Happiness like many other feelings is no simple discussion. Happiness may be the state of mind that is sought after the most but it’s a “squishy” topic that is very hard to define/categorize. What makes happiness so squishy is that it is subjective from person to person. Things that may make people happier or less happy than others include preferences, genetics, environments, and different circumstances. Not only this but something that may make one person happy might not do the same for another. Because happiness is so subjective, it’s hard to pinpoint what makes people happy, one person may get happiness from raising a family whereas someone else might get happiness from murdering a bunch of children. Super subjective/squishy topic, however working hard for what one needs/wants and getting that satisfaction is a way to, without a doubt, maximize one’s happiness.

            Firstly, what makes people happy? There is no simple answer to this question because there are tons of factors that may change a person’s preferences and feelings. Something that can fluctuate so much is very hard to define but it is known that different factors have negative and positive effects they have on happiness. The Environment people grow up in has huge effects on their happiness, if people live in a bad neighborhood with no family or are homeless, they are most likely going to be less happy than those with a home and family. People have different interests and different things make people happy. Some people are born with conditions that affect the way they feel/how happy they can feel.

            With so many different causes for happiness, it’s almost impossible to say exactly what makes people happy. Although there are many different factors that go into what makes a certain person happy, we can all agree that working hard and giving one all to achieve something will always make one feel good and cause greater happiness. In the article, “Money and Happiness: Income, Wealth and Subjective Well-Being” by Conchita Ambrosio Markus Jänitti and, Anthony Lepintuer  it is stated that, “Interpretation and consider that other’s income has an information effect: the presence of richer individuals signals that there is a possibility for oneself to get richer in the future, which increases own happiness even before any actual enrichment takes place.” A little competition never hurt anyone; this is just one example of how working harder can maximize your happiness. Increasing your own assets to beat out someone else may sound egotistical however, it is one way people put their everything into something to maximize their happiness. This concept alone can be used for almost everything, working on one’s own character to improve themselves can make people happy, putting all of one’s effort into holding a relationship or trying to make a family will make people happier, and trying ones hardest to earn what they want, or need will also make them feel more satisfied and help maximize happiness.

            If giving one all towards an object is a way to maximize happiness, what can we put all our effort towards to make sure we are happy? According to the article simply titled, “Happiness” by, Tony Delamothe, he states, “Embark on a loving relationship with another adult and work hard to sustain it. Plan frequent interactions with friends, family, and neighbors (in that order). Make sure you’re not working so hard that you’ve no time left for personal relationships and leisure.” This article is stating that we should be working hard not only for ourselves but keeping relationships with the people we love to live a long happy and satisfying life. Love may be one of the biggest factors in being happy, so two people giving their all to be together or make something work is something beautiful that both of parties can experience together and maximize each other’s happiness. Not only this but relationships require maximum effort from both parties, and if love is a factor of happiness giving one all for love is also working hard for maximizing happiness.   

            Another example of people putting all their effort towards building happiness is the King of Bhutan. According to the article “Happiness”, the author talks about the kings whose priority was increasing gross national happiness. One man put all the nation’s interests first and because of this, all the people worked together with their king to increase their maximum happiness. The article also states, “the best society is the happiest”, meaning that one king striving to make his society the happiest changed the point of public policy together which according to him should be happy.     

            Finally In the same article, “Happiness”, the author defines what the types of “happy lives” there are. Although a pleasant life may not lead to maximum happiness the other two show different ways one can work hard toward maximizing happiness. According to the author the “good life” is using one’s strengths to stay engaged with what they are doing. Working on oneself and trying to improve will always make that person feel good about themselves no matter how hard the journey is self-improvement is a great example of putting total effort towards something to maximize happiness. The “Meaningful Life” is putting your time and effort towards others rather than oneself. People who give to charity are going to feel better about themselves and feel more accomplished than those who don’t work hard for their money or just keep it to themselves.     

            In conclusion, because happiness is a squishy topic that has many factors involved it is very hard to say what makes people truly happy. It’s a subjective topic, however, we can say that putting effort in, working hard, giving one all, and not backing down are all ways that one could maximize their happiness. Working hard for something and getting what is wanted or needed will always feel better than half-assing something. The fulfillment obtained from working hard is like no other feeling. So, the key to maximizing one’s happiness is putting one all into everything that makes one happy.

Work Cited

D’ambrosio , C., Jäntii, M., & Lepinteur, A. (2019, September 12). Money and happiness: Income, wealth and subjective well-being – social indicators research. SpringerLink. Retrieved March 9, 2023, from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11205-019-02186-w

Delamothe, T. (2005, December 22). Happiness. The BMJ. Retrieved March 9, 2023, from https://www.bmj.com/content/331/7531/1489.short