This I Believe

The meaning of life is a question that has been asked ever since the first man had a mind to think of it with. I believe that the meaning of life is to be happy. But then the question arises of how you measure a man’s happiness. Here in our western society I suppose we measure a man’s happiness through his success, which is usually associated with wealth and in some cases family. So you can say to live a happy life you must have wealth and family. I believe that happiness can be attained through many ways besides that; for instance happiness can be attained through occupation, hobbies, and a certain degree of carelessness.

I do not doubt that wealth is a good way to attain happiness, because every man has greed within them no matter how good they are; so wealth is a way of quenching that crave. I also do not disagree that happiness can be achieved through family, since after all we are social creatures and social creatures socialize. But I do believe that there are other ways to achieve happiness. One of those ways is occupation; a job that you enjoy to go to and love to work at. Currently I am pursing a major in Biology so that I can achieve my goal of being a Zoologist. I have been criticized and advised by friends as well as my father to purse a degree in business or engineering so that I could accumulate wealth. I do not feel the necessity to be rich, but I do feel the need to pick and purse a lifelong career that I look forward to doing every day. I do not want to have to go to a job in which I despise just to be rich. I also believe happiness can be achieved through hobbies. You need something to enjoy in life and engage yourself in, because without that only desolation and discontent is left. I personally enjoy soccer, games, and parties; and while my pastimes may not seem agreeable for everyone else, I do feel each person needs something to place their leisure time in. The last thing that can help promote happiness in life is to live a stress free life. My personal favorite motto is “Hakuna Matata” from the Lion King, and it means no worries. Too many people fret over little things, and constant worry builds stress, regret, and negativity; all of which are counterproductive to happiness. I feel that if you have no ability to change an unwanted circumstance, you should quickly accept it and move on. You only foster an unhappy demeanor through holding on to dire feelings and thoughts.

Happiness is to me, the true meaning to this game we call life. I believe that to win it you do not need family or wealth, but simply something that gratifies you. While my sources of gratification may be different from yours, the end result remains the same; contentment.