Everyone has an Opinion on Happiness.

Many people have researched this topic.  Happiness, to most individuals, is kind of a big deal.   We make big and small choices based on what we think will make us happy.  We will settle in a neighborhood that we think will bring our children the most joy.   We plan parties, for ourselves and others, hoping to fill a day with something pleasurable.  Each of us pick a reasonable career, and ideally pick the job that will bring us the most happiness for the most pay.  After weighing the pros and cons of many of life’s choices, we make a decision.  Often times we will choose something that we think will bring the highest amount of utility.  (Utility is a term used in philosophy that describes happiness). We want the sensation of being satisfied to last. Many intellectuals have studied this.  In fact, many people of our time have analyzed happiness.   I would like to take a moment to briefly summarize some areas of happiness studied by others.

(http://www.lifelonghappiness.com/welcome#)

    How many times in your life have you heard that volunteering makes you happier?  Is there any truth to this?    Does a person’s quality of life really improve just by lending a hand to others?  Well, one study says that it does.  Francesca Borgonovi, of The London School of Economics, performed a study that examines if in fact those who volunteer have a greater sense of well being.    The data is very interesting.  She compares health and happiness to people of all different walks of life (including: marital status, income, education, ethnicity, ideology, age, employment, work hours, and all compared against how often a person volunteers).    The conclusion of this study is that people who volunteer their time and energy are happier and healthier than those who do not.  Borgonovi suggests that the higher satisfaction in life may be due to the feeling that they are needed.   Her data is also clear that those who donate blood or money to charity are not more likely to feel that greater sense of well-being.   One of the reasons she presents is simply that people who work one-on-one will connect.  Without that feeling of connectedness, it is hard to truly have a sense that a difference is being made by the gesture. 

    Tony Robbins is a famous motivational speaker.  Here is a clip where he defines what the purpose of life is for one man, and his rules.
 
(Robbins, T.)
Part of the reason I love this clip, is simply because I feel that the answers given here are honest.   I think that many of us would give the same answer, that life’s purpose for ourself is happiness.  We each have our own set of rules and it is confusing.  Do we need to sit down and create a blueprint of what we think will make us happy?  Will that make us happy?

    Another study was done on comparing the happiness of a person to how much money they make.   More specifically, this study aims to prove that our physical constraints in life and happiness are due in large part to our success, or lack of.  Interesting that maybe there is some truth to thinking that money can buy happiness; or rather can buy the things needed to make a person happy. (Becker, G. & Rayo, L.)

    I think that the biggest truth to what holds us back from our own self-fulfillment is ourselves.  Many of us are angry and bitter that certain parts of life have not turned out how we expected.  Nick Vujicic says it all.   I would like to end this post on his thoughts. (Please ignore the ending commercial to buy his DVD, that is not the message I want you to ponder).    We can each take any moment in our lives to become empowered by the situation life gives.  Never give up.  Tell yourself you can.  Do yourself a favor, and live!  This may be the biggest key to life’s happiness.   

(Vujicic, N.)


References:

    Becker, G., Rayo, L. ‘Evolutionary efficiency and happiness’.  Journal of Political Economy. 115(2). (2007).

    Borgonovi, F. ‘Doing well by doing good.  The relationship between formal volunteering and self-reported health and happiness’.  Social Science & Medicine. 66.(2008). 2321-2334.

    Robbins, T. ‘Rules for happiness’ Unleash the Power Within Seminar. (June 2008). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yvUbIzJQPU.  (13 June 2011).

    Vujicic, N. ‘No arms, no legs, no worries’. (27 March 2010).  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjbX6mDnMwM

    ‘Welcome to a whole new experience’. Lifelong Happiness. http://www.lifelonghappiness.com/welcome#.  (14 June 2011).