The Road I Should Travel: A Lifestyle Prescription of Happiness

The Road I Should Travel: A Lifestyle Prescription of Happiness
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"But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads?"
- Albert Camus
I. Introduction: What Makes People Happy?
Aristotle once said that the summumbonum(the ultimate end or highest good) of human existence is eudaimoniaor happiness.But what is happiness?
It would not be surprising to hear several different answers when you ask people what is happiness. I think it is safe to say that different people has their own characterization of what happiness is and what happiness is not.For some, happiness is being with family and friends while some finds happiness in their success in studies and work. Others may define happiness as living a simple and sustainable life, while some would equate happiness to having millions of dollars to spend.
Small or big things can be sources of happiness, it just depends on how people look and value things in front of them. What could make one happy can be answered in several different ways and no matter what and how one states the answer, one thing is for sure, the answers could definitely give the person a very positive feeling.
"If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things."
-Albert Einstein
Happiness as the ultimate goal in life appeals to me a lot. Life is full of difficulties, pain and suffering and if there is one purpose why people continue on struggling to live, I could not think of any other reason than happiness.
Goals and happiness are interrelated. Our goals are generally based on the things that we wanted in life and getting what we want in life may define happiness. It may sound easy but to find happiness in reality is in itself a challenge. Happiness is not guaranteed, most of the time people have to work hard to earn a piece of it.
Owning my Happiness
Just like everybody else I have aspirations in life that would constitute my happiness. I know my goals but how to reach them is another story. In this paper I will map out in details the kind of roadsI will take to be able to arrive at that point in life I will call happiness.
Career, Leisure and Lifestyle would be the three major areas in my life I will be focusing on in this paper.
II. Mapping out the Road to Happiness
In general how we approach life`s circumstances is directly influenced by the type of personality we have, this therefore could affect the quality of life we get now and in the future CITATION Wro03 \l 1033 (Wrosch, 2003).Individual differences play a pivotal role in decision making process thus knowing one`s personality strengths and weaknesses could help determine the kind of road one has to take to be able to reach one`s goals.
There are several theories on personality types and one of the customarily utilized is that of Carl Jung`s. According to Jung people differ in three major ways (1) on the direction of their activities wherein they can be introvert or extrovert (2) on the pathways of information where they can be any of the following; thinking, feeling, intuitive or sensing and (3) on the way they process accepted information where people are either perceiving or judging CITATION Bor02 \l 1033 (Borg, 2002).
I like sharing my opinion and hearing other`s and I prefer having initiative and doing action. I have the confidence that boosts my leadership abilities and I don`t find it hard to adapt in a seemingly new or changing circumstances. I also have the tendency to seek for answers and I plan ahead of time. Given these specific traits I can be considered as an extrovert-sensing-thinking and judging type based on Jung`s types of personality. These personality traits coupled with how I value team work, interpersonal relationships and achievements will help me identify what and how will I live my life couple of years from now. My greatest strength is my leadership character. My strong personality coupled with my self confidence and my disciplined work ethic somehow encourages trust and support from other people. I say this because I get feedback from my friends and group mates. As an action oriented person, I can mobilize the group to get things we have united upon to be implemented with a certain degree of success. However, I can be my best self only with people I know very well and I get a little nervous around people I don`t know or I am not familiar with. I can work alone but I work better if I am in a group.
"Tomorrow's typical career will be neither linear nor continuous, nor will it always be upwards. Instead, one's life work will take more of a zig-zag course."
-Tom Horton (1926-2003)
I am a person who values learning a lot. Ever since I was a kid academic achievements have been significant sliver of my entirety. A strong academic foundation is what I have prepared for the future and so five years from now I will finish my studies on Finance and hopefully I will graduate with an academic award.
My interest in Finance has been significantly influenced by my mother. She is currently working as a Finance Director in a big company in Yemen. If there is the strongest force that motivates me to do my best in my studies and aim for the finest after finishing my degree ...