For my counterintuitive essay topic, I found my idea through reading the article, There’s More to Life Than Being Happy.  This article sparked my already keen interest on the topic of happiness versus having meaning in one’s life. We always talk about how happy we are or the lack of. We often have the thought of happiness being easy, when in reality it is often not. We think happiness is the answer to all their problems. The thought of happiness rules our lives. All of these companies make money off us who just want to be happy. We buy books, medications, different foods, or anything they say will help. The underlining goal, “All I want is to be happy,” is what has been said so many times. The point of my essay will be to show happiness is our downfall. Does happiness really make our life better or does it just cushion the blow of the train wreck, which is our life?

[The blue notes are reminders to opt ALWAYS for the first person plural. You are in grave danger of preaching to all those “people” not as enlightened as you who waste their lives, unlike you, trying to be “happy.” Avoid that danger by embracing the choice yourself. Is it better for us to be happy? Will it salvage the train wreck of our lives?]

[The green note is a complaint that you have not written a thesis. Saying that you plan to “talk about” a topic is even worse. 🙂 You may change your mind as you research, but your thesis appears to be that a meaningful life is more fulfilling than a happy life, or something similar. Say so.]

Happiness can cause us to make decisions we normally would not. Happiness can hold back from other opportunities we should have taken because we are “happy” with our life. Happiness should be the underlining goal in our life, but not until a certain point. Too much of our lives are spent worried about being happy. There are quite a few more pressing issues that we stress about enough already, so why add another? It is better for us to be unhappy than happy. It makes us a better people and helps to make better career decisions which in turn will help with much larger strides in life. A quote from a somewhat famous band named Fireworks says, “When you’re happy with yourself you’ll never get much done.” I will prove to you that they and I have the right idea.

1. Against Happiness

Background: This article from The New York Times shows how happiness can actually cause us to make rash decisions and be just as malicious as angry people.

How I Intend to Use It: This article discuses one of my main arguments that happiness makes people selfish. It contains quotes of questions that we are asked to see if were just happy or have meaning in our lives. 

2. The Problem with Happiness

Background: Showing us the health benefits of being happy. Also that the United States is obsessed with becoming happy. As well as when people focus too much on being happy and in return become depressed.

How I Intend to Use It: This article shows the other side of my argument.  Things such as, “Happy people are more creative,” which I intend to use in a counter argument that we get these benefits because we are happy. These benefits would not otherwise be in our lives. Through studies of people’s obsession with happiness.

 3.      Meaning is Healthier than Happiness

Background: This article claims having a life full of meaning and helping others is not actually associated with happiness. It claims those who are happy are more selfish and self-absorbed than those who are not. It disputes the supposed health benefits of happiness, concluding that happiness might even be detrimental to health.

How I Intend to Use It: When we have meaning in our lives we our healthier than just happiness alone. This supports the thesis of us being better off unhappy verses happy.

4. How Happiness Changes with Age

Background: In this article, a woman claims how her definition has changed from when she was younger to now when she is “just shy of 40.” She explains how happiness changes with age in everyone. When we are young, happiness is more extravagant and when we are older, happiness is simple and somewhat easier.

How I Intend to Use It: This could possibly be my weakest article and the biggest stretch while writing. I intend to use this article to show that when we are young we should not worry about being happy as much as we are when we are older. We should focus on becoming better and furthering ourselves while we are younger.

 5.       Some Key Differences between a Happy Life and a Meaningful Life

Background: This article from Journal of Positive Psychology addresses the relationship between a happy life and a meaningful life. It claims happiness and meaning overlap in some aspects, but also the key differences between the two. Making us realize which factors predict happiness and meaningful life.

How I Intend to Use It: This article will bring me points, which prove my thesis of happiness not being completely good for a person we are better with just meaning in our lives. It’s going to help me prove that it is better for someones health and well-being to having meaning over happiness. 

Was that valuable, Marcus?
—Watch