Is a Happy Life Different from a Meaningful One?

Is a Happy Life Different from a Meaningful One?

“Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.”

― Dr. Seuss

“For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.”

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”

― Mahatma Gandhi

Defining happiness can seem as elusive as achieving it. We want to be happy, and we can say whether we are or not, but can it really be defined, studied and measured? And can we use this learning to become happier?  Happiness is a mental or emotional state of well-being defined by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy.

A meaningful life is a broad term encompassing a varied number of definitions having to do with the pursuit of life satisfaction. Meaning can be defined as the connection linking two presumably independent entities together.

Philosophers, researchers, spiritual leaders they’ve all debated what makes life worth living. Is it a life filled with happiness or a life filled with purpose and meaning? Is there even a difference between the two?

These aren’t just academic questions. They can help us determine where we should invest our energy to lead the life we want. The controversy surrounding it raises big questions about what happiness actually means: While there may be more to life than happiness, there may also be more to “happiness” than pleasure alone.

The difference’s regarding Happy life and Meaningful life are:

• Happy people satisfy their wants and needs, but that seems largely irrelevant to a meaningful life. Therefore, health, wealth, and ease in life were all related to happiness, but not meaning.
• Happiness involves being focused on the present, whereas meaningfulness involves thinking more about the past, present, and future and the relationship between them. In addition, happiness was seen as fleeting, while meaningfulness seemed to last longer.
• Meaningfulness is derived from giving to other people; happiness comes from what they give to you. Although social connections were linked to happiness and meaning, happiness was connected more to the benefits one receives from social relationships, especially friendships, while meaningfulness was related to what one gives to others.
• Meaningful lives involve stress and challenges. Higher levels of worry, stress, and anxiety were linked to higher meaningfulness but lower happiness, which suggests that engaging in challenging or difficult situations that are beyond oneself or one’s pleasures promotes meaningfulness but not happiness.
• Self-expression is important to meaning but not happiness. Doing things to express oneself and caring about personal and cultural identity were linked to a meaningful life but not a happy one. For example, considering oneself to be wise or creative was associated with meaning but not happiness.

This can go on for long but what will be the point of it, the thing is having a happy life is far more meaningful then having a meaningful life. Yes ofcourse everyone is entitled to their own opinion but regarding this I am putting out my opinion. I am not saying to have non purpose life, but that purpose won’t matter if you, yourself are not happy in your life. Having meaning in everything is not important, there might be one for everything, but sometimes it’s just simply, like hugging or kissing someone, there is no meaning it’s simply happiness and that is what needed in simply happiness. So happy life is different from meaningful one.

“Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.”

-         Marcus Aurelius

Life is a song - sing it. Life is a game - play it. Life is a challenge - meet it. Life is a dream - realize it. Life is a sacrifice - offer it. Life is love - enjoy it.

-         Sai Baba

The purpose of our lives is to be happy.

-         Dalai Lama

-Dhruvil Joshi