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Bianca Cardenas

Professor Corri Ditch

English 115

01 October 2018

What Defines Happiness?

There are many definitions to what happiness is. Many people have had their own

arguments on what happiness is and what determines it. Some suggest that happiness is

determined by the space around us and we can transform that space around us. The space around

us can be external or internal. External space is the space that is physically around one, while

internal space is the space within a person’s mind or how that person feels within that space. For

example, when you are at home in your room, you feel more safe in that place. The external

space is your room and the internal space is how you feel in that space. There are four authors

from different articles who have their own arguments about happiness and they describe how one

can transform the space around them. The four authors who argue about happiness are David

Brooks, Graham Hill, Sonja Lyubomirsky, and the Dalai Lama.

In the article, “What Suffering Does,” by David Brooks, he talks about how suffering

affects a person. Brooks argues that suffering can change a person internally and when a person

recovers from suffering, they become different than they once were before. “First, suffering

drags you deeper into yourself. The theologian Paul Tillich° wrote that people who endure

suffering are taken beneath the routines of life and find they are not who they believed

themselves to be” (Brooks 285). This shows that when a person suffers, they begin to question
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themselves about how emotional strong they really are and how the world around them works.

For example, when a child witness the death of a family member or pet, they begin to question

the world and see it for what it really is. Most children think the world works like how cartoons

work, but when they see a loved one die, they begin to question everything. When a person

suffers, they are changing the internal space around them by the way they feel and if something

happened in that space, then the person will feel all those negative emotions in that space. But

according to Brooks, suffering does not always lead to a negative outcome. For example, if a

family loses a loved one, they will either mourn their loss or do something in their memory, like

starting a foundation. Brooks says that suffering is a part of life, we must move on from them

and live up to our hopes and the hopes of our love ones.

In the article, “Living with Less. A Lot Less,” by Graham Hill, he talks about materialism

and his experiences with it. Hills argues that buying what one wants, instead of buying what one

needs will lead to unhappiness. For example, when a person buys something like a new phone, it

will only bring them temporary happiness and they will want a new phone later. Hill states, “My

success and the things it bought quickly changed from novel to normal. Soon I was numb to it

all. The new Nokia phone didn’t excite me or satisfy me. It didn’t take long before I started to

wonder why my theoretically upgraded life didn’t feel any better and why I felt more anxious

than before” (Hill 309). Hill demonstrates that buying new materials will seem exciting at first,

then once you get use to the new item it becomes old and less exciting. When a parent buys a toy

for their kid, at first the kid plays with the toy for a few days, then the kid becomes bored of it

and wants a new toy. Our society is heavily influenced by materialism and it can take ahold of a

person. People will always want something new. Their wants overpower their needs. Hill was
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once controlled by his wants and he would fill his home with a lot of materials till his house

begun to run out of space. He became less happy in the space around him. Once he realized that

he was not happy with all this luxury, he decide to start getting rid of his materials and live with

less. Hill states that filling the space in your home with new materials will lead not lead to true

happiness. Living with what you have or what life has given you will lead to true happiness.

In the article, “How Happy Are You and Why?” by Sonja Lyubomirsky, she talks about

her interviews that she had with people about their lives and the myths on happiness.

Lyubomirsky argues that happiness is determined by one’s state of mind and behavior.

“Happiness is not out there for us to find. The reason that it’s not out there is that it’s inside us.

As banal and clichéd as this might sound, happiness, more than anything, is a state of mind…”

(Lyubomirsky 185). This shows that happiness is determined by the way one thinks about

something or situations. If one thinks positively about a situation, then outcome will be positive

and if one thinks negatively way they will become less happy. In one of her interviews, she

states that, “Like Angela, Randy endured a lot as a child...Today Randy is one of those happy

people who make everything around them smile and laugh...Randy is an eternal optimist and

claims that seeing the silver lining in the cloud has always been his key to survival”

(Lyubomirsky 181). From this interview, one can see that having a positive state of mind in a

negative situation can help one overcome the negatively in the space around one. One myth

Lyubomirsky talks about is that happiness can be found. She states that happiness is not

something we can find, happiness is inside us and we can bring it out through the way we behave

or think. Having a state of mind will lead to true happiness and you will be able to see things in a

new perspective.
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In the article, “The Sources of Happiness,” by the Dalai Lama, he talks about having a

strong state of mind. What the Dalai Lama means by a strong state of mind is that if we think

positively this will result in positive behavior and a positive outcome. Having a strong state of

mind will help you see things in a new perspective and you will be able to transform your

internal space into a positive one. The Dalai Lama argues that true happiness is not created from

physical pleasure like materialism but from the heart and mind. “True happiness relates more to

the mind and heart. Happiness that depends mainly on physical pleasure is unstable; one day it’s

there, the next day it may not be” (The Dalai Lama 30). This shows that materialism or physical

pleasure is an unstable happiness and it will not last for a long time. Eventually, you’ll want to

leave the pleasure that you have because of the temporary happiness and then you’ll move on to

a new one so you can be happy again.The Dalai Lama also states that we must also fill our life

with others. “We all recognize that in order to enjoy a fulfilled life, we need a circle of friends

with whom we can relate emotionally and trust” (The Dalai Lama 24). The Dalai Lama argues

that spending time with others and sharing happiness helps one gain true happiness. True

happiness is gained when we are surrounded by others who care about us and we will be able to

get more out of life. Once we gain true happiness, our internal space changes from negative to

positive. Having a strong state of mind will help one overcome the negativity in our minds so

that we can think positively.

One can see that the authors have some similarities and differences about happiness how

it transforms space. Brooks, Lyubomirsky, and the Dalai Lama focus on in the book is internal

space, while Hill focus on external space. Brooks focus on how suffering affects a person

mentally and how they transform their internal space into a positive or negative one.
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Lyubomirsky focus how behavior can change the internal space around a person. The Dalai

Lama focus on internal space and how true happiness comes from the heart and mind, not from

physical pleasure. Hill focus on how materialism affects space around a person. The Dalai Lama,

Lyubomirsky, Brooks, and Hill argue that happiness true happiness comes from a state of mind.

Though Hill focuses on external space, he also focuses on internal space. Hill talks about how

materials fill both home space and emotional space. “It took 15 years, a great love and a lot of

travel to get rid of all the inessential things I had collected and lived a bigger, better, richer life

with less” (Hill 308). A person could feel unhappy with having a ton of items and they could

even be stressed from having to maintain those items. The Dalai Lama and Lyubomirsky both

talk about how having a state of mind can help you achieve true happiness. Lyubomirsky,

Brooks, and the Dalai Lama suggest that one can change the internal space around them by the

way one thinks, while Hill suggest that one can change the external space around them by buying

and living less. Lyubomirsky, Brooks, and the Dalai Lama talk about thinking in a positive way

in order to affect their mental space and achieve true happiness. Hill talked about how living will

less materials in your external space, can help you become more happy.

In conclusion, Brooks, Hill, Lyubomirsky, and the Dalai Lama explain their own

arguments about happiness and they describe how one can transform the space around them.

Brooks, Lyubomirsky, and the Dalai Lama focus on in the book is internal space, while Hill

focus on external space. They may have some differences but they also have some points on

happiness. Like how the Dalai Lama and Lyubomirsky both talk about how having a state of

mind and how thinking positively can affect one’s internal space. Both internal and external

space are affected by one’s happiness and the space can transform into a positive one.
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Works Cited

Brooks, David. "What Suffering Does." ​Pursuing Happiness: A Bedford Spotlight Reader​, Leasa

Burton, 2016, pp. 284-287.

Hill, Graham. "Living with Less. A Lot Less." ​Pursuing Happiness: A Bedford Spotlight Reader​,

Leasa Burton, 2016, pp. 308-313.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and Cutler Howard. "The Sources of Happiness." ​Pursuing

Happiness: A Bedford Spotlight Reader,​ Leasa Burton, 2016, pp. 21-33.

Lyubomirsky, Sonja. "How Happy Are You and Why?" ​Pursuing Happiness: A Bedford

Spotlight Reader,​ Leasa Burton, 2016, pp. 179-197.