What makes you happy?

Philippines
August 19, 2010 9:10am CST
People say money can't buy you happiness but you can't be happy without money either. They people have to be fulfilled Physically, emotionally, financially and spiritually to be happy. It all should be balance. When I was single and had more money than I needed, it felt incomplete. I was going to the gym them but I was lacking on the emotional and spiritual side. I have disconnected myself from my friends and family. And now I am trying to repair those relationship. I think having peace of mind is a big factor in finding happiness. What are your thoughts?
12 responses
• United States
19 Aug 10
First of all, let me say that having money and being happy are in no way related whatsoever. Having money problems can/will cause stress, which can hinder your happiness, but when it comes to your general overall happiness, money is not the issue. I've found that most of your internal happiness will come with your own internal acceptance. How can you be happy if you are unhappy with yourself? Everyone deserves to be happy, so you need to make a change. Think of something you don't like about the way things are with you. Do something to change that. Are you unhappy that you are disconnected with friends?? Call one up! Just to say hello! And if you're thinking "I'm not going to call them because they dont' call me" you can bet your prettiest penny they are thinking the exact same thing! So just reach out, you'll be suprised to see how many people you can connect with. I find that taking a time in the day to meditate on yourself and your happiness is VERY important. Without taking this time to yourself, you start to forget about yourself, you lose site of your personal goals and things get jumbled and confused.
• United States
19 Aug 10
Thanks. It actually took me a really long time to find my inner peace, but now that I've found it, I will fight tooth and nail to not lose it!! That's not to say I haven't had my seasons of feeling down about myself and my life. Those sad seasons usually come about when I've not given myself the time to reflect on my life and see problems starting or letting problems build up.
• Philippines
20 Aug 10
Inner peace sounds great. How I wish my own inner peace. Thanks for the response
• Philippines
19 Aug 10
Very well said. It is true that everyone needs to look at inside of them. Meditating on what is making me unhappy and finding ways to solve it is a very good advice. Don't you find it funny that we know the solutions to our own problems but sometimes we have to hear it from someone else to realize it. Thanks for your thoughts. I really like what thing about acceptance. I guess there are a lot of things in my life that I haven't really accepted
1 person likes this
@jamuls (530)
• Philippines
19 Aug 10
first question, why is this in the Philippines section? lol! anyway, there are a lot of ways to make a person happy. money is indeed very essential for some.. buying stuff can give a person a whole lot of smiles but for some, having a peace of mind, being with someone they love and their family is more than enough. i do believe that with money, you can buy happinessor it can aid in giving more happiness to a person. :) i have all the those things right now, a love one, family and this very very rare commodity called the peace of mind... except money. :)
• Philippines
19 Aug 10
I have been accustomed to starting my discussion under the Philippines section that I have really failed to notice that. Hehe. But this discussion is not meant for Filipinos alone of course. Anyway, when I was younger I always thought that money is not an issue to make a marriage work and happy. But I was naive. You would of course need money to make the the people in the family happy. But it doesn't mean that money alone is the key to happiness. I am not sure that money could buy happiness though. I have been spending a lot of money on things when I was younger on things that I really didn't need. It does make people happy when they buy things but most of the time they are temporary. Peace of mind is something that I really long for nowadays. With all the responsibilities piling up as we grow older, it would be nice to know that tomorrow would be a better day and I would be equip to handle anything that comes my way. Though peace of mind still eludes me. Thanks for the response
20 Aug 10
it should come about that money doesn't really matter with out purpose of reason of using. if it's for the sake of being rich alone. tough luck.
@dorothy09 (1520)
• Philippines
20 Aug 10
hi king4day, for me we have to nurture relationship inorder to be happy, when i say nurture its for real.. we have so many friends but can we determine who among them are true..when you have money and you are not at peace its happiness but temporary.. for a simple person, but i also believe each of us has its own standard of happiness
• Philippines
20 Aug 10
Great input. Most people needs relationship in their life. Living without them seems senseless to me. The standard of happiness is different for everybody. Money maybe enough for some, for some relationship is their main focus while some tend to could not live without their spiritual well being. Thanks for the response
@tovk12 (234)
• India
20 Aug 10
It is very true that happiness lies within yourself. It is how you see yourself. If you think you are unhappy when you have everything you will remain unhappy, but if you think you are happy even when you dont have anything you will be unhappy. Also different people will find happiness in different things. Some may be happy with material things and some might be happy just to bring a smile on someones face. Be happy dont worry!!!
• Philippines
20 Aug 10
Thanks for the response. The most smallest and trivial things might make some happy but not all. It maybe money, relationship, career or spirituality. I agree with you that it comes down to how someone see themselves. Thanks for the response
@deve_annrn (1856)
• Philippines
20 Aug 10
Money can make me happy.., it can buy me clothes i like.., gadgets.., accessories and allow me to go to places i would want to spend my vacation to.., i can buy gifts to my love ones and make them happy too.., but the problem is.., money can't buy everything.., so money can't buy love.., and without love.., there isn't happiness.., get what i mean..?=)
• Philippines
20 Aug 10
I do get that. You may cover up your loneliness by buying material things but in the end you would need more than that. In my situation, buying things gave my temporary happiness. But as time moves on, the joy from the materials things simply fades away and I am left with an emptiness and longing for something else.But everybody needs money. Married people would say that money is not a big issue but it is. How else could a parent feed their children? Money can't buy love. But in this consumer driven world that we live in, it is essential to survive. I am contradicting myself? Thanks for the response
@jedpaul (31)
• Philippines
20 Aug 10
There are many things that can make us happy.. Well the best things that can made me happy are those times when you had achieve all your goals in a day. That made me feel like satisfied and also there is some what a feeling of fulfillment. The simplest way may be is to make somebody happy..especially your family,friends and co-worker. A simple smile surely makes all of us smile back.^^
• Philippines
20 Aug 10
Doing my goals does somehow make me happy but not entirely. I like what you said about making other people happy makes you happy as well. I do agree with that. Thanks for the response
• United States
19 Aug 10
What makes me happy are the past fun memories.
• Philippines
19 Aug 10
Past memories is a good way to relieve stress. Do you take photos? That is one of my regret since I am not that into taking photos before. Now I regret I didn't capture some of the most interesting and most memorable events of my life. Thanks for the response
@mrfdg1972 (3237)
• Philippines
19 Aug 10
my kids - at the fastfood
I am happy if i see my kids happy
20 Aug 10
I don't know. some filipinos can be weird in knowing happiness. i don't think i am the guy for this.
• Philippines
20 Aug 10
Money can make me happy in some ways but not all the time. I can buy my favorite stuffs but it can't make my life complete and fulfilled. There are lots of more important things that money can't buy. My happiness is my baby boy, he is the best thing that happened to me. He makes my life complete and fulfilled just by seeing him everyday.
• Philippines
19 Aug 10
Money is the root of all evil ... happiness for me can be found whenever you overcome each obstacles you are facing . i mean in every aspects of course ..
• Philippines
20 Aug 10
I don't think money is the root of all evil. It comes down to how the person uses their money. We do find some sort of happiness when we overcome obstacles. Thanks for the response
@cjsalas (109)
• Philippines
20 Aug 10
Hmmmm... Yes, peace of mind is a big factor to consider in finding happiness. So be an advocate of peace, smile often and influence other to do the same - that is a form of kindness that could lighten up a person's sorrow to happiness.