Happiness
Happiness is a challenge to stretch yourself, to get
yourself out of comfort zone, and to live with a higher purpose. Tony Hsieh
wrote:
“The higher-purpose type of happiness is about being part of something bigger than yourself that has meaning to you. Research has shown that of the three type of happiness, this is the longest lasting.
What I find interesting is that many people go through life chasing after the pleasure type of happiness, thinking that once they are able to sustain that, then they will worry about the passion and, if they get around to it, look for higher purpose.
Based on the findings of the research, however, the proper strategy would be to figure out and pursue the higher purpose first (since it is the longest-lasting type of happiness), then layer on top of that the passion, and then add on top of that the pleasure type of happiness.” (Tony Hsieh)
Questions to Maslow’s Hierarchy
According to Maslow’s hierarchy, a human being must start at
a low level basic need before moving on to meet higher level of happiness.
When I study Maslow’s Hierarchy in the Psychology 101, I
have a question “Is it better that I am looking for the Self Actualization
first?” The reason is in the modern society (specifically, it’s modernized
country like US and a life of a normal college student), every human being always
can find easily those need if he/she is not lazy: physiological needs (food,
water, sex, etc…), safety needs (job security, shelter, stability, etc..), love
or belonging (family, friends, etc…), self esteem (achievement, status,
responsibilities, etc…). Modern society have trained or forced all of us to
find the way to find and maintain those needs. The physiological and safety
need are those needs for each individual to exist. Love and self esteem are
gained by the acceptance of people surrounding you.
However, the question of self-actualization is never come
from the society. That is why it is rarely to have somebody coming up to you
and and asking:
“Why do you live?”
“What do you live your life for?”
Self actualization is the only need I think each human being
has to look for it by themselves. It is not easy to find the self-actualization
(fulfillment, self-sufficiency, creativity, morality, authenticity, acceptance
of fact) or the higher-purpose type of happiness. Certainly, you cannot find the
answer for your self-actualization like you can find the answer for the question,
“Who is the president of the United States?” The question of happiness requires
a life time to find out the answer.
Fluctuation of Happiness in Real Life
People gain something and people lose something during life.
What creates unhappiness is the disruption to meet the lower level needs before
progressing on higher level needs. Life experiences many disruptions, such as loss
of beloved ones, divorces, failures, etc... it creates a cycle up and down of happiness.
The lesson is it doesn’t matter how many
times you have to go through the deep or how many time life hits you with a
brick, What matters is how many times you get up and face your failures, how
many times you experiences happiness with your loved ones before the death
knock on the door.
Where Does Happiness Come From?
Appreciation. You need to appreciate what you have. The root
of happiness is accepting what you have and appreciate it. I am not an “A”
student, but I am happy with a “B” student. What happens if I am a “D” student”?
So you should appreciate that you still
have a chance to go to school and make something better out of it. Maybe, it
could be your next “C” grade.
Joy and positive energy. I am a big believer of synergy. If
you feel unhappy or stuck, please find a way to associate with positive energy,
it can be a book, a friend, or a mentor. Somebody can help you recharged and
refresh. Happiness is a battle of mind and you will sometime need somebody or
something to back up when you are ambushed with negative thinking.
Belief and faith. Some words about faith from Steve Jobs’s
Stanford Speech have resounded within me so much, so I want to share with all of you
“Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for you lovers.” (Steve Jobs)
I wish you with appreciation, joy, and faith, my friends :D
Bài viết này hay và đầy đủ lắm anh. Tuy nó hơi trừu tượng và khó hiểu tý so với em, hì. Em nghĩ là anh tự đưa ra những ví dụ nhiều hơn thì người ta dễ nắm bắt hơn những lý thuyết và quan điểm về hạnh phúc đó muốn nói đến điều gì! :D
ReplyDeleteAnh mới chạy về và đang ngồi đọc comments của em.Đúng là cách anh viết hiện tại khó hiểu và đôi khi chăng ăn nhập gì với người đọc, anh cũng cảm thấy vậy. Vì thực ra anh viết cho anh là chính, nghe thực là ích kỷ phải ko em? Ví dụ phải đi từ kinh nghiệm sống thực tế của bản thân hoặc phải hiểu biết hoặc được chia sẻ từ những người bạn lớn (lớn vì cách sống ko phải qua tuổi tác). Anh chưa có nhiều kinh nghiệm sâu sắc lắm và ...haha... thú thực là mới đau khổ có vài ba lần thôi (hầu hết cuộc sống đến giờ vẫn còn sướng chán) nên chưa đưa ra ví dụ được. Với lại kiểu viết mỗi ngày một bài như của anh thì rất MỲ ĂN LIỀN nên chưa đạt đến độ bén. Nói chân thành đọc bài của anh có MÙI nhưng chưa có MIẾNG. Để bữa nào anh sẽ vận nội công viết một bài khoảng trong vòng 3 - 4 ngày, may ra mới ra CHẤT được em ạ. Ok, anh sẽ ghi xuống 2 phần:
ReplyDelete1) Thêm ví dụ cho quan điểm
2) Trải nghiệm thêm ...vui lẫn buồn :D