Answer

What Makes True Happiness

When the word happiness is mentioned, what comes into one’s mind is a picture of laughing and the like. Most people would jump to the conclusion that a person laughing is a demonstration of happiness. However, happiness has a deeper meaning other than simply laughing. A person is said to be happy when what they think, say or do are in harmony. The American Dream is the idea that the government is responsible for protecting each person’s opportunity to pursue happiness. In this case, the government should protect the American’s citizen from achieving their economic prosperity. This means that as an American, one does not need to follow the profession of their fathers as the law protects them from pursuing a better life and achieving their happiness. However, this idea of the American Dream is now a controversial issue as some think it is death or is under threat. Such a controversy arises from the fact that while the government claims to help people pursue their economic prosperity, the same government hinders its success by taxing people without representation. True happiness is made up of good health, economic prosperity and security. Happiness is defined by the ability to pursue one’s economic wealth with good health and enough protection to facilitate an easy way of achieving one’s life goals that bring them harmony.  

Some would argue that true happiness does not require materialistic things. From this perspective, happiness means being in a state of mind that allows one to be in constant love with their bodies. From the story “The Dalai Lama’s Ski Trip”, it is clear how some people think that one does not necessarily need material things to be happy. The narrator was desperate for money because he taught that it would make his life comfortable and eventually happy. He asked Dalai Lama how much he would pay him, but the response was very disappointing. He says, “how could I even think about being paid for the privilege of spending a week with His Holiness? On the contrary, the volunteers were expected to give, not get”. The idea of being happy without materials is good, especially for people who cannot get anything. However, this same idea is not valid because it is not logic for one to be happy for oneself without economic achievements that could make life more comfortable. From another perspective, positive emotions are a route to happiness. “Positive emotions are increased and the pleasant life is promoted by exercises that increase gratitude, that increase happiness”. Positive emotions are good for one to be happy, but this does not guarantee a satisfying life. This idea is not valid because life has to be satisfied with health, economy and security; hence positive emotions are not enough to define true happiness. 

True happiness is defined by good health because one cannot be happy in poor health. After the Second World War, there were three objectives. One was to improve people’s mental health after the depression of the war. “the biggest grants were coming from the newly founded National Institute of Mental Health, whose purpose was to support research on mental illness”. Helping people have good mental health help them pursue their happiness. It is uncommon to say that a person is happy, yet they are mentally ill. “For we believe happiness is a condition over and above the absence of unhappiness”. From this happiness, it is clear that happiness is a condition, and so an unhealthy person cannot be assumed to be happy in the presence of other positive factors. Happiness should be treated along with health to make it a true condition. one cannot claim to be happy while feeling some pains in the body even if that person has positive emotions.

Economic prosperity defines happiness, especially when one is healthy. The narrator explains how he wanted money from the story “The Dalai Lama’s Ski Trip”. He says, “I desperately needed the money, and so I agreed”. This shows how the money would make his life better and possibly happier. Being stable economically makes one happier and even promotes health. “happiness involves the pursuit of gratification”. Prospering economically may involve the pursuit of happiness, which allows one to achieve more happiness. In this case, one may, for example, one can spend time fixing a bike which could earn them money, making their lives more stable and happier.

Security contributes to happiness which adds up to good health and economic prosperity. Being in a position where one is healthy and economically stable requires security to get rid of unnecessary fears which could compromise happiness. While at work, an individual says, “I am distracted by feelings of anxiety about my teenage son’s life”. This shows how the lack of security for this person’s son distracts his happiness at work while pursuing his economic goals. Without security, economic goals may not be achieved, affecting the degree of happiness. When we are in flow, we are not happy, because to experience happiness, we must focus on our inner state”. From this quote, it is clear how a person’s inner stability in security promotes happiness. One should be secured from the inner soul for them to be happy. Security makes a healthy person make decisions or perform duties harmoniously. In other words, it contributes to positive thoughts and actions, which promotes happiness.

Finally, what makes true happiness are good health, economic achievements and security. What defines happiness is the ability to pursue one’s economic wealth with good health and enough protection to facilitate an easy way of achieving one’s life goals that bring harmony. However, people have different meanings for happiness depending on their situations. For example, one may argue that it is not the material things that make them happy. All they want is to love themselves, and that makes them happy. While this argument may be valid for people with this thought, it is not valid to me. It is not logical to assume that loving myself would make me happy, regardless of other circumstances. For example, if I am not healthy or economically unstable, I won’t stop loving myself, but I cannot be happy with such conditions. Good health defines true happiness. A person lying in bed fighting pains from a particular disease cannot be happy because he loves himself. Happiness involves doing things harmoniously, something that cannot be possibly done with poor health conditions. Economic prosperity also defines true happiness. This means that one can meet their daily needs, especially affording food, clothing and house. Economically stable people are more likely to report happiness than those who have not achieved their economic goals. Being happy in this case means that one can buy what they need. Finally, security promotes more happiness because it creates peace of mind. for example, it enables an economically stable person to enjoy his wealth and life.