Name
Capella University
PSYC FPX 4110 Positive Psychology
Prof. Name
December, 2024
Reflection on Happiness and Well-being
Happiness and well-being are complex, multifaceted concepts investigated in various disciplines: philosophy, psychology, sociology, and even economics (Altomonte et al., 2024). The goal indicates the relation between the two with such a significant level of interaction that happiness is perceived to be incorporated within the total well-being compartment. Thinking about happiness and quality of life requires looking at what is pro-successful and how success factors can be promoted among people, cultures, and societies.
Happiness is a reliance feeling and a stand, voluntary and involuntary, of the individual expressing the qualitative state of euphoria, satisfaction, and contentment with life. The writing of happiness has been written about for many years by profound Linguists who define it as being “Eudaimonia” which is the achievement of human ends via the exercise of virtue (Hyland et al., 2021). From this point of view, though, it is not about having fun or escaping suffering but about finding meaning in life exercising the skills, principles, and values one adopts. Thus, the angle from where the strength for positive emotions meaningful activity, and strong social relationships make people admit to happiness more frequently.
Well-being, while closely tied to happiness, is an overall concept comprising a variety of elements: Physical health well-being refers to physical strength, and being free from an ailment, while mental health well-being deals with the ability to manage the stress of life and maintaining effective coping strategies; social health wellbeing centers on having harmonious relations and an acknowledgment of belonging to a given community (Hyland et al., 2021). Economic currency is also worth pari passu with psychological currency for economic status is useful to assess overall well-being since it also predicts individuals’ ability to engage in opportunities that allow for accomplishments of the other dimensions of well-being than mere happiness. The WHO makes a clear distinction between medical well-being as the absence of disease or infirmity and well-being as a state of complete physical, mental, and social health as a desirable endpoint (Cai et al., 2021).
The discovery of the nature of happiness and well-being raises one of the ongoing questions in this field: external conditions or internal quirks? Money, rank, and surroundings can help happiness but it is widely known that they do not play a big role in happiness for long periods (Altomonte et al., 2024). These are said to be the so-called ‘hedonic treadmill’ since people are always shifting between high and low levels and caused by the way people adapt rapidly to new conditions by returning to the baseline level of happiness. On the latter hand, the sustaining factors of happiness, that is personality, thinking patterns, and how one copes with life issues, are infinitely more important. For instance, some might have a feeling of appreciation, others who exercise, those who are mindful and those who are altruistic and all these facets are likely to keep their well-being no matter the events happening in their environment.
The third important area of reflection concerns the part that relations play in the attainment of happiness and well-being (Zheng, 2022). Taktilaba izgudojim pasiprobodė daugelis tyrujų ra tyma, jog tirpantis socialines sistemos junginstė gardos ir emokra Traumatyvotos ekonominė}. Various researches show that in case a person finds support within a family, friends, or any community, he or she will be happy and live long. One of the biggest discoveries that was made about happiness is that people surveyed around the world consistently reported that the quality of their relationships was the strongest indication of their happiness levels, over and above factors like money, success, or status. Sociality is part of human DNA and quality of life is determined by the quality of connections.
Of course, there are also other reasons for living apart from close interpersonal relationships which contribute to subjective well-being (Cai et al., 2021). Individuals who feel they have a reason to live, through a job, a sport, or a pursuit or contributing, feel that their lives are happier, especially amongst the aging population who find purpose in imparting their knowledge to the next generation. It is related to resilience as well; purposeful individuals do not become adverse easily and where there seems to be little purpose to others, purposeful people see purpose. This evidence also demonstrates that specifying reflective value-based goals, irrespective of family, creativity, or social justice, results in more satisfaction with life than when aiming at rewards of outer success and other accomplishments.
Interpersonal and cultural variables are also known to play a role in happiness and well-being. Besides, self-actualization which is also the pursuit of happiness is the main core value in one culture while it is subordinate to the general utility of the group or the welfare of the group or the other person in the other (Cai et al., 2021) . A society defines what people think is important for happiness; what is worthy of a person’s life; and which way therefore to chase well-being For instance, happiness can be more standardized to a culture and can be associated with more of the specific accomplishments that bring happiness. Therefore, cultural perception of these disparities is important to enhance the overall appreciation of happiness and human well-being from personal and shared dimensions.
It has over the last couple of years, gained a lot of popularity in the world through the understanding that the measurement of well-being is important in national and international policies (Altomonte et al., 2024). Therefore, while governments, organizations, and institutions are measuring success in well-being, this is not in terms of the conventional economic markers such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Bhutan is widely recognized to have incorporated a new approach to measurements of progress in development called Gross National Happiness (GNH). Such endeavors admit that the increase in wealth means happiness and poverty reduction is not enough, and a rich country must address social and ecological concerns equally.
Therefore, such reflections on happiness and well-being concern the massive internal and external prerequisites for the achievement of the essence of life (Veenhoven et al., 2021). While happiness is considered an affective experience, well-being is much more of a dispositional and cross-domain construct that encompasses Physical, mental, relation, and Economic. Perseverance, interpersonal relations, personal attitude, and self-management are individual factors that shape happiness and well-being but the societal contexts determine how these are achieved. People and cultures remain hunting and gathering for happiness and health, and what rouses itself to view is that to attain wholeness worth living for, negative haven’t got it but a positive, meaningful call to work on building wellness, community, and life mission is imperative.
PSYC FPX 4110 assessment 1 References
Altomonte, S., Kaçel, S., Martinez, P. W., & Licina, D. (2024). What is next? A new conceptual model for comfort, satisfaction, health, and well-being in buildings. Building and Environment, 252, 111234. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2024.111234
Cai, T., Verze, P., & Bjerklund Johansen, T. E. (2021). The quality of life definition: where are we going? Uro, 1(1), 14–22. https://doi.org/10.3390/uro1010003
Hyland, S. J., Brockhaus, K. K., Vincent, W. R., Spence, N. Z., Lucki, M. M., Howkins, M. J., & Cleary, R. K. (2021). Perioperative pain management and opioid stewardship: a practical guide. Healthcare, 9(3), 333. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9030333
Veenhoven, R., Chiperi, F., Kang, X., & Burger, M. (2021). Happiness and consumption: a research synthesis using an online finding archive. SAGE Open, 11(1), 215824402098623. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020986239