The Search for Happiness Essay - 1026 Words

The search for happiness has been one of the greatest driving forces over the ages. Defined as an active or passive sense of pleasure or satisfaction, happiness drives individuals to accomplish a number of fulfilling activities in their lives. Thus an evaluation of meanings attached to happiness provides insight on how an individual maximizes their pleasure. Concepts of positive-psychology provide an explanation of what is happiness and show a number of activities that enhance contentment. Najemy (89) argues that the theory of authentic happiness provides an approach for explaining happiness since it employs positive emotions, engagement, and meaning to describe such emotion. The theory states that happiness is the feeling that†¦show more content†¦The well-being theory contends that those aspects are important in evaluating happiness since they contribute to an individual’s well-being, individuals for their own sake pursue them, and they are evaluated differently. The theory also discussed the significance of utilizing meaning in explaining happiness. According to Ahmed (124), attaching meaning to an individual’s activities draws higher pleasures since individuals derive purpose from their activities. Concepts of positive psychology argue that happiness in life entails participating in activities that result to the greatest benefit without obligation. Most of these activities involve the creation of meaningful relationships that promote emotional stability hence attracting enjoyment. Diener, Kahneman, and Schwarz (359) argue that different individuals derive happiness from varying activities.For instance, a number of individuals relate marriage and love to happiness and well-being. This is because those who are in love are happier, and healthier than unmarried, single individuals (Ahmed 215).The aspect of good health, and happiness in marriage can be attributed to income, companionship, and childbearing. Further, marriages and relationships foster positive emotions, engagement, meaning, and accomplishments. Based on the authentic happiness and well-being theories, marriage falls in the category of activities that promote fulfillment andShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Hector And The Search For Happiness1113 Words   |  5 PagesHector and the Search for Happiness, an awesome movie that allowed me to rediscover what happiness truly is and opened up my mind to its many other concepts. The movies main character is a young physiatrist named Hector, as the movie plays out Hector begins to travel the world in search of the true definition of happiness and what happiness means to the people around him. Hector’s destinations were China, Africa, and L.A. I believe that the settings affect the development of Hector’ character inRead MoreThe Search Of Happiness By Jeff Haden1463 Words   |  6 PagesIn the search of happiness, meaning makes an impact. 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