Come on Get Happy! Who remembers the Partridge Family theme song? Happiness is the ultimate purpose of human existence according to Aristotle. When interacting with others, it is hard to make everyone happy. Live in a big family for a while and you will find out that everyone has their own interests and we each have little compromises to make in order to have a good environment. Happiness isn’t about always getting our own way in things. Cheesy platitudes about happiness don’t really help for most of the things we encounter in life.  What is a common theme or principle that is most likely to help people to be happy regardless what their interests are?

We had arrived at the soul as the initiator of happiness. The fact that we own our souls doesn’t vary. Fortunes, environments and relationships are subject to change. The goal isn’t to be the man on the mountain and meditate ones life away to avoid confrontation. There has to be some kind of interaction along with our thoughts when it comes to pursuing happiness. The actions should be good and would also need to happen consistently. A good life isn’t gauged by a single day thank goodness and we all have our bad ones.  Finding a general approach to life that would give the maximum overall enjoyment for all the things we encounter would be beneficial. Now we are getting warmer.

There was an inscription at a religious site at the Greek religious site Delos that said “It is noble to live justly and good to live healthy but the greatest pleasure is in obtaining what one longs for.” This touches on each area we mentioned.  In everything we desire, preserving happiness through right actions while never giving up on what we love is the attitude that produces a consistent joyful lifestyle. They don’t have to conflict. But they do have to work through realities and challenges. The tenacity and drive that seeks to improve things and overcome obstacles is a common trait for enjoyment in every endeavor. When working with others, we have to keep in mind that everyone is in a pursuit toward what they love and we should respect that. The goal in having a community and forming governments is for each individual to make little compromises so everyone can pursue happiness.

It was often said by those of my generation.”If it feels good do it”. What is good? It is such an overused word that seems different to every person. If someone asks us how our day is going the standard response is “good”, if everything seems to be going well. The word good has to do with preferences in one way and is widely variable such as art and automobiles. But another aspect concerns things that are universally good such as safety and health. Happiness consists more of a pursuit to make a lifetime collection of good memories and accomplishments. A caring person knows that sometimes immediate pleasures have to be sacrificed to acquire a future with consistent happiness. This is called self discipline. But we need to enjoy life too. We use the word indulge to describe times when we break away from self discipline. Forming a habit of indulgence can be a detriment to happiness although on occasion it can be a refreshing break from routine.

Equating happiness with external goods alone is a poor philosophy. Contentment is a good thing and having basic necessities is a starting point for having a good life. But there is another aspect in respect to mankind. Animals can be content with food, shelter and social interaction. Humans have a rational element in their minds full of analytics, vision and ambitions. This is often overlooked by social planners. It isn’t enough to provide sustenance for people. To focus on this aspect is degrading since it turns everyone into pet gerbils that need fed rather than classy people who possess reasoning minds. People need to use their minds to overcome obstacles and make a life for themselves. When governing, be it raising children or running a nation, an important way to impart happiness is through forming good habits.

Rather than debating what is good concerning preferences in food or clothing styles, a study about good habits would concern what is universal to everyone. This would be a study that would contain principles that would help individuals and communities reach the goal of happiness. A likely deathbed reflection would be on the ultimate life; whether we experienced happiness ourselves and gave it to those we love. That is why the study of ethics is an important one and this site is dedicated to the things that involve rational thought.

What do women want? Conversely, what do men want? These questions have been asked since the beginning of human existence. A general answer such as, “they only want to have fun”, is misleading since there are conflicting views on what people think are good for them. There is a common goal that connects the various goods we seek that we give the word “happiness”. The goal of governing is to help people pursue happiness. When promises for happiness have been broken, people fight with each other politically. Yet we need to work with each other in order to maintain an environment where people can pursue their passions and live a good life.

The subject of what is good for people can only be addressed in broad terms. It isn’t like math where answers are precise. A person who is well informed knows the difference when generalities or specifics are being addressed. When we say a conversation has digressed, it means that someone has gone off the general subject and made it into one about a certain situation that is important to them but may be only a small part of the actual discussion. Discretion is needed when discussing politics.

It is also important to be mature. An immature person makes assumptions based on notions rather than experience. It is easier to discuss behavioral things among people who have learned from life experiences since there are fewer foolish notions to address. The distance needed to travel to get somewhere with substance is much shorter. Having said this, lets proceed further into the subject of pursuing happiness.

There are three ways that happiness is pursued. Having fun is the pursuit of things that bring pleasure, but it cannot be the only thing our happiness is based in. It isn’t possible for everything to be fun. Our relationships are also an important part of happiness. Friends and family play a major role in our happiness. Yet we need our independence. Third is our peace of mind since it is hard to enjoy life full of anxiety and conflict. But sitting around thinking all the time isn’t much fun or sociable. We see that it takes an application of all three areas and some more than others depending on the person.