Are you happy? Do you feel like you need to be happy? Happiness is something society tells us we need to strive for. What are people’s usually sources of happiness? Do people believe happiness is really important to have overall? These two questions are what I set out to answer for this week’s blog post through interviewing 10 people.
The minority response to the question about the importance of overall happiness was yes. One respondent replied that happiness overall is important because “when you’re happy, you generally feel better and are more motivated. I’m a better person to be around.” This respondent thinks that she should strive to be happy because then she is in an emotionally better state for herself and others around her. Another respondent thinks along the same lines. She thinks that “if you’re happy, you then radiate that happiness to other people.” This respondent thinks that the world would be a much better place if everyone shared in each other’s happiness. Even if the world can never be fully happy, we should strive each day to try to get the closest that we can.
The majority of responses don’t think happiness is important but rather contemptment. One respondent said, “Happiness and other emotions come and go depending on the events of the day, but contentment is longer lasting.” This respondent thinks that people should really stop trying to find happiness but just be contemptuous with where they are at. This contemptment makes the passage through life with its ups and downs much easier. Another respondent used her current emotional state as a reason for her answer. She said that happiness isn’t important “because I’m not happy, and I’m chugging along. I’ve learned that there are times in my life when I may not be happy, but that’s okay.” This respondent may lack current happiness, but she’s still content in the life she is living. Because she isn’t hung up on the fact she isn’t happy, she is able to go about her life much easier.
For sources of happiness, everyone mentioned friends and most mentioned family. The variety of answers came from the smaller things that bring happiness which were more unique to the people I interviewed. Some respondents find happiness in moments of solitude and others find happiness in little things like food. What was really interesting about the answers I received for this question was through how they were given.
Something I didn’t expect was how respondant’s moods would change while they were answering my question about sources of happiness. The majority brightened up when talking about their sources of happiness. It seemed like talking about what makes them happy actually made them happier for a moment. So whenever we have a bad day that we can’t just seem to get past, talking about what makes us happy might actually make us feel better. It is something that seems worth trying.
Overall, happiness means something a little different to everyone. Some people need to feel like they are happy in order to be living a good life. Others feel that only contemptment with where they are at is what is necessary to live a good life. I think that there is a good balance of both. We need to recognize that we won’t always be happy and that is okay, but never striving to improve our emotional state isn’t very healthy either. So which outlook do you need to improve on?
Amy's Questions 