01 — Finding Happiness
Background Theory
“ With the exception of love , no human experience is celebrated more than happiness ” Raymond Belliotti [ 1 ]
I want to be happy
Ask people what they most want in life and a common answer may well be “ I want to be happy ”. Whilst we recognise that it is impossible to be happy all of the time , it doesn ’ t stop us wanting to find out , “ how can I be happy some or most of the time ?” As a consequence we tend to pursue things we think will make us happy . This could be the pursuit of wealth , possessions , relationships , education , and enjoyable experiences . However , not everything we pursue will help us to achieve our goal .
What is happiness ?
It is difficult to describe happiness , as there is no single definition and it will mean different things to different people . Could it be a feeling we get when we do something we enjoy , or something good happens to us ? Or does it come from knowing we are living life in a way that is good ? Is it just about feelings , or is it about contentment , satisfaction , or living for a higher purpose ? Could our happiness be about our perspective ? Is happiness a surface emotion or could it be much deeper ?
Regardless of how you define happiness , it is important for us to discover what happiness means for us personally and how to achieve it for ourselves . Helping children to explore different perspectives around the theme of happiness is therefore vital in a society where so many people feel unhappy .
What about sadness ?
We are more likely to experience happiness when negative or painful emotions are less frequent . However , the key to any definition or understanding of happiness is to know that positive emotions do not indicate the absence of negative emotions , or painful and unhappy times in our lives . We should expect anyone pursuing happiness to experience the same spectrum of emotions as anybody else . However , it is vital that at times of increased sadness or poor mental health we help children to explore ways they can find happiness whilst not avoiding life ’ s difficulties and challenges or pretending they don ’ t exist . It is during these times that children may also need additional support and access to professional mental health and well-being services .
45