Every person pursues happiness in their life. But some people argue that happiness is just a fleeting feeling, and what we really want to pursue is well-being. These two words are everywhere: articles, essays, and self-help books. But what do these two words mean? Are they different? Are they the same? Is one of them more important than the other? Should one be a greater priority? Let’s take a look at their meanings to understand which one should be our aim in life. In psychology happiness is defined as “a state of emotional well-being that a person experiences either in a narrow sense, when good things happen in a specific moment, or more broadly, as a positive evaluation of one’s life and accomplishments overall—that is, subjective well-being” (Encyclopedia Britannica). This means that happiness is either related to some moments, or to a sense of satisfaction that we feel about our life.
But why should we be contented with a state of mind when we can pursue something higher? That something higher is what Aristotle called Eudaimonia. It is described as “the condition of human flourishing or of living well” (Encyclopedia Britannica). In English it has been wrongly translated as happiness, but its meaning goes deeper. “Researchers normally use ‘well-being’ to denote a kind of value. This value concerns what benefits or harms you, or makes you better or worse off. Depending on what ultimately benefits people, this might include things beyond happiness, such as achievement or friendship. Other words for well-being include ‘flourishing’, ‘thriving’ and ‘welfare’”.
According to Doctor Gregg Henriques, “happiness is important, but it is definitely not all there is to well-being. And I believe we ought to be focused on well-being rather than happiness, per se. Happiness is a central component to well-being, but only one component.” Happiness is something that we can gain through well-being. But what should we do to reach well-being? What can make our soul flourish? Here are some tips that can help us. The Roman poet Juvenal wrote “Mens sana in corpore sano”, a sound mind in a sound body, which means that to have a healthy mind, it is important having a healthy body, too. So, the first tip is trying to keep your body healthy. How?
- Exercise: do sports, go to the gym, try to walk more.
- Get enough sleep: “People who sleep “optimally” are less likely to develop symptoms of depression; they quickly establish relationships with others and establish closer contact with their being”.
- Drinking loads of water.
- Have a well-balanced diet: there are so many ways to cook delicious meals healthily. But remember: having a healthy diet does not mean that you can’t give in to those small pleasures once in a while, how can anybody live well without pizza or chocolate?
The second tip is to maintain your relationship with people, especially the ones that can see your value. Surround yourself with people that make you feel loved and appreciated and cut those toxic relationships that make you question your worth. “These connections are the cornerstones of your life. Invest in them every day and enrich them”. When you spend time with the people you love, invest energy in their well-being too, try to be for them what they are for you. The third tip is linked to the second one. Do not keep your feelings bottled up, find ways to let them out, whether is talking to friends or family, to a professional, or simply writing them down on your journal.
As much as relationships with others are important, your relationship with yourself is also important. The fourth tip is finding time for yourself. Take that time to do something that you enjoy, or something for your inner growth. You can read, write in a journal, treat yourself for a meal, take some time for your hobbies. There is always time to find new things that you enjoy, so the fifth tip is never stop learning. You can always experiment and try to learn new skills. They can bring a change to your routine, and they can be useful for your inner growth. When you try something new, make sure it involves your creativity! Putting our creativity at work is a great exercise for our brains, it also helps improve our problem-solving skills.
The sixth tip is spending time outside. Connecting to mother nature, breathing fresh air, earing the sounds of nature will help you find your inner peace and forget about the chaos of your daily life. Using your time to help others can give you a sense of purpose, help you meet people and boost your self-esteem. That is why the seventh and last tip is to give. You can donate things and money to charity, you can buy food for people who cannot afford it. But giving has more than the material meaning. There are so many things that can be gifted to people, and most of them cannot be bought.
- Give your time: you can listen to people or spent time with them doing something day love.
- Give your skills: your skills can be useful not only in your job and your personal life. They can be used to help people.
- Give a smile: sometimes it can be enough to make a person feel better.
- Give your advice: sometimes people need to hear word of support, just make sure to be respectful when giving them advice.
When we try to apply these seven tips to our life, our sense of well-being will improve and we will find out that to feel successful in life, to feel our soul flourish, we do not need only a few moments of happiness.
Francesca Cuomo
References:
Duignan, B. (2020, July 3). eudaimonia. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/eudaimonia
Herniques G. (2013), Happiness Versus Well-Being https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/theory-knowledge/201302/happiness-versus-well-being (last access 07/07/2022).
How to Improve your Mental Wellbeing https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/tips-for-everyday-living/wellbeing/wellbeing/#FindWaysToLearnAndBeCreative (last access 07/07/2022).
Twelve keys to wellbeing and happiness https://wellbeing-project.org/twelve-keys-to-wellbeing-and-happiness-post/ (last access 07/07/2022).
What are happiness and well-being? A brief guide https://www.happinessandwellbeing.org/wellbeing-research-faq-2#1 (last access 07/07/2022).
