by Michal Dorcak

Created on: June 03, 2010

Different people may define happiness differently. Some will define it as a temporary feeling and others as something lasting. There are people for whom the life is a journey leading to the ultimate goal which is happiness. They try to live a life bound by certain moral rules so the death would find them with peace in their minds. Others choose the way of pursuing materialistic wealth and think that happiness will settle in their minds after buying an expensive car or having a private jet. It is only your decision what your definition of happiness will be.

For me, happiness is defined as state of the mind when a person is content with something and feels joy. It may be a temporary state caused by some pleasurable experience or something lasting. I think that both types of happiness are equally important even though, some people stand firmly on the side of lasting happiness. In extreme, they might not even consider a short term happiness to be worthy of this name.

Sure, temporary happiness caused by some relatively unimportant event may seem less valuable. But it is not. Even that brief moment of happiness can brighten your day and make the world seem warmer. All your problems start to look smaller and they sure are! Battling barriers put in front of you by the life is far easier with positive attitude. Because of this, temporary happiness caused by the small things is very important to me.

However, the little things have an impact on long term happiness too. For example, helping others every time I can causes me to feel content with my life. On the other hand, if I cause someone pain whether it be physical or mental pain, I feel bad. I am sure that some people do not consider selfless help and hurting others to be little things. But unless such an action has a long lasting effect on someone, it is a small thing for me. Knowing that I have done more good than bad helps me achieve the long term happiness. This is even though I might seem unhappy at some points of my life.

Hopefully, the memories I view positively will be more abundant than the negative ones at the end of my life. All the little things together with longer lasting effects of my actions will then surely help me achieve my ultimate goal. Of course, that is to die happy and content with the life I lived. However, there is no point in making this wish my definition of happiness. For me, it will just be a brief moment of joy. Though, it will be the last one.

Now you know my definition of happiness and my opinions. Keep in mind that you should make your own definition of happiness. You have to find out on your own what makes you happy. Also, it is then best if it stays in a form of your opinion. Stating your subjective thoughts as a fact might ruin someone else’s day or in some extremes even their whole life.

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