OPPapers.com

Happiness

Happiness
The pursuit of happiness has always been a very big deal for many of the people in the world. Bookshelves are filled with this topic and it is so important that the phrase “pursuit of happiness” has earned itself a line in the Declaration of Independence. I believe that the desire for happiness is a natural instinct for all humans. The same way we seek entertainment, good looks, smarts, and etc. we all try to be happy in our lives. Many times, people try to purposely chase happiness, but it would seem that the more you chase happiness the more you tend to not be able to obtain it and I agree with this.
Happiness is a necessity for life and, in its own little way, it seems to find us rather than vice versa. In the movie, The Pursuit of Happiness, there is an African American father trying to raise his family in one of the toughest places in the U.S., San Francisco. He interns to become a stock broker while being homeless and raising a little kid of his own. He goes through conflicts with his wife, who ends up divorcing him, his kid and his financial problems. He then gets accepted as an intern and tries his best, performing at his full potential. All the while, he wasn’t chasing happiness, he was trying his best to perform to his full potential. This portrays the ideas of Aristotle and his ideas on happiness.
Today, our view tends to be a little hedonic, but Aristotle thought of happiness as the total opposite of this. Aristotle talked about achieving Eudemonia, which is not an emotional state but more about being all that you can, fulfilling your potential. The idea is that by living in a way that reaches your full potential you bloom or flourish and so display the best version of you that you can be. I believe that this is the true meaning of happiness. If you just try to be the best that you can be, ultimately happiness will come to you.