Contribution of Individual Happiness to a Harmonious Society
Individual Happiness Contributes to the Harmonious Society
He Zhewei(Jay)
If you have a chance to choose a life, what will you choose? The rich but unhappy life or the ordinary life with lifelong happiness? Most people will choose the latter, because it is the essence of the life. The pursuit of individual happiness is being acknowledged as a world right. People often assume that happiness is an individual thing, but the meaning of happiness shifts across the life course. Therefore, happiness contributes to the harmonious society because it has a positive impact on social life and commercial development. First of all, individual happiness makes a contribution in enhancing social relationships. Individual happiness can invisibly influence the social behavior. If a person feels happy, that will result in positive behavior. Generally speaking, happiness will affect his character and his subjective well-being. Apparently, a happy person will be kind to the people around his social circle. According to Dixon (2011), “The happiness participants felt about their past generosity, the more likely they were in the present to choose to spend on someone else instead of themselves”. People are willing to share happy feelings; they will be kind spending on others. Individual happiness creates a virtuous cycle between happiness and kindness. Likewise, in the case of people being more kind, the relationship of friends and family will be strengthened. On the other hand, “happiness is as essential as food if a child is to develop into normal manhood or womanhood: the purpose of bringing-up in all its phases should be to make the child as happy as possible.” (Stearns, 2012) parents have a special bond with their children. A negligible emotional change may have a significant impact on children’s growth. Children will grow up healthily and comfortably in a relaxed and happy environment. Vice versa, parents will become happier when they witness the growth of
He Zhewei(Jay)
If you have a chance to choose a life, what will you choose? The rich but unhappy life or the ordinary life with lifelong happiness? Most people will choose the latter, because it is the essence of the life. The pursuit of individual happiness is being acknowledged as a world right. People often assume that happiness is an individual thing, but the meaning of happiness shifts across the life course. Therefore, happiness contributes to the harmonious society because it has a positive impact on social life and commercial development. First of all, individual happiness makes a contribution in enhancing social relationships. Individual happiness can invisibly influence the social behavior. If a person feels happy, that will result in positive behavior. Generally speaking, happiness will affect his character and his subjective well-being. Apparently, a happy person will be kind to the people around his social circle. According to Dixon (2011), “The happiness participants felt about their past generosity, the more likely they were in the present to choose to spend on someone else instead of themselves”. People are willing to share happy feelings; they will be kind spending on others. Individual happiness creates a virtuous cycle between happiness and kindness. Likewise, in the case of people being more kind, the relationship of friends and family will be strengthened. On the other hand, “happiness is as essential as food if a child is to develop into normal manhood or womanhood: the purpose of bringing-up in all its phases should be to make the child as happy as possible.” (Stearns, 2012) parents have a special bond with their children. A negligible emotional change may have a significant impact on children’s growth. Children will grow up healthily and comfortably in a relaxed and happy environment. Vice versa, parents will become happier when they witness the growth of
References: Stearns, P. N. (2012). The History of Happiness. (cover story). Harvard Business Review, 90(1/2), 104-109. Dixon, Alex (2011) Kindness Makes You Happy… and Happiness Makes You Kind http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/kindness_makes_you_happy_and_happiness_makes_you_kind/#