The price of Happiness

What exactly is happiness and under what circumstance can we use happiness as a gauge of our current feelings/emotions?

Happiness is defined as: pleasure; good fortune, contentment; joy


The definition is actually an answer of the few reasons why people are happy! We are happy because of pleasure( knowing we are good, the 'feel good' feeling when everything working accordingly to your plan), good fortune( when we know we might not have deserved it, yet still get it) and contentment( being satisfied with what we got, not needing to worry of inadequacy). Sometimes, happiness come with a price. I'm not too sure if this is ever true, but i have heard of 'good things never come free and easy'!

Did you watch how Jenson Button celebrate his World Champion title? have you watched how Tiger Wood punched the air at the 18th hole when he wins a major? Have you watched Federer collapsed on the court when he win game point? Their happiness came at the price of injuries, effort, sacrifice and lots of trainings!

In this entry post, I don't want to talk about happiness by pleasure or contentment, rather on good fortune. I want to share a hard lesson I learn from my father. When i was 15, I was into an activity called gambling. I did not exactly gamble because I was underage, but I would ask my friends to purchase bets on football( My pastime) almost on a weekly basis. It might be just $5 or $10, but I bet on multiple matches, some of which have the odds of 4.5. That means if I have put $10, I would win $45 dollars if my prediction was correct. Yes, it was good money, and it was definitely easy money.

It might be sick, but I always feel happy watching matches when the team I bet on win. The happiness it gives me is somewhat 'pleasurable' and 'satisfying'. I continued for a while, and I am sure you know it is impossible to hide anything from your parents for too long... My father found out, and pulled me into his room for a talk.

I remembered his words vividly: Son, when you gamble, be in on soccer or a gambling table, when you win on a bet of 4.5, where do you your other 3.5 comes from? It comes from other people's loss. Imagine those people who are severely addicted to gambling( I told him I wasn't addicted to it)... They bet their assets on these matches, and when they lose, you are gaining what they lost. The key idea he brought to me is that The price of your happiness might be at the expense of others' misery!

This is true in relationships. Fine, we know all is fair in the game of love, there might not exactly be rules in the game of love, but surely there are respect and understanding?? Boys and girls, don't be a third party in a relationship and marriage. YOU WILL KNOW IT when you crossed the comfort line in a friendship. Step back, be a gentleman and respect other's relationship(HAHA, I AM NOT GUILTY HERE)! Don't make it in a way that for you to fulfill your love tank, you make someone else miserable and broken heart. We all know the circumstances and the state of minds this can lead too! :(

This is true in your workplace. As competitive as it may be for the prestigious one spot for promotion, it should be fought with effort and honesty. Don't gossip or back stab one another just to be 'in front'. Even if you win the spot, people will not like or even respect you!

I think what I shared can be related to everything in life. Everyone of us deserve to have a chance at our happiness. Happiness takes effort and sacrifice, no doubt about that. However,let us not gain our happiness at the expense of others' misery. True happiness is in the state of mind.

There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state to another, nothing more. He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness. We must have felt what it is to die, that we may appreciate the enjoyments of life. -Alexandre Dumas