Narsha Bulgakbaev
Learn to be happy! Confidence and Success
SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING
Happiness is a concept that each of us strives to understand and achieve. a state that meets living conditions, completeness and meaningfulness of life, fulfillment of one’s dream goal, self-realization and maximum internal satisfaction. however, it can mean different things to different people. we call him a lucky lucky man. on the contrary, we believe that he failed and became unhappy. Happiness is essentially a state of inner harmony and balance. happiness is a state of contentment, joy, well-being. it can be associated with achieving goals, satisfying relationships, and the simple pleasures of life. Each person has their own definition of happiness, and what makes one person happy may not be important to another. happiness begins within us. Our attitudes, positive thinking, and self-perception play an important role in achieving happiness. relationships with others – close and supportive relationships with family, friends or partners can significantly increase happiness levels. Whether it’s a career, education or hobby, success and achievement in various areas of life can bring joy and satisfaction. concerns about physical and emotional well-being: Health and stress levels can also affect our happiness. Taking care of your body and mind can help you achieve a higher level of happiness. Gratitude Experience: Take time each day to consciously express your gratitude. it helps to see the positive side of life and get into a positive mood. accept yourself and those around you: Accept your flaws and mistakes and accept others for who they are (not what they are). This helps to create harmonious communication and reduce conflicts.
Set goals and work towards them: Determine what is important to you and break big goals into smaller steps. Gradually moving towards your goals will bring you joy and satisfaction. Take care of your well-being: Take time to exercise, eat well, and rest.
Also, do not forget to take care of your emotional state – communicate with loved ones and engage in hobbies that bring you joy.
Don’t compare yourself to others: Everyone is unique and happiness can come in different forms for everyone. Focus on your accomplishments, celebrate them, and praise yourself and the Lord for it. Happiness is a personal concept that each of us defines for ourselves. It depends on our inner world. Happiness can be experienced only at certain moments («Pleasant moments»), and experiencing it often is called subjective well-being in psychology. There are Myths about happiness in psychology:
Myth 1: Happiness is not permanent
Happiness does not mean:
– Meeting all needs
– Enjoy life forever
– A constant sense of fun
– Complete absence of negative emotions 5) Having a universal recipe that suits everyone.
If happiness is a process rather than an object, then we can talk about its intensity and its frequency (how often you feel so happy). We can afford to experience it more often. That is, the highest goal is constant happiness. What can be done about the fact that it takes negative experiences to have positive experiences? Basic theory of happiness: suggests that there is some fixed level of happiness that is determined by our personality.
Although we experience some fluctuations in happiness throughout our lives, according to this theory, we eventually return to our baseline level. This leads to two conclusions: First, by working on «enhancement of happiness,» we are actually experiencing an experience similar to how musicians transpose a composition to another pitch.
We also experience ’ups’ and ’downs’. secondly, negative experiences are normal and natural because they do not move our base constitution downwards. Realize that everyone has pain, sadness, frustration (a state of mind that arises when certain needs are not met or not, or more precisely, in a state of inadequacy), even illness, and that these symptoms are part of you, not something sent from the outside to punish and relieve pain. is important. they help us move forward. these practices appear to be the result of the evolution of survival and growth mechanisms.
Myth 2: Money is not the source of happiness
Research has shown that income levels affect the perception of happiness, but up to a certain point (in the US it’s about $70,000 a year), after which money plays a much smaller role.
Myth 3: You can predict your level of happiness/unhappiness when you reach an event
Emotional forecasting is «the process by which people predict what they will like and dislike about the future.» A study conducted by Dan Gilbert focused on the topic of emotional forecasting. He surveyed 571 college students, some of whom were romantically involved and some of whom were single. He also categorized them by how long they had been in a relationship and how long they had been apart. The purpose of the study was to see if people could predict their own emotional response to a disruptive experience. He then asked those in a relationship to predict their level of subjective happiness 2 months after the breakup if they broke up. Unbroken people predicted a significant deterioration in their happiness within 2 months. After a while, some of the people who participated in the survey eventually broke. When Dan asked them how happy they were 2 months after their breakup, they found that their level of happiness was the same as those who had never broken up. Dan theorized that our psychological immune system allows us to recover from traumatic events much more quickly than we realize. And such assumptions, unfortunately, prevent us from thinking that happiness is real and attainable.
Happiness is a state that corresponds to the greatest inner satisfaction with the conditions of a person’s life. Fullness and meaning of life, fulfillment of one’s duties, self-realization. The phenomenon of happiness is studied by psychology, philosophy, sociology and economic theory (happiness economics), as well as theology. The physiology of happiness can be closely related to endorphins, serotonin and dopamine, the so-called «happy hormones». Their synthesis and circulation in the body are disturbed during endocrine, bacterial and viral diseases. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter in the brain and central nervous system (CNS), produced in the gastrointestinal tract and parts of the central nervous system. If endorphins mainly affect the state of short-term euphoria and joy, serotonin, its constant production and absorption processes in neurons often create the background of happiness and long-term satisfaction. Another hormone and neurotransmitter closely related to serotonin is dopamine. Dopamine is one of the chemical factors of internal reinforcement and functions as part of the «reward system» of the brain. The serotonin system is responsible for inhibitory (protective), sleep, memory processing, integration of experience, reducing pain sensitivity, controlling and suppressing negative emotions, and obtaining satisfaction from relaxation., focused on learning, new ways of interacting, getting satisfaction from activity physical, mental or emotional. dopamine and the dopaminergic system are also responsible for the formation of attachments, emotional empathy (a conscious experience of the current emotional state of another person), and feelings of love. the reward system and pleasure centers are a common part of the human motivational feedback loop called «cortex – basal ganglia – thalamus – cortex». happiness is in the health of a person’s body and soul:
– Healthy lifestyle
– Regular physical activity
– Nutritious and balanced nutrition,
– Positive relationships with people
In ancient ethics, the question of happiness was a central category. Aristotle studied it for the first time and defined happiness as «virtue is the function of a complete soul»
(Nicomachean ethics). Virtue is defined as that which leads to happiness. In the Hellenistic era, in Epicurean philosophy, happiness was defined as joy. The ancient Greek word for happiness – «eudaimonia» (eudaimonia, eu – good, daimonia – god) – literally means the fate of a person under the protection of God.
Eastern philosophy teaches a practical way to achieve a happy life of an individual, announcing the impossibility of achieving happiness in the material world in its biological, physiological, social, economic and logical aspects. In this regard, the following quote is indicative: luckily, you can have it both ways. the first line is external. By getting a better house, better clothes, nicer friends, we can find some measure of happiness and contentment. the second path is the path of spiritual development and it leads to inner happiness. however, these two views are not equal. external happiness does not last long without internal happiness. if life is dark for you, if something is missing in your heart, no matter how much luxury you surround yourself with, you will not be happy. but if you achieve inner peace, you can find happiness even in the most difficult situations.
– Dalai Lama xiv
From the point of view of yoga, happiness is a natural state of a person, a characteristic of his nature. however, in everyday life, a person’s true nature is hidden beneath layers of habitual anxiety. this anxiety can be overcome through meditation and then one discovers one’s true self and one can experience a deep sense of happiness. Aristotle also believed that «having friends means being happy.» The following quote is also indicative:
Material well-being and physical health are not enough for a person to live a full life, which is called happiness. The highest joys of life are the joys of spiritual life. But the perception and understanding of the latter is directly proportional to the degree of development of consciousness. The improvement of the material condition of the masses should go hand in hand with the development of their consciousness and spiritual life. (Tugarinov). «Adeptionem perfecti boni» consists of accepting the perfect good, «this life» (in hac vita), but believed that it is not always possible to reach it. (Thomas Aquinas). Many philosophers and psychologists (Viktor Frankl, Erich Fromm, etc.) point out that joy and happiness are not completely identical concepts. In positive psychology, in particular, the following formula of happiness is used (Magomedova):
Happiness = deep satisfaction with life + maximum positive emotions + minimal negative emotions.
Positive emotions are associated with immediate happiness, and deep satisfaction with long-term happiness. then happiness is the joy we feel when we lovingly strive to reach our creative potential. Martin Seligman, one of the founders of this field of psychology, claims that the skills of happiness can be taught like the skills of playing a musical instrument. According to the concept of humanistic psychology representative K. Rogers, self-knowledge gives a person the ability to grow personally, improve himself, and express himself, which is a necessary condition for achieving the fullness of life and feeling joy. happiness is living to understand the meaning of life. Special means of self-awareness include various modern forms of psychologist’s work: personal counseling, solving problems together, working in a social-psychological training group, in which the psychologist opens work with the patient as much as possible, understands his problems and finds internal resources. According to renowned psychologist John Gottman, success and happiness in all areas of life, including family relationships, is determined by knowing your emotions and being able to handle them.
And this feature is called «emotional intelligence»[23]. BG Kuznetsov in his book «Philosophy of Optimism» explains the psychological law of Weber Fechtner: a person feels happy only when the factors that make a person happy increase. Otherwise, the feeling of happiness will disappear. American psychologist Lawrence Howells believes that happiness is the most important of emotions, because people make many important decisions based on whether these decisions will lead to happiness now or in the future. Economists and sociologists who study the relationship between happiness and money note that at the macro level, people in rich countries with high GDP levels are on average happier than people in poorer countries.
At the micro level, most economists conclude that happiness depends on money, but the more money there is, the less it affects happiness. Psychologists note that a certain minimum amount of money is necessary for happiness. However, once the underlying problems are resolved, the bond quickly weakens. thus, the famous American psychologist Daniel Kahneman, together with the famous economist Angus Deaton, discovered the nonlinear dependence of subjective happiness on the amount of income. According to Kahneman and Deaton, Americans want an increase in their level of happiness from an increase in income to $75,000 a year. after this level, the effect of increased well-being on happiness ceases.
According to orthodox interpretation, professor of the Moscow Theological Academy, theologian A.I.Osipov, happiness is the inner state of a person and does not depend on the degree of his being provided with material goods. To confirm his words, he cites the story of Abbot Nikon (Vorobiev), who «in his youth united the ideas of progress, freedom, equality, brotherhood.» Nikon was once shocked by news published in the newspapers that the twenty-year-old rich son of a millionaire committed suicide due to an unhappy love. Osipov: «Then what is happiness?» He asks the question. He said, «It’s a joy!» he answers. And he recalls two cases, the first of which involved Nikon Optina, the last monk of the Optina monastery, who was arrested in 1929. He says: «They shaved him, cut off his hair, took off all his monastic clothes, completely humiliated him, put him in prison, where he got tuberculosis… They managed to send a letter. Last letters: «My happiness knows no bounds, I finally know, what does ’the kingdom of God is within you’ mean?» The second story is Armenian
Taken from the life of Eustratius the Great Martyr of Sebastia, the city ruler and military commander who suffered for Christ under Emperor Diocletian in Cappadocia. The theologian says that «when they removed the skin from him [Eustracius] … suddenly his face became unusually radiant, and he says: „This suffering is joy for your servants.“ The tormentors were so shocked that some of them threw down the instruments of execution and immediately exclaimed, „I am a Christian!“ – said. Their heads immediately flew off, of course» [1385 days]. According to A.I. Osipov, «To achieve true happiness for a Christian person allows.» In another public lecture, theologian-professor Osipov gave a short and concise definition: «Happiness is satisfaction, satisfaction with fate. To be godly and contented is a great benefit.» Dmitry Smirnov, archpriest of the Russian Orthodox Church, church and public figure, former chairman of the patriarchal commission on family issues, mother and child protection, has repeatedly said that happiness can only be found in the family. «raise them in such a way that they consider their family to be the most important value on earth.» because if a person does not have a family, no matter how successful he is, he cannot be happy. because the creator himself did not create man as an individual with any rights: He created man and woman and said to them: «Be fruitful and multiply.» The Creator himself created us as a family, so we can live on earth and find harmony and happiness only in the family. And only the family can teach a person true Christianity. This is our salvation… I had to interact with many rich people, but I did not meet a happy soul among them…
I have noticed that truly happy couples are only in large families who love each other; when children grow up in an atmosphere of family love and not on the streets. This atmosphere increases and becomes denser with the birth of each child. If two people – a man and a woman – have good, faithful, hardworking children, then they will have happiness that surpasses all other happiness on earth. This happiness is not dependent on any external circumstances. Family and children who radiate happiness always burden you with this happiness. You bathe in it… I came to the conclusion that if a person wants to create his own happiness, he should create a family.» In the humorous story «Monday Begins on Saturday» by the Strugatsky brothers, the following definitions of happiness are given: … the simplest negative definitions («Money does not buy happiness»), the simplest positive definitions («The highest satisfaction, complete satisfaction, success»), casuistic definitions («Happiness is the absence of unhappiness») and paradoxical («The happiest are jokers, fools, they are stupid and indifferent, because they do not know conscience, they are not afraid of ghosts and other immortal things, they do not suffer from fear of future disasters»).
Happiness is a positive emotion that ranges from contentment to intense joy. happy moments can be triggered by positive life experiences or thoughts, but sometimes they can appear for no reason. levels of long-term happiness are more closely related to levels of life satisfaction, subjective well-being, flourishing, and eudaimonia. in common usage, the word «happy» may be shorthand for the self-evaluation of these indicators or the «source» of happiness (eg, «finding happiness in life», finding meaning in life). As with any emotion, the exact definition of happiness has always been a topic of debate in philosophy. happiness is a topic of debate about possible differences in understanding between cultures. the word is used mainly in connection with two factors: the present experience of an emotion (affect), such as pleasure or joy, or the general feeling of a «general emotional state». For example, Daniel Kahneman defined happiness as «what I feel here and now.» In dictionary definitions of happiness, this usage refers to the evaluation of life satisfaction, such as quality of life. For example, Ruth Veenhoven said that happiness «determines the quality of a person’s overall life.» Kahneman said that it is more important to people than current experience. Some use cases may involve both of these factors. Subjective well-being includes measures of current experience (emotions, moods, and feelings) and life satisfaction. Sonya Lubomirsky described happiness as «the experience of joy, satisfaction, or positive well-being combined with the feeling that one’s life is good, meaningful, and valuable.» Eudaimonism is an ethical orientation that recognizes prosperity, happiness, the pursuit of happiness as the criterion of morality and the basis of human behavior. Xavier Landes proposed that happiness includes indicators such as subjective well-being, mood, and eudaimonia. Using the precious values in our life can lead to different results. one of them is happiness. Scandinavian countries are said to be the happiest countries. every thinker turns happiness into a multifaceted concept. In the US Declaration of Independence, the right to pursue happiness is considered as a political right of the people. and if this political right really belongs to the people, then every citizen must have the right to pursue happiness and the opportunity to realize it through political means.
People have tried to measure happiness for centuries. In 1780, the English utilitarian (the moral value of behavior or action is determined by its utility) philosopher Jeremy Bentham suggested that since happiness is the primary goal of people, it should be measured as a way of determining how well a government works. Today, happiness is usually measured using self-report questionnaires. Self-reports should be aware of cognitive biases and sources of error such as rule deviation. however, research shows that memories of experienced emotions can be inaccurate. Research on affective forecasting shows that people are poor at predicting their future emotions, including how happy they will be. happiness economists are not overly concerned with philosophical and methodological issues and do not use surveys to measure the average level of population happiness.
Several scales can be used to measure happiness: assessing the relationship between personality traits and positive or negative affect, to describe people as happy or unhappy. Respondents are asked to imagine a scale where their best life is 10 and their worst life is 0. They are then asked to rate their current life on a scale of 0 to 10. People are asked if they enjoyed their day, laughed a lot or were happy, breathed well, were treated with respect, and learned or did something interesting. Nine of the top 10 countries in 2018 were from South America, led by Paraguay and Panama. Country scores range from 85 to 43.
Among the happiest countries, Kazakhstan in 2023 is in 45th place out of 138 countries. We are in the first place in the CIS. Excellent result. All because of the peace, peace and cooperation of the country.
The World Happiness Report has been published since 2012. «How satisfied are you with your life in general?» evaluated by «How happy are you now?» people are asked verbally. Using these indicators, the authors of the report determine the countries with the highest levels of happiness. In subjective measures of well-being, the main difference lies in cognitive evaluation of life and emotional reports. Economists and international economic organizations are advocating and developing multidimensional dashboards that combine subjective and objective measures to provide a more direct and accurate assessment of human well-being. There are many different factors that affect the well-being of adults, for example, judgments about happiness partly reflect the presence of important limitations and fairness, autonomy (a person’s ability to self-actualize, self-regulate and self-determine, act independently, make decisions and independence, understood as the quality of a person that characterizes the desire to discover the abilities of independence), community and inclusiveness (the process of real integration of people with physical development difficulties, including those with disabilities or mental characteristics into the active life of society) are the main aspects of happiness and well-being throughout life. Although these factors play a role in happiness, they all need to improve at the same time to help a person achieve happiness. Over time, happiness has been found to be stable.
There is a philosophical science about the essence, nature and achievement of happiness.
Some philosophers argue that happiness can be understood as the moral purpose of life or as an aspect of chance; Indeed, in many European languages, the term «happiness» is synonymous with success.
Thus, philosophers usually explain that happiness is a good state of mind, a life that gives good results to a person. Research in psychology has guided many modern philosophers in the development of their theories, given the pragmatic (philosophical current based on practice as a criterion of truth and semantic meaning) concern with happiness. Democritus (ca. 460 – 370 BC) is known as the «philosopher of laughter» because of his emphasis on the value of «fun».
The best plan for a happy life has been chosen by the person who makes everything that leads to happiness depend on himself and not on other people. – Plato, The Republic
Plato (ca. 428 – 347 BC) taught that in the Republic, a life devoted to knowledge and virtue leads to happiness and self-realization. To attain happiness, one must become immune to changes in the material world and seek to know the eternal, unchanging forms that exist in the realm of ideas. The Chariot Allegory of the Phaedrus is probably Plato’s most important teaching on how to achieve inner happiness. Plato believes that social happiness arises from the fair treatment of citizens to each other, the virtuous life, and the honest performance of each of his social functions. Aristotle (384 – 322 BC) was considered an ancient Greek scientist in ethics, metaphysics, biology and botany. Aristotle eudaimonia described as the goal of human thought and action. Eudaimonia is often translated as «happiness,» but some scholars believe that «human flourishing» may be a more accurate translation. More specifically, eudaimonia refers to a positive and divine state of being that humanity can actively strive for and achieve. Given that this state is the most pleasant for a person, often simplifies the word happiness. However, Aristotle’s use of the term in the Nicomachean Ethics goes beyond the general concept of happiness. In the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle points out that many ends are really only intermediate ends and are desired only because they enable the attainment of higher ends. Thus, things like wealth, intelligence, and courage are valued only in relation to other things, and eudaimonia is the only valuable thing in itself. Aristotle believed that virtue is necessary for human happiness, and without virtue, contentment is the most important thing. In Aristotelian ethics, the pursuit of virtue involves asking the question «what ought I to be» rather than «what ought I to do.» A fully virtuous person is described as one who has achieved eudaimonia, so that he is inevitably happy. Cynicism (Cynicism is an open, indifferent and contemptuous attitude towards moral norms, cultural values and ideas about decency, a negative, nihilistic attitude towards what is generally accepted) advocated an ascetic life consistent with virtue. Xenophon says that Antisthenes appreciated the joy «from the soul», and Diogenes Laertius likes Antisthenes’ saying: «I’d rather be mad than enjoy.» He believed that virtue alone was sufficient to provide happiness, which required only the power of Socrates. He, like all later Cynics, rejected any conventional ideas of happiness associated with money, power and fame in order to live a completely virtuous and happy life. Thus, he believed that happiness can be achieved by living an ascetic life, rejecting all conditioned desires, preferring a simple life, and being free from all possessions.
Diogenes of Sinope (c. 412 – 323 BC) is often regarded as the epitome of philosophy. Even the Stoics considered him one of the few who reached the level of genius.
As a result, the sage is happy even if he has his own problems and little pleasures.
– On Diogenes Laertius Anniceris
Aristippus of Cyrene (ca. 435 – 356 BC) of the Cyrenaica school of philosophy founded. The school argued that the only good is pleasant pleasure, and pain is the only evil. They assert that every sensation is transitory, and therefore all past and future pleasures have no real existence for the individual, and that there is no material difference between present pleasures. Claudius Aelian writes about Aristippus in his «Historical Compendium»: He proposed to clarify even today the part of man who acts and thinks. For we have only the present, not the past or what we expect, because one thing is gone and finished with it, and it is not known how the other will come to pass.»» Some momentary pleasures can make you forget about the pain. A wise man should not own pleasure and become a slave to it, otherwise it will lead to suffering, which requires foresight to appreciate the various pleasures of life. Pyrrho (ca. 360 – 270 BC) founded Pyrrhonism, the first school of philosophical skepticism in the West. The goal of Pyrrhonic practice is to attain a state of ataraxia (peace of mind) – freedom from disturbance. Pyrrho discovered that what prevents people from achieving ataraxia is their beliefs about things that are not clear, that is, dogma. The ancient Pyrrhonians made many dubious arguments to dissuade people from faith.
«Of all the tools to gain wisdom for lifelong happiness, friendship is the most important». – Epicurus
Epicurus (ca. 341 – 270 BC), the founder of Epicureanism, taught that the goal of life is peace (ataraksia) and freedom from fear, as well as the absence of physical pain (aponia, Greek). to this end, Epicurus recommended an ascetic lifestyle, noble friendship, and avoidance of politics. One of the remedies for happiness is tetrapharmacos, or four kinds of treatment:
«Fear God, and do not worry about death; It is easy to take what is good, and easy to bear what is terrible.»
You should be a person who relies on common sense, is serious, energetic, serious, and does not allow himself to be distracted by anything. If you are content to live in the present without waiting for anything, if you speak heroic truth in every word, you will live happily.
And there is no one to stop it.
– Marcus Aurelius, Meditation
Stoicism is a school of philosophy founded by Zeno of Citi (ca. 334 – 262 BC). Although
Zeno was a syncretist in thought, his main influence was the Cynics, and his mentor was the Thebans (ca. 365 – 285 BC). Stoicism is a personal ethical philosophy that provides a system of logic and views about the natural world. Modern usage of the term «Stoic» generally refers to people who are indifferent to the experience of the world around them or who generally suppress their feelings, rather than those who practice Stoicism. Given Stoicism’s emphasis on ignoring the negative, it is seen as the path to happiness. The Stoics believe that «virtue is sufficient for happiness.»
A person who attains this sense of virtue becomes a sage. According to Epictetus, this sage «sick but happy, happy in danger, dies but happy, banished and happy, shamed but happy.» So the Stoics spent their time in pursuit of virtue. This can only be achieved if one devotes his life to the study of Stoic logic, Stoic physics and Stoic ethics. Stoics describe themselves as «living in harmony with nature.» Some schools of Stoicism cite Aristotle’s concept of eudaimonia as the goal of the practice of Stoic philosophy.
