Cameron Redburn

PHIL220

3/27/18

What Is the Happiest Kind of Life to Lead?

Happiness means something different to everyone. Some people see

happiness in a temporary thing, such as partying or taking risks. Some people see

happiness in other people. Some people see happiness in a job or financial security.

In my opinion, you need all these things to be happy. You also need different things

in each phase of life to make you happy. I will explain how to live the happiest kind

of life by going through the phases of life. In all of these phases of life, you need to

make decisions based on what YOU want, and not what others want from you.

As a child, the thing that made me happiest was my family and friends. It’s

important to know that you have a solid and loving support system early in life, so

you know who to turn to for advice later in life. In order to be happiest as a child,

you need to do just that. Be a child. Children need to have a good childhood, so that

they have a good foundation to build the rest of their lives off of. To do this, kids

need to whatever THEY think is fun (to an extent). Obviously, things that will hurt

them or someone else, and things that could hurt their wellbeing are things that

should be avoided. I think it’s important to let children take charge of their

childhood and let them have a say in making decisions that are going to affect them.

Kids who are forced to grow up too fast don’t get to experience what being a kid is
like, and often develop anxiety disorders and this, many times, hinders their

happiness as an adult. People who were not allowed to make their own decisions as

a child often grow up to have little to no decision-making skills, and this can really

affect their character judgement as a teenager and send them down the wrong path

with the wrong people. It could also decrease their chances of getting a job, since

decision making is a large portion of most job responsibilities.

In your teenage years, you are very confused. Some people are partying and

having sex, while others are still watching cartoons and going to bed at 9PM. I

think that it’s okay to have a rebellious phase where you party and stay out too late,

as long as you’re enjoying it for yourself, and not because other people want to. As a

teen, it’s okay to take the risks that life throws at you. Now, I don’t mean make

every impulse decision that is presented to you, but sometimes you need to live life

on the edge. Taking risks as a teen, when you are expected to do stupid things, gets

this sort of behavior out of your system while it’s still early. If you don’t live out

your rebellious dreams as a teen, you might do it when you’re an adult and

supposed to be making real life decisions, and this can ruin your chances of

happiness later in life. Some teens, however, do not like this behavior, and that’s

perfectly understandable and completely okay. As a teen, you have to make a lot of

hard decisions, and choosing whether you want to take risks such as partying and

saying out late or not is one of those. I want to be very clear on this, taking risks

due to peer pressure is NEVER in your best interest. To be happy as a teen,

sometimes you need to be selfish. If you have friends who have different interests
than you, that’s okay, as long as they don’t pressure you into doing thigs that you

don’t want to do.

To be happy as a young adult, you need to follow your dreams. Even if people

don’t believe in you and tell you that you won’t make it, you need to live out what

you’ve always dreamed of. People who pick a comfortable life with a 9-5 job that

they hate are not happy, and they’ll tell you that. You will never be happy by just

settling, and you need to do what you love, rather than what’s comfortable.

Sometimes it’s going to be hard, and you won’t think that the struggles you go

through are worth it, but in the end, it will be. You’ll be spending your life doing

what you love, while most people have just settled and taken a career path they

hate and chosen a life that does not fulfill them.

As an adult, you need to focus on what you want to do with the rest of your

life. For some people, this is a family, for some people it’s a career, and for some

people it’s simply being alone. Whatever you chose, you need to make sure you’re

choosing it for you, and nobody else but you. Don’t start a family because your

parents want grandkids, start a family for you. If you choose a career path that you

enjoy, don’t let anyone tell you that you don’t make enough money, or that your job

is a joke, do the job that you love, regardless of what other people say. If you choose

to be alone, don’t let anyone tell you that you’re going to be “so lonely” in your old

age. Don’t let anyone make you second guess your decisions.

The only way to be happy is to live for yourself, and not let anyone influence

your decisions or your life. I’m sure a lot of people will tell you their opinions on
your career path, your education (or lack thereof), your significant other (or lack

thereof), and whether you want to start a family or not. I have found that the only

way to achieve true happiness is to make sure that every decision you make about

your life is based off of what YOU want, not based off of what other people want.