THE IMPORTANCE OF GENUINE HAPPINESS

The Importance of Genuine Happiness

Co, Lizle Stacey Chan (ENGLCOM-WC C36)

Submitted to: J.R.S. Nuez Department of English and Applied Linguistics Br. Andrew Gonzales 6 Co e.d.

THE IMPORTANCE OF GENUINE HAPPINESS

There is no formal definition of happiness. Each individual has his own understanding of it, because happiness could have different meanings for different people. The definition of this certain emotion changes over the years; as people grow older, they start to realize that being happy is more than just getting things their way, or receiving a brand new toy, or being given attention. As they grow up, they crave for something more a certain type of happiness that is deeper and more authentic.

General happiness, according to Merriam-Websters Dictionary, is defined as the state of well-being and contentment and

a pleasurable or satisfying experience. If we look this word up in the dictionary, we will learn that there are several definitions for it. This is because there are different types of happiness: there is contentment, a peaceful kind of happiness, in which one rests without desires; bliss, a certain type of happiness that is complete and unreserved; felicity, an intense and fortunate type of happiness; joy, an especially ecstatic kind of happiness and so on. The main focus of this paper, however, will be on the type of happiness that was mentioned earlier, a type of happiness that is pure, lofty and light genuine happiness.

For over decades, scholars have been trying to answer the question What is happiness? from the perspective of modern science and Buddhist meditation practice. Dr. Alan Wallace, the president and founder of the Santa Barbara Institute for Medical studies, says that a more accurate term for genuine

THE IMPORTANCE OF GENUINE HAPPINESS

happiness is human flourishing. According to him, flourishing is a sense of happiness that is beyond the momentary vicissitudes of our emotional state and he claims that genuine happiness would entail a meaningful life. On the other hand, a leading researcher and author of Authentic Happiness, Mark Seilgman, states that genuine happiness has three parts: 1) pleasure, which can also be described as the feeling good part, 2) engagement, which refers to livin g a good life not only at home with family, but also with friends, work and hobbies, and lastly, 3) meaning, which refers to the use of ones strength to be able to contribute to something great or a larger purpose.

One shocking fact about happiness is that instead of this feeling being looked forward to and appreciated by individuals, the opposite actually happens. People are scared of feeling good. They fear positive emotions, because they feel as if they are unworthy of it, and they have a feeling that good fortune will lead to a fall. As said by a psychiatrist of Kingsway Hospital in England, Paul Gilbert, it is not uncommon for people to fear that if they are happy about something, it will be taken away. Joshanloo, a psychology graduate student from Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, was able to develop a Fear of Happiness Scale, wherein participants will be tasked to indicate their level of agreement on certain statements such as having lots of joy and fun causes bad things to happen.

THE IMPORTANCE OF GENUINE HAPPINESS

People must realize the importance of genuine happiness and the advantages of doing things that make them happy. The former and the latter play a crucial role in the daily lives of the masses. Apart from the obvious effect of happiness producing generally happier individuals or persons, it also has several benefits.

Recent studies from psychologists claim that positive emotions broaden ones focus and expand his way of thinking. Whether it may be contentment, wonder, excitement, love, or just pure joy these emotions are able to expand ones focus of attention, because when a person feels something, he is focused on the source of that certain emotion.

Happiness will also be able to improve ones ability to solve problems. Someone once said that, laughter is the best medicine. When people are faced with problems and they are having difficulty with solving them, what they actually need is a good laugh, or to feel happy, because it helps with thought processing. Through this, they are able to move toward a solution.

The building of a physical, intellectual and social resource is another benefit of feeling this positive emotion. Studies state that when people are happy, they become more playful. Thus, they become interested in sports and they are driven to exercise on a regular basis. Simply put, happiness translates into physical fitness having stronger muscles, improved heart-lung function,

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increased flexibility, etc. Intellectual and social resources shall also be developed because people are able to absorb more and learn better when they have a positive frame of mind. Social skills will be able to improve as well as humans are able to relate and be drawn to positive people, or those who have they same type of outlook they have.

Lastly, happiness protects ones health. Studies show that even simple actions such as getting a light touch from a friend or petting an animal can lower ones blood pressure. Happiness is good for the heart. Because people are happy, they tend to develop a healthy lifestyle one that is filled with good sleeping, eating and exercising habits all of which contributing to the lowering of heart disease risk. Aside from this, it can also reduce stress hormones because happiness is able to produce a positive chemical change.

Achieving genuine happiness is not a difficult task, because this is something that can be truly found within. If people continue to do things that make them genuinely happy, and if they realize the importance of feeling positive emotions as well as the benefits of this, then they will be able to live a better and happier life.

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(http://www.tricycle.com/special-section/what-true-happiness) Rodriguez, Tori. (2013). Fear of Happiness Underlies Some Mental Illness. (http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fear-of-happiness-

underlies-some-mental-illnesses/) Gentry, W. Doyle. (n.d.) The Benefits of Happiness and Positive Emotions. (http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/the-benefits-of-

happiness-and-positive-emotions.html) Boyles, Salynn. (2010). Study: Happiness Good for the Heart. (http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/news/20100217/study-happinessgood-heart)