Asanoldsayinggoes,“Happinessisnottheabsenceofproblems,buttheabilitytodealwiththem.”Whyisdifficulttodefine,orratherdiscoverandachievehappiness?Imaintainthemajordeterminantliesinaperson’sattitudes.
Thereislittlecorrelationbetweenthecircumstanceofpeople’slivesandhowhappytheyare.Instead,happinessliesinthestruggletobehappy.Todemonstrate,peoplesometimesgotoextremes,andfranticallypursuemoney,power,highsocialstatus,andsoon,whichareallsymbolsofsuccess—butneverofhappiness.Perhapsiftheyshiftedtheirlife’sgoalfromultimatesuccesstounswervingeffortsandtoaconfidencethattheywillbesuccessfulonedaytheywouldbeagreatdealhappier.
Besidesdefiningit,howdoIachievehappiness?Thereislittledoubtthatvariouspeoplehavediversewaysofgoingaboutthistask.Asforme,themostsignificantsecretisrealizingthathappinessisaby-productofsomethingelse.Themostobvioussourcesarethosepursuitsthatgiveourlivesapurpose.Thesecanbeanythingfromplayingtennistostudyinginsects.Themorepassionswehave,themorehappinesswearelikelytoexperience.