How do we measure happiness?

Happiness is something that most people are concerned about and want. Athenian philosopher Aristotle once said that "Happiness is the end for which human beings are designed."

But, it seems that many people are confused about happiness. Sure, we know that it's important, but it's surprising how many people are not happy and how many are looking for happiness in the wrong places.

Some of us think the more we have the happier we'll be. Think about the times in your life when you bought something because you thought it would make you happy. How long did the joy last? On hindsight, was it really worth the effort and money? There is so much pressure in our culture to buy and to have. But there is a rude awakening to actually attaining the things that you think will make you happy. It is often so disappointing. How many times have you wanted something, only to find once you had it, it didn't give you the joy and happiness that you expected?

Someone else cannot make you happy. One of the myths of our society is that finding the perfect mate will bring perfect happiness. However, people who depend on others for their personal happiness are often bitterly disappointed. True happiness comes from knowing yourself, your values, and what you like to do, not from someone else knowing these things about you. We also have to understand that happiness is not guaranteed. It is not a right. If we can fully understand this truth, then we'll cherish happiness more when it comes, and grieve less when it goes.

Questions about human happiness are not new; they have been asked throughout time. But no one else can really tell you how to find happiness. Also, what makes you happy changes with time. In reality happiness is a personal thing with as many varieties as there are individuals. The bottom line is that we are all experts on our own personal happiness, no one else holds the key or the answers to it. I would like to end this writing by sharing a statement by Robert Louis Stevenson:

"Make the best of your circumstances, No one has everything and everyone has something of sorrow intermingled with the gladness of life. The trick is to make the laughter outweigh the tears. Don't take yourself too seriously. You can't please everybody; don't let your neighbours set your standards, do the things you enjoy doing, but stay out of debt. Don't borrow trouble. Imaginary things are harder to bear than the actual ones. Since hate poisons the soul, do not cherish enmities, grudges. Don't hold post-mortems. Don't spend your life brooding over sorrow and mistakes. Don't be one who never gets over things. Do what you can for those less fortunate than yourself. Keep busy at something. A very busy person never has time to be unhappy."