Review Of The Book 'The Happiness Advantage' By Shawn Achor

Happiness is an emotion that can be very easily obtained however it can be very hard to get that intense of joy sometimes. The emotional state of being content is one of the most amazing feelings in the world. Although there is always that clique question, “Does money create happiness?” To answer that no it does not and there is various ways to prove it. Money is just a piece of paper that controls most of your life ,but happiness is not one of them.

According to the classic sense, a life full of happiness is a life that manifests wisdom, kindness, and goodness. However happiness has been twisted by a secular culture and the classic sense has given away to “pleasurable satisfaction”. Pleasurable satisfaction depends on external circumstances going well. Moreland points out that because of this the modern sense of happiness, “pleasurable satisfaction”, is unstable and varies with life’s circumstances. Pleasurable satisfaction becomes increasingly addictive and enslaving if it becomes the dominant aim of one’s life. By contrast, classical happiness brings freedom and power to life as one ought, as one increasingly becomes a unified person who lives for a cause bigger than one’s self. Western culture has been disillusioned into seeking happiness as their main priority in life. Although, happiness is important, when its importance becomes exaggerated, it leads to a loss of purpose in life, and even depression. What Western cultures need to realize is that true happiness can never be achieved. Over the past 50 years, levels of health, wealth, and liberties have increased, but levels of happiness haven’t.

But, as a follow up, I asked myself, “Can money help buy happiness? The answer: yes, use wisely, it can”(168). By this answer, I realize money is very important, and useful in our life but if we do not know how to use it in right situation, or too economize, money will make your relative far away from you and it will make you are not enjoy it. As the author demonstrates in the chapter, “Money, spent wisely, can support happiness goals of strengthening relationships, promoting health, having fun, and all the rest”(173) that makes me understand more about using money and how to makes money become valuable in happiness. Spending money in buys something to make your parents happy that makes they will happy and understand more about you.

Does Money Buy Happiness? Studies over the last 10 years have shown that life experiences gives people lasting happiness and memories. There are two types of happiness: the measure of the quality of one's life, and how often one experiences positive emotions such as joy and affection. People in the top quartile for annual income have self-reported higher quality of life happiness than those in the bottom quartile, but about the same emotional happiness. Money can be used to purchase things ranging from physical objects to an experience.

As Begley “When people buy something they try to pay as little for it as they can” (p. 1). Therefore, I agree that money sometimes can bring happiness while there are a lot of things which people cannot have it with money. The author states that people enjoy when they get something on sale, and they feel happy when they spend less money for. Also, the author mentions how money can affect people who are poor and give them happiness; however, rich people gather money to increase their wealth. Sharon also writes about the survey, which how people consider their happiness.

In the article, Determinants of Happiness in Undergraduate University Students, it says, “Researchers such as Cummins et al. (2009) go as far as to suggest that individuals are happier when whole society’s functions better” (Flynn and MacLeod 452). This shows that without happiness, people could not work well together. It is why so many people work together, and keeping the economy well. In the article Determinants of Happiness in Undergraduate University Students, it says, “It is well known in the positive psychology literature that increased happiness is related to multiple benefits including better mental and physical health, (see Lyubomirsky et al. 2005)” (Flynn and MacLeod 452). This is why people that are happier have a better life in their jobs and schools. It also shows that people have better eating habits if they are happy. In the article Determinants of Happiness in Undergraduate University Students, it says that, “The individual benefits can pale in comparison to the potential societal gains of having a population comprised of such happy and therefore “successful” individuals” (Flynn and MacLeod 453). This is why people who like their job are better at their job. People that are fortunate are ones who usually like their job. People are happier if what they are doing is what they like, and it helps them to be happier than they

In finding happiness at work, there is a large but limited set of values or factors; the key is determining how much of each value is needed. The individual is the only one who can make the determination of how much of each value is needed. What makes one person happy at work is not the same combination for the next guy. One guy may value a big salary to be happy while another could be just as happy with a little less pay and a little more involvement. The right mix of variables is personal because priorities need to be set. Rare is the job that provides all the values that you need in the exactly right proportions. Because of the rarity of the perfect job, we need to decide on what values we could be content with upholding.

Happiness is one of the most significant dimensions of human experience. Many people can argue that happiness is a meaningful and desirable entity. Studies indicate that everyone pursues happiness in various aspects of their life. Our four fathers saw happiness as a need, so they made the pursuit of happiness as one of the three unalienable rights branded in the Declaration of Independence. There is a sense of complexity behind the meaning of happiness; its definition is not definite. Think of happiness as a rope; there are many thin fiber strands bonded together to become the strength of the rope. Like the analogy of the rope, there are numerous factors that can contribute to an individual’s overall happiness in life. This study is going to

The most universal goal every human has in common is the pursuit of happiness or “creation or construction of happiness” (Achor, 78). To be able to fulfill this wish of becoming happy, people often think the key to achieving happiness is success. In the book, The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor, he debunks this theory of success leading to happiness by illustrating the reverse theory of success. Through dozens of studies and experiments as forms of evidence, the author argues that an individual needs to achieve happiness in order to be truly successful. Achor 's argument is valid in that happiness should come before success because there is a clear advantage to being successful in an individual’s work life, personal sphere, and liveliness if they are happy first and foremost.

Money is an important factor for the majority of people on this earth, but why? People believe that money can give a person power, authority, and anything that they want or need. Money can purchase numerous things in the world but there is a limit to what it can buy. Sometimes people think that money can buy success, friends, family, and even love. In upcoming generations, most people are taught that they should always strive to get as much money as they can receive.

What is good in life? What is our purpose? What makes up happy? These are the questions philosophers and people of all kind have pondered for centuries. Although opinions are made by individuals’ thoughts and their subconscious, the concept of happiness has been continuously researched and sought after. History has the tendency to repeat itself and as time goes on humans have tried to achieve their fullest life through happiness. In “Happy Like God,” Simon Critchley, British philosopher and teacher, says in his May 2009 New York Times article, “Happiness is not quantitative or measurable and it is not the object of any science, old or new,” (560). This statement brings light onto the topic of true happiness and allows me to realize that being happy is more than just a feeling, it is a state of mind. I think that happiness is what all people strive for and try to obtain in many ways. I have now learned that through a balanced life, it is achievable. Many people begin with a question of “What is happiness?” and then discover their own path in life whether that is helping others, working towards a hopeful future, or pursuing something that gives them enjoyment. There are several social scientists, theorists, and teachers who have organized their own thoughts and illustrated what it is to obtain happiness. Overall, it is shown that humans can reach happiness through a full life: consisting of pleasure, engagement and meaning.

It is common sense that all the human beings would like to live a happy life and they will spare no efforts in order to realize the purpose of really living a happy life in the end. However, different people have different definitions toward what a happy life is and they tend to have different standards as for how a life is that can be regarded as a happy life. There is no doubt that people will then try different means in order to pursue a happy life based on their definition toward what a happy life is. Therefore, the following will talk about the pursuit of a happy life from the perspectives of both Dalai Lama in The Art of Happiness and Viktor E. Frankl in Man’s Searching for Meaning, during which the experiences of some characters from the film Forrest Gump will be applied as evidence. Generally speaking, the pursuit of a happy life in the minds of Dalai Lama and Viktor E. Frankl can be achieved via experiencing sufferings and adversity. It is hoped that this analysis can help people understand what a happy is from a different point of view.

There are many people claim that there is not any relationship between money and happiness. However, I believe that there is a direct relationship between money and happiness. Research shows that being able to provide our basic needs and higher-level wants leads us to a happy life. The relationship between money and happiness is like the relationship between food and body. “The importance of money in human life is similar to the importance of food for the body. Just like you can’t live even for a few days without food, you can’t survive for long without money.”(Singh, 2015).Having access to our necessities, being able to participate in leisure activities, and being able to help our friends, are things which make us happy; and we need money for having them.So, for being happy in our life,

Personal happiness is determined by three things, which are genetics, personal decisions, and circumstances. The happiness equation looks like this: Genetics make up 50% of happiness, personal decisions make up 40%, and circumstances make up 10% of overall happiness (Psychology of Happiness).The stereotype that wealth makes one happier is almost completely a lie, with the multiple times proven study that once one is over the poverty line, wealth no longer has any effect. In fact, once over the poverty line, research says the wealthy are supposedly more stressed and tense, which is the opposite of happiness. So, that rumor is a

Everyone has their own idea to what happiness truly is. Some believe that happiness comes from the heart while others believe money contributes to it. Pursuing a career in any field anyone wants to specialize in can bring happiness as well. As I read many different articles about whether money or spirituality have anything to do with someone’s happiness, I concluded that my happiness does depend on these two important topics. Also, there are laws in this country that forbids their citizens to be happy such as, the immigration reform happening now. There are many reasons why people are happy; as well as, many reasons why people are affected by other people’s happiness in a positive or negative way. By researching different articles on happiness, I know my path to happiness is viable.