How to be truly happy
According to Aristotle. So it's not about ice-cream.
In the 4th Century BC, Greek philosopher Aristotle was studying happiness. But not the fleeting joy that’s dependent on something ‘other’ but the ideal of true inner peace and purpose aka Eudaimonia.
In Greek philosophy Eudaimonia means achieving the best conditions possible for a human being, thus not just ‘happiness’, but also the pursuit of virtue (being honest, fair and disciplined), morality and a meaningful life. It’s the difference between the transient pleasure of eating ice-cream, versus perhaps playing a challenging video game, where every level makes you a better player, and the real prize is becoming a hero of your own adventure.
For this reason, I am deeply fascinated by his conclusions! And his tips for its attainment, as detailed below.
After all, is happiness not still the contemporary holy grail? The thing most cited as an enviable pursuit? And yet, I observe, that many of us are not happy. Rather we are stressed by work or other obligations, fearful of the future, mostly exhausted, and wondering how to get off the hamster wheel.
Many mistakenly seek pleasure, wealth, or fame with the aim of achieving happiness, and while each of these has some value, none can occupy Aristotle’s stated “place of the chief good for which humanity should aim”. Rather, Aristotle believed that a true goal must always be “desirable in itself and never for the sake of something else.” It is easy enough to see then that while we might desire money, pleasure, or celebrity because we believe these will make us happy, they are but a means towards obtaining happiness, while happiness is an end in itself.