What a person needs for happiness
Happiness is a rather subjective concept. Often a person feels unhappy until he lacks something that he really needs or that he considers necessary for himself. In the 40s of the 20th century the American psychologist A. Maslow proposed a theory to society, which was called the “Maslow’s Pyramid of Needs”.
The pyramid includes the following seven levels of human needs in ascending order:
– Physiological (sleep, nutrition, health, clothing, housing, sexual relations); – the need for security (protection, stability and comfort, a sense of confidence); – social (communication, belonging to a social group, joint activities, family, friends, love); – Self-affirmation and recognition of others (success, career, prestige, self-esteem, authority); – cognition (search and getting new information, acquisition of different skills); – aesthetic (beauty, harmony, order); – self-actualization (self-expression and realization
As Maslow said, people usually get motivated to move to the next level, when the needs of the previous level are met at least partially. In this case, a person can strive and work to achieve several goals at once, but the most urgent need of a basic level is always more important than higher materials. If you follow this logic, a person should be happier the more fully satisfied his needs in different areas.
Despite the reasonableness and logic of all sorts of theories, an important role is played by human individuality, that is why different people have different needs expressed. So, for example, extreme sportsmen need little security. For a scientist, sometimes obtaining new information can be more important than social needs and comfort. Someone’s desire for beauty prevails over the desire for self-affirmation. Someone is more self-sufficient, and someone needs a constant stay in the society of people. Someone sees the meaning of life in children, and someone is absorbed in their ideas. There are also people who live as hermits and are content with a minimum.
Obviously, the concepts of happiness and desire are different for all. But whether happiness depends on satisfying desires is a controversial issue. After all, there are people who are in high spirits most of the time, but there are those who are almost always dissatisfied, regardless of the circumstances. Often a person thinks that having received something long-awaited, he will finally be happy, but in practice it turns out differently, because the desires of people are infinite, and when one goal is achieved, another comes. From this we can conclude that for happiness it is important to see good in what already exists in life, and appreciate it, while striving for more. It is necessary to be able to enjoy the current moment. And also it is necessary to know what you want, that is, to distinguish your true desires from those imposed from without.
Physiology is also affected by a subjective feeling of being unhappy or happy. People suffering from endogenous depression have a reduced level of serotonin and endorphins, joy hormones, so they are constantly in a depressed psychological state. Thus, good health and balance in the body of hormones, vitamins and minerals can also be considered an important condition for happiness.
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)