Pursuit Of Happiness

Although money can create a better life for people with more resources and opportunity, it can have a negative effect when it is valued too highly. Our American wealth driven and materialistic culture inhibits the pursuit of happiness because it prioritizes wealth and material possessions, which are all external markers of success, at the cost of our character development. This ultimately makes us less satisfied with ourselves because no matter how much we posses we cannot expect to be happy if we are not at peace with ourselves. Happiness is much more than the fleeting feeling of joy or euphoria we experience when something goes well in our lives. This simplistic view of happiness would mean that happiness would be out of our reach for

Our goal should be to allow this balance to make us into people that we can be proud of. Without this, you can never expect to achieve any happiness greater than a fleeting sense of satisfaction. Once we can be at peace with ourselves we can look to do things that bring more fulfillment, such as building healthy and lasting relationships. However, without the initial self-reflection no matter what you do you will find that nothing will truly provide a sense of meaning because you have not found the peace within yourself first. In turn, you will also find that self-reflection will make you more resilient to the hardships of life because internal happiness is much harder to deprive someone of than anything external. After self-reflection comes the need to put yourself into action. This happiness entails prioritizing your character development and living up to your morals and recognizing where we have faltered. Doing things that make you proud of the person you is essential to being happy with your character, and as a result your

When we raise money up to the point of idolatry and convince ourselves that it is the key to happiness we can always find a way to justify the worst of actions. Most of the wealthiest people in our society have probably had to do some questionable deeds to stay wealthy. Our society seems to view this as a necessary evil to rise to the top, but that is justified in the end. President Trump has been continually praised for his dealmaking and financial success, while his questionable morals have been repeatedly justified as a result. This is just one example of how success has come to be defined by how much money you make, no matter how you made