Define Happiness

[Elgin Clock]

The dictionary defines Happiness as:

1.the quality or state of being happy. 2.good fortune; pleasure; contentment; joy.

Simple statement, easy answer?
Or
Tough question with a difficult answer?

I just want some different perspectives on this.
Relate to whatever you want.
Personal, Family, Friends, FIRST, Team, whatever.

For future reference, (with permission obtained by me when and if the time comes) this thread may be used for a future college class in (2 of my 5 majors I'm pursuing) in the fields of psychology and sociology just in case you are wondering, but for now it's just to satisfy my own curiosity...

Thanks

[lukevanoort]

I would say that defining what happiness is is pretty simple, the state of enjoying life. However, achieving happiness, and knowing when you achieved it are much more difficult.

[Ben Martin]

Okay, I'm game.

Happiness, to me at least, isn't a simple emotion. True, some events can make give a person a brief state of euphoria, but it takes more to make one truly happy. Like the dictionary, I see happiness as contentment with one's life.

Many things help me obtain happiness. Family, talking with friends, playing games, reading a good book, succeeding at a difficult task, and God are all things that make me happy. One alone, however, usually does not provide "happiness." Instead, they just distract me from troubles of everyday life. I need multiple of them to provide lasting pleasure.

Personally, I go through different periods of time where I am happy vs. not as happy. When everything seems to be going right, I'm in a good mood, and there's usually nothing bad happening in my life. If a major catastrophe has occurred, I will be more sullen and/or more emotional in general.

We should strive for happiness, if for the simple reason that it feels good to be happy. Whether it's through robotics, religion, family, friends, or some other way, we should all try to be positive.

Anyway, just my thoughts.

[Elgin Clock]

I was asked to post this following response anonymously.
Just another perspective in the grand scheme of things.

I say there is no such thing as happiness and that it's an illusion that we create to keep ourselves going from day to day.
We spend our lives trying to achieve something that does not exist and that's what keeps us alive.
It's something to give our lives purpose and that people who consider themselves to be happy people are just exceptionally good at deceiving themselves.

[Joe Matt]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicomachean_Ethics

That pretty much describes it for me. One cannot have totall pleasure, one cannot have total bliss. One has to hit the wall and feel pain in order to be really happy. It's the mind's reboot. (unfortunatly tonight has been mine, but it's times like this that I realize who my real friends are and what really makes me happy.)

[JaneYoung]

This works for me:

From "You're A Good Man Charlie Brown"

Happiness is finding a pencil.
Pizza with sausage.
Telling the time.
Happiness is learning to whistle.
Tying your shoe for the very first time.

Happiness is playing the drum in your own school band.
And happiness is walking hand in hand.
Happiness is two kinds of ice cream.
Knowing a secret.
Climbing a tree.
Happiness is 5 different crayons.
Catching a firefly.
Setting him free.

Happiness is being alone every now and then.
And happiness is coming home again.
Happiness is morning and evening,
Daytime and nighttime too.
For happiness is anyone and anything at all
That's loved by you.

Happiness is having a sister.
Sharing a sandwich.
Getting along.
Happiness is singing together when day is through,
And happiness is those who sing with you.
Happiness is morning and evening,
Daytime and nighttime, too.
For happiness is anyone and anything all
That's loved by you.


----
And - sometimes happiness is a choice that I choose to make rather than not being happy.

[Pavan Dave]

There is no such thing as being happy, you can only try to pursue happiness. Sometimes you try too hard, some times you don't try enough, but you can never try at a constant rate and try to maintain some sort of happiness.

Thats just how I see it.

[RogerR]

I say there is no such thing as happiness and that it's an illusion that we create to keep ourselves going from day to day.
We spend our lives trying to achieve something that does not exist and that's what keeps us alive.
It's something to give our lives purpose and that people who consider themselves to be happy people are just exceptionally good at deceiving themselves..

Originally Posted by Pavan

There is no such thing as being happy, you can only try to pursue happiness. Sometimes you try too hard, some times you don't try enough, but you can never try at a constant rate and try to maintain some sort of happiness.

Thats just how I see it.

i find these perspectives perplexing. what about that feeling you get after your team wins a match/award, or some other personal success? and from the purely scientific view, what about the chemical and hormonal changes that happen in our bodies when we are in a state of 'happiness'?

as for myself, i find that it ranges anywhere from a state of contentment to exhileration, depending on the situation. winning a pack sprint in a bike race would lend itself more toward 'exhileration', where as time spent with family and friends would lean more toward 'contentment'.

[Pavan Dave]

I think that there is a state of ecstacy but no real happiness. Ecstacy is defined as "the state of being carried away by overwhelming emotion," and I think that is what you feel after winning a match, or after you figure something out that took hours and time and effort and it's finally over. It is short, sweet, and to the point.

[RogerR]

Originally Posted by Pavan

I think that there is a state of ecstacy but no real happiness. Ecstacy is defined as "the state of being carried away by overwhelming emotion," and I think that is what you feel after winning a match, or after you figure something out that took hours and time and effort and it's finally over. It is short, sweet, and to the point.

ecstasy is also defined as (to paraphrase multiple dictionary.com entries) "intense or rapturous joy or delight". how about the feeling you get while spending time with close friends and/or family? to deny that happiness exists is to deny one of the more basic human emotions.

[Kims Robot]

Thanks for reminding me... I need to go back and read this book:
http://www.amazon.com/What-Happy-Peo.../dp/1579546021

The first time I read it, I thought it was going to be gimicky, but it struck me as true, and really meant a lot. I think somedays I (or we all) forget what happiness is. We get too stuck on improving ourselves or trying for the bigger goal, and we forget what really makes us happy.

For me, true happiness was the spark in my rookie team's eyes that first year, or the student who I inspired when I was a Clarkson mentor, playing mariokart with my godson, going to Yankee Candle with my dad, or hanging out with my best friend on a spring day...

We need to remember that Happiness doesnt have to be the end result, we dont have to be happy every day, but to take a moment to enjoy the little things in life, and remember those when we need it most, that is happiness.

[Taylor]

I equate happiness with balance and comfort. I believe happiness has nothing do to with external objects, situations, or stresses - happiness comes from how you as a person deal with externals (and internal affairs). Happiness is a conscious choice.
A quote from Abraham Lincoln, of which both Mrs. Young and I share an affection, is "People are just about as happy as they make up their minds to be."

[Steve W]

Happiness is an emotion. It is there and it is real. There have been tests (I am too lazy to look up now) that show changes in body chemistry when a person feels these emotions. Can you put your finger on happiness? Is it something that can be measured? those are different questions.

I can tell you that I feel happiest when I am giving or doing for others. I do not expect anything in return but just knowing that I can make things better, in my small way, makes me happy.

Oh yeah, I forgot .........

[Laura 1547]

I feel the happiest when I'm with my friends so therefore happiness can be found throughout many friendships.

Maybe it would be more fitting to define the word "friend"

[Cooley744]

An experience with happiness..."being at a FIRST competition and seeing all your hard work pay off".