March 20, 2016, the International Day of Happiness. Today is a day in which we’re supposed to put down any frowns in our faces, leave away any sadness, disappointments or worries, and SMILE. It is a perfect day to reflect on the things that make us happy, and focus on seeking these things to achieve contentment.
If we search for the definition of happiness in the dictionary it is “the state of being happy”, and when we look for the definition of happy in the dictionary it defines it as “feeling or showing pleasure or contentment.” We may show being happy by a simple smile, but what is it what actually makes us FEEL this pleasure or contentment. This leads us to the question “What makes you happy?” This question is very ambiguous and subjective and it definitely has multiple answers.
I take a few minutes to think back to the happiest moments of my life. Finding the answer to “what makes you happy?” Isn’t easy, but when I combine these moments of happiness in my life I am able to find a pattern and something that is always constant in my happy moments.
For me, what makes me happy is achieving something that I’ve been working on, reaching something I’ve been following. This relates to every aspect of my life, whether it is something personal I achieve, something academic, a material goal, something familiar I reach, or anything. Something I’ve been working on or following can be something as simple as having fun, getting a good grade, learning something, finishing a painting, or spending time with my family. Once I reach or achieve this, no matter what it is, I genuinely find happiness.
Every person has different things that make them happy. What makes a 4-year-old happy, most probably doesn’t make a 40-year-old businessman happy. Even, what makes me happy, probably isn’t what makes my best friend happy. Each one of us has a different road, path, or way to achieving happiness. While this is true, it is still accurate to say that to achieve something that you’ve been working on, or reaching something you’ve been following, is what makes you happy. A 4-year-old might be happy because he received a chocolate, and a 40-year-old businessman might be happy because he got promoted. These two persons are happy for completely different things, but both of them found this happiness because they achieved something they worked on; the 4-year-old achieved to get the chocolate he was asking for, and the 40-year-old businessman achieved to get promoted after all his hard work.
In the Harvard Business Review article “The Science Behind the Smile”, they question “Who’s happy? The rich? The poor? The young? The old?”. Anyone can be happy. Anyone is able to achieve something that they’ve been working on, to reach something they’ve been following. No matter if they’re rich, poor, young or old.
Happiness is a fundamental human right, every human should be happy. It depends on us to live a happy life, and the first step to do so is figure out what are the things that make us happy. I believe that for every person, happiness is achieving what we work for. Personally, I find happiness in sharing moments with my family, being with my friends, painting, taking on adventures, sharing, and creating things. I wouldn't be able to achieve none of this things if I didn't follow them or work for them, that is why they make me happy.
Daniel Norris, the millionaire who lives in a van, is a great example of someone who is genuinely happy. He lives by his own code, is always himself, prioritizes happiness, does not mind what people think of him, and he is not afraid of unconventionality. He does not need anything else than his van and his adventures to be happy. He goes against conventionality and what people think of him and constantly works on living by his own code and taking on every possible adventure. He follows his own code and works very hard for what he believes in and wants to do. Admirably, he achieves to live by his own rules and reaches what he proposes. This is what makes Daniel Norris so genuinely happy.
Let’s take a step back from what we’re doing and a step back from daily life and really determine what are the things that make us happy and let’s start follow this things. It is different for each one of us, but working for this things and achieving them is a certain pass to happiness.
If we search for the definition of happiness in the dictionary it is “the state of being happy”, and when we look for the definition of happy in the dictionary it defines it as “feeling or showing pleasure or contentment.” We may show being happy by a simple smile, but what is it what actually makes us FEEL this pleasure or contentment. This leads us to the question “What makes you happy?” This question is very ambiguous and subjective and it definitely has multiple answers.
I take a few minutes to think back to the happiest moments of my life. Finding the answer to “what makes you happy?” Isn’t easy, but when I combine these moments of happiness in my life I am able to find a pattern and something that is always constant in my happy moments.
For me, what makes me happy is achieving something that I’ve been working on, reaching something I’ve been following. This relates to every aspect of my life, whether it is something personal I achieve, something academic, a material goal, something familiar I reach, or anything. Something I’ve been working on or following can be something as simple as having fun, getting a good grade, learning something, finishing a painting, or spending time with my family. Once I reach or achieve this, no matter what it is, I genuinely find happiness.
Every person has different things that make them happy. What makes a 4-year-old happy, most probably doesn’t make a 40-year-old businessman happy. Even, what makes me happy, probably isn’t what makes my best friend happy. Each one of us has a different road, path, or way to achieving happiness. While this is true, it is still accurate to say that to achieve something that you’ve been working on, or reaching something you’ve been following, is what makes you happy. A 4-year-old might be happy because he received a chocolate, and a 40-year-old businessman might be happy because he got promoted. These two persons are happy for completely different things, but both of them found this happiness because they achieved something they worked on; the 4-year-old achieved to get the chocolate he was asking for, and the 40-year-old businessman achieved to get promoted after all his hard work.
In the Harvard Business Review article “The Science Behind the Smile”, they question “Who’s happy? The rich? The poor? The young? The old?”. Anyone can be happy. Anyone is able to achieve something that they’ve been working on, to reach something they’ve been following. No matter if they’re rich, poor, young or old.
Happiness is a fundamental human right, every human should be happy. It depends on us to live a happy life, and the first step to do so is figure out what are the things that make us happy. I believe that for every person, happiness is achieving what we work for. Personally, I find happiness in sharing moments with my family, being with my friends, painting, taking on adventures, sharing, and creating things. I wouldn't be able to achieve none of this things if I didn't follow them or work for them, that is why they make me happy.
Daniel Norris, the millionaire who lives in a van, is a great example of someone who is genuinely happy. He lives by his own code, is always himself, prioritizes happiness, does not mind what people think of him, and he is not afraid of unconventionality. He does not need anything else than his van and his adventures to be happy. He goes against conventionality and what people think of him and constantly works on living by his own code and taking on every possible adventure. He follows his own code and works very hard for what he believes in and wants to do. Admirably, he achieves to live by his own rules and reaches what he proposes. This is what makes Daniel Norris so genuinely happy.
Let’s take a step back from what we’re doing and a step back from daily life and really determine what are the things that make us happy and let’s start follow this things. It is different for each one of us, but working for this things and achieving them is a certain pass to happiness.