the exercise of his reason. Aristotle

What makes it so difficult to answer is its subjectivity. Happiness means different things to different people and different fields as well.

To behaviourists, happiness is a mix of emotions we experience when we do something good. To neurologists, happiness is the experience of the flow of hormones released in the brain as a reward for behaviour. To believers of several religions, happiness indicates the presence of God.

So many thinkers in human history, from Plato, Aristotle, the Dalai Lama and many others, all have agreed with the idea that the purpose of our life is to find happiness. Happiness gives meaning to our life. People rate it as more important than any other desirable personal outcomes such as wealth, beauty or fame. The reason so many people devoted their life to it is that it is fundamental to our well-being yet is not easy to achieve. There is no straight and simple path to happiness. It requires a clear vision of what it is, commitment to take action and persistence.

If we were to try to explain it in simple words we might say that happiness is that elusive state of mind or a state of well-being that comprises living a good life with a sense of meaning, joy and deep contentment. This state of mind ought to be trained and felt. Happiness is like love or empathy, it cannot be pursued; it must ensue from our thoughts and actions. This is why it doesn’t have a universal, right and wrong definition; it is highly subjective.

In psychology the research falls into two traditions, hedonistic and eudaimonic. The first views happiness as the opposite of suffering and misery. The hedonist’s purpose of life is to find happiness (happiness as a destination). For the eudaimonic, the focus is on living life in a full and satisfying way (happiness as a journey). It defines happiness as the pursuit of becoming a better person and they do this by challenging themselves intellectually or by engaging in activities that make them spiritually richer people. Hedonists see happiness as derived externally while eudaimonic expresses the idea that happiness comes from within.

As Viktor Frankl put it

One must have a reason to be happy.

In fact, happiness is not the result of bouncing from one joy to the next in the search of pleasure trying to keep this state always high. This may generate an illusion of happiness but not a lasting one. The happiness I want to talk about is a stable and persistent one that remains, despite life’s ups and downs and fluctuations of mood.

Happiness comes from the constant, daily practice of positive thinking and doing. It may also include periods of considerable discomfort and distress but we accept it as a necessary part of our life journey.

You will notice that the devil doesn't strick unless he feed on your Happiness and takes it completely away from you. That's the only thing that gives him Joy and power over you.

As far as there's happiness in a man's life you'll notice that there's peace of mind rested in that same like but as soon as there's absence of happiness you'll notice fear.

Please don't let anything I mean anything, "The word Thing is re-presenting A NOUN".

You know, 'A noun is a name of any Person, Animal, place or thing, steal your Happiness/Joy.

Pls follow me in my next post as I open your eye to some vital point and reasons.

I hope have been able to open your eye to some vital point. Please🙏🏼 do well to Like, comment, and shear