The Pursuit Of Happiness Time, Money, And Social...

The state of being happy is very debatable. Happiness can last anywhere from a fraction of a second to possibly a lifetime. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines being happy as â€Å"feeling pleasure and enjoyment because of your life, situation, etc..† Although there are a few set definitions for the word, the definition of happiness can range from person to person. Most people define happiness by naming material things in their life as well as people. Setting goals to achieve one’s definition of happiness can cause them to alter their definition later on and want more than what they already have. This brings to question whether anyone is ever truly happy. In the article, â€Å"The Pursuit of Happiness: Time, Money, and Social Connections,† Cassie Mogilner writes about the effect money has on happiness. Mauss, et al, follow the same train of thought as Mogilner in their article, â€Å"The Pursuit of Happiness Can Be Lonely,† and explain how chasing happi ness can lead to loneliness. A question often asked is whether money can buy happiness or not, it is a â€Å"common assumption that money is critical for pursuit of the American Dream and individuals’ inalienable right to be happy† (Mogilner 1348). However, that is not often the case. Working longer hours often leads to a bigger paycheck which one might associate with happiness but, Mogilner found that â€Å"people are most happy when socializing and during intimate relations and least happy when working and commuting† (1348). In her study,Show MoreRelatedThe Frustrating Pursuit of Happiness1299 Words   |  5 Pagesconstantly striving towards happiness. People will work their entire life chasing something and in the end still be unhappy. Continually pursuing this idealistic goal of happiness and never feeling as though they have accomplished it, leaving people wondering if it is even worth it. It often makes people question what happiness is even considered anymore in today’s societ y and curious as to how they can achieve such a thing. Devoting one’s entire life to achieving happiness in our 21st century societyRead MoreAn Analysis of The Pursuit of Happiness752 Words   |  3 PagesThe Pursuit of Happyness Abstract Some of the most common themes in contemporary biographical films revolve around social life as well as the accompanying problems that living in todays society entails. By making connections to individual personal lives, these films help most people make sense of the world in which they live. In this regard, this paper focuses on the film, The Pursuit of Happyness outlining various cultural issues as well as problems faced by the starring; Will Smith playingRead MoreThe Pursuit Of The American Dream By F. 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In both literary works, the authors show a comparison between these two visions of the American Dream, and in the end, the authors message is the same;Read MoreThe Grand Illusion in The Great Gatsby Essay811 Words   |  4 PagesThe American dream is a farce. Hopeful American children and quixotic foreigners believe that freedom will lead to prosperity, and that prosperity will bring happiness. This anticipation of joy will never come to fruition, and all these unfortunate people will feel that they were cheated out of happiness by some unlucky roll of dice, but really they have been chasing cars, because the American dream is not something one can truly capture, but only smoke trapped in the palm of a hand. In The GreatRead MoreA Pattern Stylistic Analysis of the Story The Escape by William Somerset Maugham1032 Words   |  5 Pagesstory is marriage in bourgeois society, relations between men and women in connection with problems of marriage. 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