Happiness and the meaning of life are essential parts of the human wellbeing. There are diverse factors predicting happiness that control the meaning of life, and meaningfulness controls happiness. In the case of satisfying one 's needs and wants, a person gains happiness, but it is not the same as to be deduced as the meaning of life since it is long-term. Happiness is largely based on the present factors, while meaningfulness factors on the past, present and future integrated. Smith ESfahai and Daniel Gilbert have similar views on happiness and the meaning of life. In fact, they both emphasize that finding the meaning of life is shifting our attention from focusing on oneself to other people. People are always in search of a happy life, and …show more content…
They are experienced quite different in time. Happiness, on one hand, focuses on the present and what is going on in the life of an individual at the exact moment. In fact, happy people are always thinking about the present time without having a comparison of the past or the future. It is why people often feel depressed due to the lack of achieving their ‘now’ goals. Meaning of life, on the other hand, focuses on the future, and importantly, linking the past, present, and the future. Interestingly, the more time people spend thinking about the future, or the past, the more meaningful life they get, even if it was not a happy life. Indeed, the only means of achieving happiness throughout is having a meaningful life, which focuses on the present, where one learns from the mistakes of the past, in order to have a better tomorrow. For instance, in the case of having children, a parent thinks more of a future experience than the present. It is obvious that a parent goes through a lot of trouble when raising a child, which he or she could have foregone to have a comfortable life. Consequently, these parents feel happy even when their children are stressing them up because they have found more meaning even when they do not have immediate …show more content…
Happiness is always centered on being the taker. Being a taker boosts happiness rather than improving on the meaning. In connection, there is a relevance in how people connect with friends, which offers more. The same case applies when having a beer with friends, or a nice lunch, all contributing to happiness. This factor comes in with the issue of the depth of the relationship. Happiness is more of a strong driving force, that if you want something, you can go ahead and get it, like a hunger that needs satisfaction. People become happier after getting what they want. In fact, time with friends results in simple pleasures. In the case of the meaning of life, a person gets more meaning when he or she gives, which includes giving love, time or even resources in a social setting (Stavrova, and Luhmann, 471). This then limits the issue of being selfish but looking around to satisfy other people. A meaningful life is what separates us from the animals. For example, animals have needs, which when denied are not satisfied. Leading a more meaningful life comes from getting a lot of joy from giving to other people. In addition, Daniel Gilbert, a professor of psychology at Harvard University claimed that life becomes more fulfilling when we learn to give to other people. Accordingly, he stated that the information given even in a newspaper has more impact on our generation by