what is happiness

what is happiness Essay Examples

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Published: Friday 25th of January 2013

What is Happiness? Essay Example

Introduction

All students in institutions of higher learning are tasked with dozens of assignments to do almost every day. From essay writing to dissertations, book reviews, laboratory reports, term papers and case studies and many others, the art of writing proves to be an integral part of the student's life. In giving them essays and reports to write, college professors have a way of evaluating the progress of their students. Although there are several topics that one could be tasked to write on, one of the most common essays students are given to write is on happiness. College professors like to portray it as the simplest of all. The task, however, turns out to be enormous once one sets down to work on it, with many puzzles popping up from every corner. For most people, the most significant job of all is defining and elaborating the question itself; happiness and what it probably is. Many students usually get stuck in coming up with a format for their essay. However, this should not be hard since essays have one of the most straightforward structures in the world. All top quality essays will concur in their format, and the following components will stand out:
  1. An introduction, usually a brief piece to raise the curtains on the subject.
  2. The thesis statement, typically a proclamation by the writer to put the discussion into a better perspective.
  3. The body of the essay, which has the most content. It should be organized into paragraphs or categorized by subtitles.
  4. The conclusion, which will wrap up things about the article and show the final opinion of the writer.

Introduction Section of the Essay

In the introduction part of the essay, the writer, in this case, a student has to make the subject of discussion known to the college tutor, who is the reader. One has to elaborate the topic to capture the interest and attention of the reader. For instance, in a write up on happiness, the writer will endeavor to highlight the points discussed in the essay in prose that the reader will be in the light. It is more rewarding to have a captivating introduction as it assures relaxed attention of the reader. The writer is always at liberty to bring in any relevant quotes and statements as they deem fit. About the thesis statement, the writer has to acquaint the reader with the direction of the essay regarding the topic. The main reason for coming up with the text has to be surfaced and polished. The writer tells the reader the big question that prompted them to research on the topic and what they were after. There is always an inconsistency between the tone of the thesis and the end of the essay, so, it is highly recommended that the writer redoes the thesis after finishing the article. For a hypothesis to remain good, the writer has to restrain it to within at most three sentences. The thesis statement should be as brief as possible. Remember, it is a statement.
The Body
The body paragraphs entail the detailed information that will be the core of your essay. Therefore, it is encouraged that you write a topic sentence that introduces every section. Then, sentences that follow it have to build on it, expound and cement the thesis statement. Depending on the topic and the requirements of the essay, the question of the number of paragraphs is always disregarded. Sometimes, a few sections are great while in other instances, having several is of importance.
The Conclusion
The final part of the essay brings out the conclusion. The writer gets an opportunity to draft their findings from the article. The end is always a reflection on the points built from the thesis statement. A proper winding should be unambiguous and refrains from bringing in any new points not discussed in the body. It is a point of confluence for the body, and the thesis statement, hence brevity is vital. The final check always has to be the reflection of the conclusion of the thesis, that your end does prove your thesis.

How to Write a Brilliant Essay

Knowing the format and the structure of an excellent article is a good stab but not the key to a high mark in essay writing. The content of the essay is always more significant than just mastering the guidelines of good essay writing. Any article will only be as good as its content. Therefore, it is essential to have proper mastery of the subject before beginning an essay. In a piece on happiness, the baseline is to define the meaning of happiness. Although it may seem easy, putting it down on paper is difficult. But, the bigger question will be the root of your happiness. There is more to it than it always seems. It is incredibly challenging for you to come to a consensus with yourself on the definition of happiness. There are many opinions about happiness and many more questions that have eluded human interpretation ever since. Great philosophers including Plato and many postmodern have had their say on the meaning of happiness. It finally has landed on you to do an essay on happiness. The best way out of the darkness, in this case, would be to put your imagination and experience of happiness. For this case, incline to remember or imagine events, people, places, circumstances or even activities that drive your happiness. For instance, a jovial kid will describe their happiness as licking ice-cream during the hot summer weather, for a rock music fan they will describe happiness as the sound of guitars and drums in the frenzy of the music, while for most of the introverts having some food someplace is ideal happiness.
Happiness has the bottom-line on the personality of the person in perspective and what turns on their happy self. For most of the time, happiness is predicated on what a person lacks or misses in their life. For a person with enough material possessions but barely a family member to interact with, they will be inclined to think that happiness is a great family with smiling faces around. A person living below the poverty level will describe happiness as maybe winning the jackpot. From the preceding, happiness narrows down to the personality; personal imaginations and how they feel. When writing an essay on happiness, you need to focus on expressing what you understand makes you happy.

The Meaning of Happiness

For any particular person, happiness is defined differently depending on what triggers their joy in this life. Every one coins a different definition of happiness when asked to because we don't have a focal point that universally triggers happiness. Some of us will be extremely happy when they are in a passionate relationship. On the contrary, others will find joy when they get wealthy and famous. Others will appreciate the little things and feel ideally happy just because they are healthy and alive. I am inclined to think that at the different stages in the growth of human beings, we value happiness based on various aspects and attributes. In the long run, it is human nature to be enlightened and feels happy about something today that tomorrow will not even crack your smile. An example is how children are fond of toys, but after the age of ten, they will assume a hobby that will take them to later stages of life. In adulthood, they will have given up all those for something else, most likely their family. It is far more interesting to notice that we only need whole bodies and good health for the essential happiness, all these others are pursued at will. To most of us, happiness will be like a belonging, an integral part of a secure life. For the people who are after spiritual nourishment, getting a burst of spiritual growth is invaluable to them. Irrespective of whatever any individual will describe or perceive, happiness has to be sought after as it doesn't show up by itself. It requires being earned, revealed, exposed and made from scratch. It needs to be orchestrated by an effort to grow from nothing to its full stature. Happiness is only achievable after a decision to be happy is made. The human race must develop a precept to be satisfied irrespective of the hurdles that life is going to place in our way. In all possible avenues, life will present many daunting experiences and frustrations. It will always try to impinge on the direction of a man to bar him from being happy. This is the primary obstruction to happiness. Most probably, the most significant trait that every person needs to possess in their pursuit of happiness is showing appreciation. The aspect of thankfulness, always observing the show of gratitude and rewarding it with kindness is the express road to happiness. Gratitude and compassion are one of the universally applied approaches when pursuing happiness. It is a logic founded on the notion that it is more beneficial when we appreciate the little things that come our way by being thankful rather than pounding on the harmful elements of life. Being grateful for life, for having a family and friends, appreciating the love around us and being gracious for the ability to think are the basics of this doctrine. The bottom-line of enjoying a pleasant life is in making gratitude a lifestyle (Russell, Bertrand, and Tim Phillips). The human race is always more scared of being alone to the extent that they overlook the hazardous implications of social connections. People who are self-centered and undependable in their social circles perpetrate negativity which compromises the integrity of their social links. It is true that life is more of a private entity, where an individual came to the world alone and are bound to die individually. But then, these are the specific bits of the life we live. We have more than enough charisma to overlook the negativities. It is more beneficial to spend the single life journey working on healthy relations with other people and constructing happiness bridges above all hurdles. Solitude is the primary predisposing factor to people wandering into negativities. If we keep the solitary people close to us, we eventually extinguish their loneliness. Regrettably, not every individual has good motives when seeking closeness. Some of the people are opportunists trying to abuse one's kindness for selfish interests. Unfortunately, this is a feat to some of the best people out there (Russell, Bertrand, and Tim Phillips). A person’s happiness will be solely reliant on the work that they do. It has little regard for the number of hours in a day it takes them, or how much it pays. The most significant aspect of a person’s job is how satisfied they get when they do it. If you are working on a regular job that does not click with you as impressive, then you should consider quitting it as soon as possible. Occupying such a spot in life will only make you a more terrible person with a personality you never wished for before. If the position you hold only serves to begrudge your inner self, you are better off working elsewhere. It will have little effect on you regarding personal growth, but will only derail you from the course of your happiness. It works better if you make your hobby your actual full-time job. This way, you achieve the professional aspect with joy. For one to be happy, they must make very significant decisions about their careers and the jobs they choose in life (Thaler, Richard H, and Cass R Sunstein).

Conclusion

As a final point, happiness never comes uninvited. In contrast, it is a reward for the continuous, indefatigable spirit spent in searching for it. The good thing is that it’s attainable, and not merely the short version of it, but the ultimate long-lasting, pure happiness. It never comes to the lazy person sitting on his couch. In actual sense, most of the people have to strive with their jobs for an extended period of happiness is achieved. On the bright side, anyone and everyone can create their version of happiness. Happiness can be obtained by any willing person, for we all deserve to be happy.