Happiness and the Value of Achievement, Essay Example

Talking about happiness involves such a large scope of topics depending on how one understands and defines the said word. Considerably, through the years, it has been realized that happiness is more than just an emotion; it is a state of mind that compels a person to react accordingly to matters around him with a more positive outlook in life. To note, there are also different matters that make people happy depending on what type of situations specifically make them contented about life. Nevertheless, it could not be denied that real happiness does not come from solely possessing material things but on realizing the real meaning of true life through achievements and successes that one gains from facing particular challenges in life.

Happiness neither has a language nor a fixed tenure or time. It is dynamic in nature. The more experience an individual has to deal with challenging tasks, the happier the person is in his or her life. The glittering ratio shared between challenges and skills brings in a real feeling of happiness. (Csikszentmihalyi 321).A personal experience of mine was in mid tests, when studied with full devotion and concentration to attain high grade. This was with a set goal that if good grades are attained, higher studies can be opted for. After achieving the set objective, the happiness was limitless. This was the theory of Professor Seligman wherein he emphasized that in order to lead a good life, key strengths of an individual should be used on a regular basis so as to have ultimate happiness. My core strength is being a good learner, applying skills of innovation and creativity in my work periodically can help me a lot. If the same challenge comes over again and again, then the boredom rules over hampering the growth and discovery. Relatively, the connecting ties between happiness and contentment are strong enough to define the capacity of a person to feel satisfied with what he has, where he is and who he is living along with. Some might consider health as an element that makes them happy, others might consider money while others may be more abstract. There are also some people who can make themselves happy just because of undertaking something what they like and want to challenge, or they have been staying a positive attitude when they have setbacks and difficulties; they still feel happy. Therefore, both of conditions and positive thinking can cause and make happiness; however, when picking a way to feel joy, different people will choose different methods, which one can be satisfied by them. Professor Martin Seligman emphasized on the concept of authentic happiness embarking that what is being desired if attained lead to the new psychological concept ‘authentic happiness’. This concept can be better related with three different terminologies – optimistic nature, flow towards achievement and finally the real meaning of element happiness (Seligman 369). First a positive nature will give various emotions like pleasure, comfort etc. Second element engagement or flow has close relation to concentration on the task at hand which drives towards the third element meaning. Lastly, the realization of the happiness is the main key point. Regarding this, I have experienced that making others happy also leads to inner happiness of own self. This is one source of happiness that is beyond compare, something that cannot be bought by money or any particular material possessions.

Basing from the new concept of understanding what makes people relatively happy, the different studies in psychology show how much contentment does affect the being and the behavior of a person towards happiness. The definition that they take into account specifically affects how they understand their position in actually gaining happiness from what they do and their current status in life. Human behavior and individual thinking patterns specifically affect such matter in a way that humans tend to identify themselves alongside with the other elements that surround them. With commerce ruling the world today, and marketing leading the control, it could not be denied that for a couple of individuals, experiencing happiness accounts for their capacity to accept what the market offers.  According to Brooks, gadgets, travel options, accessories, clothes, using these elements as a particular point of invitation to many individuals in the market, marketing has gained much power over the capacity of individuals to achieve happiness. This is the reason why there is theoretical indication that people who are rich have better chances of being happy because they have better capacity of getting what they want, buying what they think they need, while the ones living within the poverty line are left with no choice but to remain rooted on what they can achieve with their meager earnings. It could be realized though that such point of reasoning has been proven wrong several times especially in observing the life quality of several rich individuals. Poor ones on the other hand are noted happy because they have a reason to dream and to achieve. Sharpening their skills and having more room for improvement provides these individuals the chance to take on the challenge of improving the kind of life they are living in. True, again, this fact leads to the idea that it is not true that money or everything else it could buy has the only capacity to make one happy.

Considerably, for personal reasons, I believe that achievement over a challenging task, such as achieving good grades and redefining the path of one’s capacity to handle tasks in a particular field of profession, is a great source of happiness that also provides him a great sense of contentment. The ongoing desire to learn and improve are two particular factors that when given the chance to be achieved gives the author a sense of victory allowing him to improve his state of happiness.

In conclusion, it has been noted through this discussion that happiness may be easy to find or elusive to catch basing on the behavior of a person and the consideration one has over its proper definition. Relatively, with the capacity of responding to such understanding of happiness and seeking a more definite way of achieving such a state of mind, one has more possibility of experiencing the real meaning of happiness. One’s behavior plays a great role in achieving such a state of mind. Remaining positive even amidst massive challenges allows a person to become more open in accepting different possibilities of achieving happiness as desired. True, adjusting one’s behavior and outlook towards life produces a better sense of understanding what happiness means, thus increasing the possibility of one actually experiencing it.

Works Cited

Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. From Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Harper Collins, 2009. Print.

Seligman, M.E.P. Flourish: A New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being – and how to Achieve Them. Nicholas Brealey Publishing Limited, 2011. Print.

Seligman, Martin E.P. Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment.Simon and Schuster, 2002. Print.

Arthur, Brooks. From Gross National Happiness: why Happiness Maters for America- and How We Can Get More of it. Print.