What Makes People Happy - Essay Example

What Makes Us Happy Number and Number Number of Words 008 Thesis ment A lower life expectation can make us happy and self-fulfilled. Introduction Aiming to determine what really constitute real happiness (i.e. love, work and psychological adaptation,etc.), Shenk (2009, p. 1) conducted a comprehensive longitudinal study which aims to provide the readers with useful insight about the life experiences of different people who ended up seeking assistance from psychiatric professionals. Socio-economic factors such as the ability of each individual to become financially stable could somehow make people happy. In the absence of money, people will find it very difficult to support their basic physiological needs such as food, shelter, and proper medical assistance (when necessary). Considering the fact that the life of human beings is more complex than what it seems to be, having a socio-economic stability alone is not what seems to be the greatest source of happiness. In the past, Vaillant reported that eventhough Denmark topped the international happiness surveys, Danes would normally show low expectations with regards to Denmark’s economic growth as compared to most of the Americans (Shenk, 2009, p. 13). In relation to the case of Denmark, this report will discuss the correlation between the level of people’s expectations in life and their sense of self-fulfillment and happiness. As part of going through the main discussion, several evidences taken from the article of Shenk (2009) will be identified in order to support the thesis statement which claims that the “a lower life expectations can make us happy”. Eventually, whether or not the act of making our life expectations low could somehow make us happier will be tackled in details. Correlation between the Level of People’s Expectations in Life and their Sense of Self-fulfillment and Happiness Each person has different level of expectations in life. There are some people who would dream of becoming a millionaire at the time they reach the age of 30 years old whereas other people may prefer to establish and maintain a good family life more than anything else. Given that a person is able to reach his life expectations, there is a higher chance wherein this person would be self-fulfilled and happy. Let us carefully examine the case of a good looking, sociable guy who managed to complete an advance degree right after college [Case No. 158] (Shenk, 2009, p. 9). Despite his effort to send out the message that he is a smart, sensible, and hard-working guy, the reality is that he failed to receive a satisfying work experiences from his employer. At the age of 52, he decided to file his resignation even before the company could fire him from work. As a result, he always had in his mind that “no matter what I do… I am wrong…” (Shenk, 2009, p. 10). During his childhood days, he was brought up having in mind that he should never fail in whatever he does in life. Because of his strong hope that he will forever remain competitive and successful, he made it a habit to project himself as someone who is happy. In reality, he knew deep inside that he was never really satisfied nor fulfilled in the way his career has developed right after he was able to complete his higher education. In fact, he has always been in denial with regards to how he exactly perceives his present life. For example: When he was asked about whether or not there as a situation in his life that he felt really down and that nothing in this world could ever cheer him up, he encircled the option “none of the time” (Shenk, 2009, p. 10). When asked whether or not he felt very calm and peaceful, he encircled “all of the time” (ibid). In his life, there are two clear scenarios wherein he was absolutely sad, depressed, and unhappy. Aside from the death of his dear wife, he was forced to resign from work. Upon analyzing his case, the answers that he provided in the questionnaire were very much contrary to what he personally described in his previous life challenges and expectations. Because of his childhood upbringing, he grew up unable to accept what he really feels emotionally. This has made him trapped in the denial stage all his life. Vaillant explained that the seven major factors that will allow us to predict a healthy aging includes: (1) employing mature adaptations in life; (2) education; (3) stable marriage; (4) not smoking; (5) not abusing alcohol; (6) some exercises; and (7) maintaining a healthy weight (Shenk, 2009, p. 10). Considering the close link between the ability of a person to fulfill his life expectations and his ability to be happy in life, it makes sense that the level of people’s expectations in life could somehow affect their sense of self-fulfillment and happiness. In general, almost all of the suicide cases around the world are caused by being unhappy and unfilled in life (Shenk, 2009, p. 9, 17). Because of their inability to satisfy their individual life expectations, most of these sad, depressed and unhappy people ended up committing suicide. With this in mind, setting a lower life expectation could definitely make us all happy and self-fulfilled. Conclusion Among the common factors that makes people unhappy includes their inability to meet and satisfy their life expectations in their education, career, marriage, and family life as parents and grandparents. Since there are people who failed to handle and convert their negative emotions (i.e. sadness, anxiety and depression) into positive ones, there are people in this world who end up committing suicide. Based on the case presented in this study, his inability to accept failure is caused by his high expectations in life. Given that most of our professional and familial failures can be triggered by our high expectations in life, it makes sense that the act of setting a lower life expectation could make us happy and self-fulfilled. Therefore, one of the best and most effective ways to keep us happy is to learn to appreciate and be thankful for all the small things that we receive in life. *** End *** References Shenk, J. (2009, June). The Atlantic Online. Retrieved September 16, 2011, from What Makes Us Happy?: http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/print/200906/happiness Read More