One of
the most important questions philosophers of all times have asked to themselves
is about the sense of life. Many people believe that the core sense of life is
to be happy (i.e. to find the source of happiness for yourself and create the
atmosphere of happiness around you). Happiness is a very complex concept.
Everyone feels it individually and therefore defines it in his or her own way.
In fact, men and women see happiness variously due to the difference in their
nature. This deserves a deeper look into it…
Quite often happiness is identified with wealth. John
Ralston Saul, a Canadian political philosopher gave a simple explanation on
that.[1]
"The Enlightenment theory of happiness was an expression of public good or
the public welfare, of the contentment of the people," Mr. Saul said. And,
he added, this could not be further from "the 20th-century idea that you
should smile because you're at Disneyland."
It's pretty
hard to tell what does bring happiness.
Poverty and wealth have both failed.
~Frank McKinney "Kin" Hubbard[2]
~Frank McKinney "Kin" Hubbard[2]
Nowadays, the materialistic approach to life and its values
has proven to fail. As happiness can not be measured in material things, the
consumerismphenomenon of 20th century illustrates evidently that the
raise of buying power did not consequently increase the satisfaction in
people’s life. Wealthy people might be as unhappy with their lives, as the ones
with low income. And therefore it is important to understand what actually makes
us happy.
Often people
attempt to live their lives backwards; they try to have more things, or more
money, in order to do more of what they want, so they will be happier. The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then do
what you need to do, in order to have what you want.
~Margaret Young
~Margaret Young
As said above, happiness is defined by everyone of us
individually. I personally would agree with opinion shared on www.scholaradvisor.com[3],
where the author of the article states that “…having progress in life, a
feeling of forward motion, can make people feel happy.” He then also says that
apart from setting goals in life and accomplishing them, which gives people the
feeling of purpose, they should also have positive attitude.
If you want to
be happy, be.
~Leo Tolstoy
~Leo Tolstoy
It is rather interesting to learn about some of the
differences between the way men and women feel happy. Beth S, M.D. says in her
article[4]
that there is a difference indeed. “Actually, men's feelings are literally in a
different place in their bodies. Women feel happy right in the middle of their
chest, like a vibration of happiness. A man, when he feels happy, it's his
upper chest and shoulders and neck that fill with energy. If you're watching
him, he will literally puff up. He'll look bigger. If he has a moment of
ecstasy and is really happy, it flows out through the chest and into his arms
and hands, and that's where you get high-fives, or jumping up to hit a
cross-beam.” The difference is not only physiological, of course.
Cristen Conger[5]refers
to “The 2003 Pew Global Attitudes Project that surveyed 38,000 men and women
across 44 countries that lends insight into the disparities between male and
female happiness. Overall, women scored themselves as more satisfied with their
lives than men. Moreover, women from certain countries, including Pakistan,
Japan and Argentina, appeared significantly happier. The differences between
what affects men and women's levels of happiness explains this slight gender gap.
Women, for instance, tend to focus on personal and domestic problems, while men
concern themselves more with matters outside of the home.”
Happiness is
always a by-product. It is probably a
matter of temperament, and for anything I know it may be glandular. But it is not something that can be demanded
from life, and if you are not happy you had better stop worrying about it and
see what treasures you can pluck from your own brand of unhappiness.
~Robertson Davies
~Robertson Davies
“This variation in values”, Cristen Conger continues
-“is also reflected in how the recent recession has affected people's
happiness. According to a Nielson Happiness Survey conducted in 51 countries,
men's happiness hasn't weathered the economic storm well since they attach more
importance to financial success than women. On the other hand, the women
surveyed indicated they appreciated quality relationships above all.”
As a summary to all of us,all those women who might
feel unhappy with their lives or gave in on finding
happiness in everyday routine: dream – setgoals –strive for reaching your aim –
do what you enjoy doing in your life – stay positive regardless anything. And
probably the last tip…
The best vitamin
to be a happy person is B1.
~Author Unknown
~Author Unknown
P.S. Make up your mind on being happy. If you want it,
be certain you deserve it and so you will have it.
Happiness is a form of courage.
~Holbrook Jackson
~Holbrook Jackson
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