I have really started to look more into my research paper topic and thought it would be a good starting point for this blog. It got me thinking, what is the point in studying any subject matter if you don’t somehow use it or relate it into your life. I think that the subject matter of happiness is the perfect example.
It is often said that money can’t buy happiness, and I always would say, “Yes but money makes certain things that cause unhappiness go away.” I have thought about this and the outlook on happiness I’ve had, for quite some time now, and didn’t really have the material to justify my thoughts or compound upon them until this course. Although I haven’t found the answer I’m looking for quite yet, I believe that through the willingness to learn and see what aspects of this course can apply to my life, ill start to see a picture forming in the cloudiness.
The topic of my term paper is also calling into question my preconceived notions of happiness. What aspects would enrich my life more? What public policy could a government implement to increase wellbeing within the community I’m in? I don’t currently have the answers to these questions, and I think if you asked 100 different people, you would receive 100 different answers. One of the beginning readings mentioned something that has stuck with me through the first week of this course and has really defined how I look at it. That was that happiness is a sense of ‘subjective wellbeing’, which I find very intriguing. Happiness means something different to everybody, and I think that is something everybody should realize as well as learn about.
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Science of Happiness Blog - Bryce Wojciechowski 