Happiness
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â And Getting There
Often, I find myself wondering about the secret to happiness. Plato asserted that only those that live morally virtuous lives were ones that were happy. Aristotle wrote that happinessâââhuman progressionâââwas the only thing that could be valued in isolation. Aquinas believed that God, in His essence, was happiness. Sonja Lyubomirsky found in her studies that, while 40% of our happiness was genetic and 10% was circumstantial, 40% was entirely in our own self-control.
I also think questioning the inverse is just as important: Why are so many people unhappy? There is an abundance of resources in civilization right now that has never been seen before in human historyâââand yet even with that, pessimism seems easier than optimism.
Itâs too easy to get wound up in what-ifs, the mind wandering to scenarios where one could possibly be happier. As though there is an emptiness in the heart or mind thatâââif filledâââcould become elated with joy. Material possessions, job promotions, the approval of others, ad nauseum. These things can be chased, and then obtained, but what then?
When happiness is seen as something externalâââsomething outside of ourselves that we need to obtain by some sort of meansâââit remains temporary. The environment youâre surrounded in suddenly becomes the decider of your emotions. It can take great strengthâââparticularly in the most difficult and terrible of situationâââto no longer allow what occurs around you to dictate your feelings, but it is not an impossible task.
One needs to distance themselves from the complicated and distracting life that seems to engulf the mind entirely. To reflect on who we are, our spirit and ability.
To reflect on what is good, and what can be made better. To reflect on how thereâs often more worry and doubt than needed, that outlooks donât turn out as badly in reality as they do in our head (also known as impact bias). To reflect and choose to focus on the good, in ourselves and in the world we live in.
We live, we choose to live. We move on through pain and suffering. Our hardships only making us more durable and wise.
Have a happier new year.