The instances of happiness I have mentioned so far have been passive, in which a person simply “takes in” pleasurable feelings, while the cases of meaningfulness have been ones in which a person gives up much for the sake of others.
However, there are more active forms of happiness and less self-sacrificial kinds of meaning.
And when these come together, those who have them often consider them to be “peak” or “ideal” ways of being, what they particularly cherish in life.
Think of working hard to cultivate a flower garden for one’s family.
Or of writing poetry that is well received.
Or making an intellectual discovery that influences a field.
Or creating a new device that helps improve people’s lives.
Or taking pride in having overcome a neurosis.
Or exercising and taking note of one’s gains in fitness and athleticism.
Or caring for a pet.
Or think of learning a new instrument to the point of being able to play a beautiful song.
Or having conversations with one’s children about how they see the world and how they might do so in more revealing, productive ways.
Or enabling a group of people to work well together.
Or having sex with a beloved.
Or writing a short essay for a large audience about how to live so that two fundamental human values are both realised.
I am not suggesting that nurses should quit, or that one should not eat chocolate ice cream.
But if you’re like me in wanting as much happiness and meaning in your life as you can get, you’ll spend a good amount of time living in the sweet spot where they meet.
By Thaddeus Metz. This article qwas first published by The Conversation
Ed: What is your take on this stoty? What in your opinion is happiness?
(70 VIEWS)
This post was last modified on May 28, 2017 3:22 pm
Zimbabwe, whose currency declined 80% this year before being abandoned, is now worried about its…
Zimbabwe’s new currency, the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG,) continued to firm against the United States dollar…
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken has congratulated Zimbabwe on its 44th independence anniversary…
The 813 billionaires in the United States have a total wealth of US$5.7 trillion. If…
President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s spokesman George Charamba says there is nothing to celebrate about the United…
Over drinks back in 2019, two British tycoons, Algy Cluff and Michael Spencer, agreed to…