As a Wise Man Once Said

Have you ever wondered what our life is eventually leading to?  What comes at the end?  Aristotle, an ancient philosopher, named that happiness is a central purpose of human life and a goal in itself.  Through his beliefs and studies he found that happiness depends on the cultivation of virtue and that “a genuinely happy life required the fulfillment of a broad range of conditions, including physical as well as mental well-being”. I find it so interesting that such a profound thinker had such an opinion on something as seemingly simple as happiness.

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For many people, happiness is a state of mind but for Aristotle happiness is actually a final goal that encompasses the totality of one’s life.  It is interesting that his idea of happiness is more of a measure of the fulfillment of your life up to that point rather just something that can change in a few hours.  That something so significant in your life could make you so happy at that moment, but overall has nothing to do with your achievement of happiness for a lifetime.

It has been discovered that there is actually a science of happiness and there are everyday habits that can help you to achieve overall happiness.  These include forming relationships, being caring, exercising, flow, spiritual engagement and meaning, strengths and virtues, and a positive mindset.  There are also factors that can lead to unhappiness.  It is interesting that technology is actually where people turn when they are unhappy, when in fact that could be the sole purpose of unhappiness in the first place.  Greg Toppo found that the more technology young people use, the unhappier they are.