Have you seen the movie, "In Pursuit of Happyness?"
I have, twice - first in a movie house, then in HBO. Both times, I felt like a pack of hungry dogs was tearing my emotions apart. Human struggle and drama always affect me in ways difficult to understand. But aren't we all?
The movie is a biographical drama of the life of Chris Gardner, a guy who was down and out of luck; who, together with his son, wrangled for a place to stay in the streets of New York while he tried to put back his life.
The movie, released in 2006, was hugely popular resulting to Will Smith's (who played Chris Gardner), nomination for an Oscan Award and a Golden Globe award for Best Actor, with good reason. It showed two things which never fail to touch the human emotional chord.
First: Our love for the underdog;
Second: Our urge to cheer them on to success.
Which Chris Gardner did, after working hard and fighting off difficulties that could have made weaker men give up and give in.
Towards the end, Chris became successful as a stock broker, allowing him to establish his own multi-million dollar brokerage firm.
Is this where people stand up to give the movie (and Chris Gardner) a standing ovation? For most of us, it is.
Most of us take happiness as a by-product of success and success is spelled $UCCE$. Contrary to popular belief, studies, upon studies show that this is never the case. True, money can buy you a lot of things that can make you happy, but happiness does not have a price tag.
According to Dr. Arthur C. Brooks, a professor of Business and Government Policy at the Syracuse University and author of Gross National Happiness: Why Happiness Matters for Americans and How we Can Get more of It," happiness is not about making a lot of money, having a perfect body, of making good grades in school.
After assessing a great amount of data from the best researchers on the subject, Dr. Brooks observed that true happiness lies in traditional values like faith, hard work, marriage, charity and freedom.
Faith, is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11.1)
It is the acceptance of a being, a deity, or a God higher than us, who is the source of love and hope.
Without faith, there can be no hope. And love cannot dwell in the hearts of people who see nothing but gloom and despair.
Unbelievers may scoff at this idea but a General Social Survey done in 2004 showed that 43% of people who have faith said that they were very happy with their lives compared to only 23% of those with no faith. And this figure is irrespective of religious denomination.
Hard work is something alien to young people these days. Thanks to commercialism, they think that success is served in a silver platter without their having to work for it. Well, anything that
comes easy can easily be dispensed with as well, leaving behind a gaping vacuum that needs to be filled over and over again until they realize that real happiness has to be created through the appreciation of one's hard and honest labor.
Studies show that people who are more physically active are happier than those who are not and, most Americans, even those who have become independently wealthy, would like to keep on working as long as they practically can.
Consequently, of the people surveyed who said they are very happy with their lives, 95% also said that they were satisfied with their jobs.
Marriage is the union of two people who love each other and want to make that relationship public, official and permanent.
What was once strictly a union between man and woman, is now simply a union of two people due to increasing clamor for same sex marriages. And its permanence is strongly challenged by the increasing number of marriages ending in a divorce.
Regardless of form or relevance or permanence, it still brings a lot of happiness to people. A study done in 2003 that followed 24,000 people for more than a decade showed a significant increase in happiness after they tied the knot.
Researchers also believe that happy people are more inclined to marry than those who are unhappy and happy marriages have better chances in staying the course, "... For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in healthy and to cherish till death do us part."
A 2007 poll showed the top five factors essential to give happiness to a marriage. These are: sharing household chores, good housing, adequate income, a happy sexual relationship and faithfulness.
Charity is the act of voluntary giving of help, typically money, to those in need. It can be to a person, a religious organization, an institution such as an orphanage or a social club raising funds for a cause.
Numerous studies show that acts of charity and other worthy causes bring substantial happiness to the giver. According to Dr. Brooks, "People who give money to charity are 43% happier than those who don't."
If you want to be happy, give.
Freedom is the power or right to act speak, or think what one wants without hindrance or restraint. It can be political, financial or religious freedom. And people enjoying these freedoms, research shows, are a lot happier than those without.
Freedom, however, should not be construed as a blanket right to think, say or do something outside of the acceptable norms of society upon which it exists. People who go beyond these norms will ultimately run afoul with the law, hurt themselves and their love ones, and lead very lonely and unhappy lives.
We all have the right and obligation to pursue happiness especially in a society where bad news sells, crime is lurking in every street corner, drug addiction is rampant and teenage pregnancies are becoming too common, to name a few. Because to abandon this pursuit leaves future generations with nothing much to hope and live for.
Joseph Dabon
I am a retired engineer who has taken up writing to share with the world my experience in personal improvement during my long years in the corporate world.
I am currently writing a book, Chase Your Dreams, and blogging. Visit my site at
http://withinyouisyoursuccess.com/ and join me in this exciting journey of searching for that success formula that resides in each one of us.
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