There 's More Than Being Happy, By Emily Esfahani Smith

Lyubomirsky defines happiness as the “experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that one’s life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile” (184). She challenges the myths that people can find happiness by changing their circumstances and that people either are “born happy or unhappy” (186). Happiness is not something that can be found or something that not everyone can have. People make their own happiness, despite the difficulties they may face. Happiness comes by “choosing to change and manage your state of mind” (185). Lyubomirsky gives cases of people who are happy even though they suffer from losses and setbacks. These are the people whose circumstances should make them unhappy, but their intentional actions bring them joy. She also gives cases of people who have not suffered any major losses but are still unhappy because they may see events negatively and feel helpless before them. Lyubomirsky asserts that “changes in our circumstances, no matter how positive and stunning, actually have little bearing on our well-being” (186). Even though a person’s circumstances may be positive, those circumstances do not make them happy. Lyubomirsky uses a Subjective Happiness Scale to measure happiness, which takes the average of numerical answers to four questions. She argues that in order to become happier, “you need to determine your present personal happiness level, which will provide your first estimate of your happiness

As human beings we are naturally wired to seek happiness wherever we can find it. When we don’t, we may enter a stage of anger, anxiety, or distress. That’s why it is our personal goal to look for happiness and preserve it once we acquire it. Many have explored ways to find what triggers this feeling of “happiness” and what we can do to keep it; nonetheless, the evidence found is hardly sufficient to make a public statement on how to find happiness. For this reason, most of the time we speculate what might provoke this feeling of contentment. “Happiness is a glass half empty,” an essay written by Oliver Burkeman, highlights the importance of happiness and discloses how we can find delight through unorthodox methods. The prime objective of this piece of writing is to inform the audience about the effect of happiness on their lives and how their usual attempts of becoming happier can sabotage achieving this feeling. Furthermore, he wants to promote the benefits of pessimism and describe how it can help us in the long run. The author utilizes pronouns, logos, and pathos in order to prove his point and draw the audience into his essay, in an attempt of making them reconsider the way they live their lives and adopt this new pessimistic way that would greatly boost their level of happiness.

In society there are still differences in classes such as higher class, middle class, and lower class. In sociology, we observed a film called The Pursuit Happyness, where we witnessed the struggles a father went through to succeed. Chris Gardner, who was played by Will Smith, is living in his apartment with his wife and his son. Due to their struggles, the mother walks out on and leaves Chris struggling alone with his son. In the film Chris Gardner applies for an unpaid internship for a competitive stockbroker company where out of twenty men, only one gets the job. While he is on his internship, we see the hardships of getting kicked out of his apartment to staying at a shelter home to then sleeping in a subway bathroom with his son. Viewing the movie through a sociological lens, The Pursuit of Happyness will be analyzed according to the major three sociological paradigms: structural functionalism, social conflict theory, and symbolic interactionalism.

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan follows multiple Chinese-American women who struggle with their self-identity and creating a balance between American and Chinese culture. Because of their immigration and many hardships in life, many of the women feel like they cannot truly tell who they are anymore, and throughout the novel these women are portrayed as ghosts. Ghosts are used to symbolize these women because they share many parallels including being only a remnant of who they once were, or who they could be. Ying-ying St. Clair is one of the women, who has a daughter named Lena St. Clair, she has had a troubled past in China, which has made her lose her fighting spirit, and her spirit in general. Ying-ying is fully aware of her loss of spirit and is embarrassed because she considers ghosts to be shameful and weak, and wants to save her daughter, Lena, from her fate.

In “There’s More to Life Than Being Happy,” written by Emily Smith, she talks about how Viktor Frankl made the most of everything. He had nearly nothing while being in the concentration camps, and turned that from a negative to a positive. “As he saw in the camps, those who found meaning even in the most horrendous circumstances were far more resilient to suffering than those who did not” (Smith, E. 2013, January 9. There 's More to Life Than Being Happy). The purpose of the article is to inform the reader that trying to pursue something other than happiness is an important aspect of life. Also, life is what a person does with it; living life with a purpose, whether it be living to an extent or living to the extreme. Viktor Frankl was a Jew who was captured, along with his wife and parents, and kept in a concentration camp for at least three years. By the time he was released, his wife and parents did not make

While reading this chapter I was very intrigued and engaged in the reading due to the interesting studies and tips shared. I thought it was really cool that there were some studies done that proved being happy can actually alter relationships, our mind, and so much more. Authentic happiness stated, “ Lisa Aspinwall gathered compelling evidence that in making important real-life decisions, happier people may be smarter than unhappy people.” This fact, along with many other like it, really got me thinking about the type of person I am. I was really interested on how I can be a happier and more positive person, which is why this chapter was really easy to read. My main goal in life is to be genuinely happy and I think that the studies in this

Communication is one of the most vital aspect of everyone’s life and that is often hinted at in Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club. Throughout the book, we encounter mother-daughter relationships that are ultimately impacted due to linguistic roadblocks. The mothers are more proficient in Chinese, sometimes struggling to have their daughters completely understand their dialect. This, in turn, poses as a barrier in regards to conserving a cultural connection between the mother and daughter.

In the book Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl, he uses his past experiences from different concentration camps to describe what he learned was the true meaning of life. Throughout the book he describes in details that he had no hope for life as he felt pain, humility, and human cruelty during his time as a prisoner in multiple concentration camps. Frankl, believed that he had a chance to survive by using inner strengths. His great sense of humor helped him get though the many difficult situations that he had encountered. He supposed that “what doesn’t kill you makes your stronger.”

Personal fitness has never been emphasized too little in today’s society. The various reason consider personal fitness includes health, cosmetic, and competitive sport reasons. However, one side effect from personal fitness that people rarely consider as their main reason to participate is happiness. For me, going to the gym makes me happy because going to the gym relieves stress and gives an opportunity to be social.

At the young age of fifteen, Maria Chavez decided what she would like to become once she is older. Due to the many siblings she has, Maria had to support his family with the many jobs she could get. This led her to experience many different jobs and fields. Once she started working in a pharmacy at an age of fifteen, she realized how interesting being a pharmacist is for her. Due to the poverty her family had, a “no” was her answer for her to go to college. Just like that one saying says, when a door closes another one opens. And so she did, Maria gave her effort, time and inspiration.

Life is dictated with an overarching sense of purpose. Living with a purpose allows an individual to see beyond any current frustrations or woes of any situation while remaining on the path to greater fulfilment. As discussed in Part I of Viktor E. Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning, the prisoners in Nazi Concentration Camps who looked beyond the current duress of their situations – and created some sense of purpose in living – were the ones who best survived the hardships within the camp confines. The concept of purpose varies with the individual, but connects people to a greater sense of meaning in life. Discovering a purpose is not as tractable as Frankl dictates. Living does entail a purpose, but uncovering the purpose can be complex and difficult for people at times. When surviving in the Concentration Camps, Frankl uncovered the underlying truth that, “it did not really matter what we expected from life, but

However, Viktor Frankl took it a step further and combine it with logotherapy and his own experiences with suffering. While most people struggling to find meaning in their lives aren't in as serious of a situation as a concentration camp, they are still suffering. Frankl says that "he who has a why to live for can bear almost any how" (Frankl ). He tells people that by finding a reason to get through the suffering, they may find their “pain” is not so painful. Just as prisoners who had reasons to make it to liberation day defeated their suffering. Viktor Frankl said himself “that the meaning of his life, is to help others find the meaning of their’s” (Frankl

What do I want to accomplish? What does my life mean? Why was I put on Earth? The perpetual search for meaning is the duty of existentialists, such as Viktor Frankl, a Jewish psychotherapist who lived in Austria during World War II. In his book Man’s Search for Meaning, he describes his search for the meaning of life in the midst of extreme suffering in a Nazi concentration camp. In English class two years ago, I read his book, unaware of the effect it would have on my outlook on life.

Frankl believes that despite hardships, we must have a positive outlook on life. Throughout all of the hardships he faced, he was able to portray hope and help others who needed it. Even during the worst, Frankl was able to remain optimistic. I have noticed this trait with those surrounding me. I have witnessed people in pain and suffering who have managed to find a positive from their situation. Frankl learned how to cope with his suffering by finding a source of happiness in his life. Frankl’s happiness came through his thoughts of his wife. “I understand how a man who has nothing left in this world still may know bliss, be it only for a brief moment, in the contemplation of his beloved” (37). Although he was separated from his wife, he was able to picture her and find pleasure. In our society, I have noticed that the people who can find happiness in their times of suffering are much stronger than those who don’t. It is important to be thankful for what we have and for the times we spent before our hardships came about. Frankl told his fellow prisoners that all the joys from the past can shine even in the darkness. While it may seem impossible, “Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light” (J.K. Rowling). In conclusion, “Man’s Search for Meaning” is a very influential book. Not only did I learn about the life and teachings of Viktor E. Frankl, but I was able to find my own appreciation of the book and come across ideas that will help me in my life. I hope to hold onto my own personal meaning and help others find their purpose in life so I can also be an inspiration. I will always remember the quote by Viktor E. Frankl that says, "The meaning of life is to give life

I many times wonder if I am making the right decision, following the right path or what my mission on earth is. “Happy endings” by Margaret Atwood provides the reader with six diverse descriptions of four characters resulting in “the only authentic ending … John and Mary die” (Atwood 515).