A right sense of achievement!

I came across a girl who was crying continuously for half an hour. On finding the reason I was almost shocked. Her results were out and she scored 99.9% of marks and still, she was crying because she missed some 0.1% of her target. I started wondering about the reason people misinterpret happiness. Is happiness real or turned into a big joke?

Generally, Happiness means the state of contentment or fulfilment. It’s a feeling of inner satisfaction with the achievement of a task or target. Thinking logically, the real definition of happiness should be enjoyed in the process of initiation or completion of a task, it should be an excitement for the doing of activity, it should be a motivation to stick to the task at all cost, it should be a zeal to stay focused for the sake of enriching the values of life.

On the contrary, all we prefer is final results. People are so worried about results that they stop enjoying and feeling a sense of fulfilment in the step-wise completion of a task. They forget about the pains, learnings, excitement in the taking of small steps. I have realized that the criteria for celebrating life are very limited. One doesn’t feel like a celebration at all because the final marks are low than the assumed targets or due to facing failure at the final stage. All these have made me think and write something serious about the sense of achievement. If I tell you that happiness in the results is for very less moment and happiness in the process is more. Would you still prefer to cry after the failure in reaching goals?

Achievements, according to my perspective, is a sense of fulfilment in the processes than the final results. It may be true that the failure could incur a big loss, but why do we forget the learnings we collected throughout the process? Why do we just leave behind the satisfaction we felt each night studying hard for exams or why do we feel disappointed for the cause that we worked hard and enhanced our skills? Is happiness is just to cross a line or is it gratification in reaching up to the line? Happiness is such a vast philosophy that we must not limit its sense. Obviously, disappointment for the cause of non-achievement is probable. But disappointment to the cause of non-satisfaction with life is sickness. Happiness is a set of unlimited stages. To this, failure could be linked to the missing one or two criteria for reaching success. It doesn’t mean feeling stupid, sick or nothingness within. It is perhaps the fact that some knowledge is lacking which could be fulfilled by applying more focus, attention and intention to the cause. The judging of our worth should never be based upon the limitations in achievements. The sense of fulfilment should always be maintained well whether the targeted factors are achieved or not.

I would just say that WE SHOULD STOP JUDGING OURSELVES. It is mostly observed that before anyone judges us, we ourselves start providing judgments. This could lead to fading of the reasons for happiness. The best solution is to set our judgments rights no matter what others say. This would always make us feel proud and strong in the targets we achieved or not.

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Happiness index and its efficiency

What is happiness?

Generally, happiness is the perception of human being towards the quality of life. Happiness depends on multiple factors which varies from person to person. The context of this article is to explore happiness and multiple factors benefiting individual as a whole.

Cause of happiness

– Physical satisfaction: Adjustment to climate, surroundings, and individual living conditions.

– Needs fulfillment (both primary & secondary): Primary as hunger, thirst, shelter, sex. Secondary as education, achievement, profession, business, social support, family background, motivation, etc.  

– Goal accomplishment: includes both short term goal and long-term goal.  

– Good social connection: friends circle, peer groups, social media activity.  

– Supportive family: family cooperation in education, career and life partners.   

– Emotional wellbeing: emotionally satisfied and not affected by any mental and psychological disorders.  

– Growth of conscience: ability to choose between right and wrong.  

Correlation of happiness with wealth

Happiness doesn’t depend on wealth. People nowadays accumulate a large amount of wealth and still feel empty from inside-out. It is a common belief that desires are met when the money source is accurate. In real world, money can’t buy happiness. It could only help to reach the stage of happiness. The real happiness is the state of mind.

Happiness and meaning of life

Life could be enjoyed only when it is well understood. The life definitions by others couldn’t help to secure a good life. It is only by the self-effort that a true meaning of life is explored. Meaning of life is determined by individual’s mentality, attitude, expressions and values it denotes to other beings. The factor of stable life is achieved when a person is fulfilled in his achievements and maintain a proper balance in between needs and desires.

Happiness and needs

A minimalist with least needs could be happier than a materialist with excess of needs. The idea is very clear- needs doesn’t determine happiness. Needs only keep you well composed and not well disposed. To be inclined well in life, one needs to throw the unnecessary likeliness towards the outer pleasure. In case, the inner pleasure is given value than a person is both happy and satisfied.

Happiness and values

Inner happiness results into morality, morality results into conscience, conscience results into good thoughts, good thoughts result into resourceful action, and action brings fruitful result. We see happiness creates a chain of goodness. The values of truth, morality, justice is always complementary to happiness.

key variables of a happiness index

–GDP per capita: The wealth of a country is related to its happiness index.

– Social support: it is defined by responsiveness of people to help someone in problems.  

–Healthy life expectancy: Average number of happy years a child is expected to live.

–Health infrastructure: In a situation of pandemic, the most important worry for people is a proper health infrastructure provided by their country. Health providing resources should be abundant in a country to help its citizens in timely needs.  

–Freedom to make life choices: Are you satisfied with the daily choices you make in your life? Freedom to choose make sure that you are responsible for your choices and not dependent on others.

– Generosity: It is measured by people’s interest in charity and support.  

– Perceptions of corruption: It is determined by depths of corruption rooted in a country.  

– Unexplained happiness: other endless causes for happiness like people interest, fashion, lifestyles, music choice, connectivity, welfare.  

Other factors to explain happiness index

Sustainability– It is the factor which gives attention to future needs and manage consumption statistics of present days.

 Risk analysis and management– we need to calculate the future risks and show preparedness. Like disaster management, health insurance, accident insurance, and other safety causes.   

Dignity of labor– Each work is important and each carries equal values. The cleaning staffs, mining workers, construction staffs need to be treated according to labor laws. They are liable for the fair treatments, paid holidays, sick leave, adequate and timely wages.  

Trust & Cooperation– we need to trust our neighbors and cooperate well with the surrounding developmental activities.

Stress management– Stress is the main cause for unhappiness. When one could manage to reduce stress in life, the happiness factors would automatically reach high.

Changing mentality– We need to change our mentality and cultivate the values of acceptance and love.

Generating awareness– one needs to keep pace with the world by being aware on different issues of life.  

Happiness in profession– we should be happy and satisfied in the work we choose for living. It doesn’t matter how much we are earning in a particular work. The thing which really matters is we are enjoying the work processes or not.

Deconstruction of old values– As we step in future, we should drop down some of the values of past so as to accept the newest and healthiest values of future.

Non-judgement in appearance– when we judge others based on appearance, we miss the real values which defines a person.

Spirituality– the cultivation of spirituality within could give effective results to achieve inner happiness.

There are numerous approaches for calculating the happiness index. Drop your own suggestions in the comments area so that we could create a comprehensive lists for the calculative theory of happiness index.

This Time will pass too!

This article is for all those who are feeling negativity around, hearing death numbers, watching distressed people out there, thinking for universal wellness, learning about the days when things were good and stress-free. To all of those people, just sit tight in your seat and remember that life is a roller coaster, and right now we are plummeting in altitude, so we are experiencing pain, anxiety, fear, uncertainty, distress, and unhappiness. This is the moment we don’t want to see, so we’ve closed our eyes as we go towards the uneven path of life. Once we cross all the dangers around, life will become better. And so just experience it once, or you could either shut your eyes, and be in your own zone, praying for Universal wellbeing, and you will see the moment will pass soon.

God is not so mean. It is testing us so we could evolve into a better being. We are facing all such hard circumstances as a reminder to the fact that we aren’t yet prepared to face the worst in future. Sufferings are part of life, Buddha says. As a condition, we should not be fearful of the sufferings we are facing. When a big tide comes crashing down on a beach, those who are standing closer to the water’s edge are washed across first, followed by those who are sitting and relaxing on the beach benches. And today also, person who are outside, and very close to dangers around, are falling victim earlier. Anyway, it’s not their fault. They are carrying out their responsibilities to ensure that everyone is safe at home, that economic resources are handled, that food is produced, that mobility for those in need is possible, that people are healed sooner, and that the world is managed.

It’s a tribute to all people who gave up their time, strength, peace of mind, and even life, so that other humans could be protected against the evil around. We assure all such brave hearts that their sacrifice would not go waste. Now people have understood the urgency of current situation. And they won’t do anything which would trigger the severity of conditions. With this message, I would end up this article, and would ask you to just think of the toughest exams, emotional breakups, climate disasters, floods, poverty, and so on. How quickly it passed into some other moment of happiness or pride, satisfaction or frustration, vacation or struggles, and so forth. So, everybody, just close your eyes and say, “This time, too, will pass!” with absolute confidence, belief, and unending trust in ultimate being.

Eudaimonia- Classifying wellness

Eudaimonia in a general term denotes happiness and well being. Here eu is good or well, daimon is spirit. So, basically, it is the wellness of spirit. It is realizing one’s spirit. This concept of happiness is taken from Greek Ethics. The original definition of Eudaemonia is flourishing as well as well being. Why we need to study happiness is a major question asked by various subjects of science, philosophy, and ethics?

Simply, we need to study happiness because we need it. Nobody wants to live in misery. Everyone wants to live their life full of happiness and fulfillment. The philosophers of Greek have provided deeper meaning to the term ‘Eudaimonia’. The thoughts of the greatest believer is put down here.

Nichomachean Ethics is the best work of Aristotle. It deals with various concepts that help man to live a life of happiness. This work has a great impact on our practical thinking. In this book, chapter 10 covers ‘pleasure, happiness, and upbringing’. It raises the basic question of why pleasure doesn’t last for a long time? We seek pleasure because there is a desire to live life, and the desires won’t last for a long time, and so, the pleasure. Chapter 6-8 of Nichomachean ethics discuss happiness. Aristotle says that happiness is the attainment of the highest virtue. Happiness is that which requires the least possession and highest satisfaction. Aristotle completely denies materialistic life as sources of happiness. He focused upon the contemplative path which gives a greater inner satisfaction.

“…Some identify happiness with virtue, some with practical wisdom, others with a kind of philosophic wisdom, others with these, or one of these, accompanied by pleasure or not without pleasure; while others include also external prosperity…it is not probable that…these should be entirely mistaken, but rather that they should be right in at least some one respect or even in most respects.”

Aristotle, Nichomacean Ethics, Book I, Chapter 8 (excerpt from Nothingistic.org, 2019)

“He is happy who lives in accordance with complete virtue and is sufficiently equipped with external goods, not for some chance period but throughout a complete life.”

– Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Book I, Chapter 10 (excerpt from Nothingistic.org, 2019).

Aristotle believes that Eudaemonia is to understand our human nature and act for its growth. It is reaching towards the perfection of humanity by continuous reflection on self. By realizing our inner good, and committing to it for life, we can get ultimate happiness.
Philosophy is a place where virtues are given the topmost position. Virtues are the mean between two extremes. The two extremes could be right or wrong, good or bad, sane or insane, real or unreal. It is balancing the situation of two opposite force. And then, finding a path in the middle of it. We need to look at the situation, perceive it, and find the mean. Virtue or excellence is whatever enables good of a particular person, object, theory, or situation. The philosophy of Eudaemonia gives the reason for achieving virtue. This virtue ethics is most important philosophy that enable us to understand the ultimate good and live accordingly.

“At the right times, about the right things, towards the right people, for the right end, and in the right way, is the intermediate and best condition, and this is proper to virtue.”
The concept of Eudaemonia is important because it not only helps to differentiate between good and bad, but also guides us to make the best decision.

According to Plato, Eudaimonia is the ultimate aim. It is the destiny of human life. It is the greatest achievement that humans desire. In every action, one should commit goodness. Because the final end of action is realized in action and is not a consequence of action. Further, Eudaemonia doesn’t always relate the ultimate goals to happiness. But could also aim for morality, kindness, compassion, etc. The concept of Eudaemonia can’t just be limited to happiness. Happiness is a state of mind for some period of time. For example, I am happy because I met my cousin. This happiness may cease to exist after 2-3 days. And this can’t be classified as Eudaemonia. Eudaemonia lasts for a longer period of time. It’s the well being which can’t get destroyed easily. Even Dalai Lama says “kindness is the way to happiness.”

Socrates believes that Eudaemonia is the highest virtue. Excellence in morality is the truest happiness. It is because it involves the happiness of oneself as well as others. Socrates believes that acquiring knowledge is important to reach the goal of virtue. Knowledge can give us the truest idea of morality, courage, justice, wisdom, etc.

The difference in Aristotle and Socrates quotient of happiness is the ‘happiness for oneself’ and ‘happiness for others’. Socrates looks for universal happiness, but Aristotle is inclined to the happiness of self. Plato is looking for the ultimate aim to which happiness could be subscribed. Hence, we know that there are different philosophers who came up with their unique ideas of happiness. Happiness is within self or it may be outside. The real point is to realize happiness and make our life fulfilled. This philosophy of happiness is important to make us understand the true happiness. The true happiness isn’t in materialistic goals of life. The true form of happiness is visible in the morality we chooses. It is not in the success we achieve, but in the values we learnt.

Happiness is very misunderstood term. The concept of Eudaemonia links happiness in terms of well being. And therefore, it helps us to choose the values that keep us achieving long term happiness.