WHAT IS HAPPINESS? We are all slaves to something (Part 2)

In the dictionary, contentment and happiness are used interchangeably. But in psychology being content is seen as an initial step to happiness. Happiness is very volatile, your progress towards a goal and activities or events that release dopamine have to far outweigh your sensitivity to stressors or negative emotions. Contentment is less volatile to your reactivity to positive or negative occurrences. If you are content, positive occurrences and achieving your goals can lead to happiness…however if you find yourself relying on substances, material items or members of the opposite sex for happiness, you may never be fulfilled and the marketing campaigns behind these perceived ‘rewards’ (movies, peer pressure, ads etc) are all designed to entice the user to want more and to be in need of the next thing to come along in that category.

“…the marketing campaigns behind these perceived ‘rewards’ are all designed to entice the user to want more.”

If this sounds a lot like drug use to you, then you’re right. All the things we enjoy, whether they are substances or experiences; elicit a dopamine response that is associated with happiness or enjoyment. Why is it then that drug addiction, alcoholism and overeating are frowned upon to achieve this response but an obsession with shoes, a celebrity/athlete, celebrity status, sex, being in a relationship and social media is often overlooked? If what we seek as humans is happiness aka this dopamine response, shouldn’t we find more productive, less destructive, and more efficient ways to achieve it. What if I told you that giving, loving, achieving a goal or an exciting experience could generate a dopamine response similar to (if not greater than) buying something non-essential that you desire, drinking alcohol or being relevant on social media.

For most of us the situation is dire and it already feels like we are too far gone. How can we keep our heads above the drowning waters of societal influence? Do we have to become Amish? Where can we find a social circle and a way of life that keeps us one step ahead of the artificial pursuit of happiness created by the world? Well, there is a collection of writings that make up one of the oldest books in the world. It was written at different times by different authors in different places. The authors all had different political, cultural and economic living conditions. It is filled with wisdom and the efforts of those who pursued morality and the answers to life’s burning questions. This collection of writings is known as the Bible and it is one of the oldest collections of stories and knowledge that humanity has. One of its writers in the new testament (Paul) even has accounts of philosophical debates with Jewish leaders and the philosophers of the Roman Empire. The books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all describe the same events during the life of Jesus but all have small variations in the details as to what exactly happened. If all the personal accounts were the same, with the same details then anyone could tell you they were fabricated and the authors corroborated their stories with one another. But as you will soon see, the Bible’s wisdom in regards to our purpose in life and how we should live our life (despite how the world tells us we should live it) is still relevant today.

“…the Bible and it is one of the oldest collections of stories and knowledge that humanity has.”

Preview to part 3:

"When it comes to religion, many of us view it as a fairy tale that is good for some, but not for all. Or we see it as a corrupt and hypocritical way of thinking due to the long history of violence and wrongdoing associated with major world religions..."