Ooi 1

Ooi Yong Jian

Professor Corri Ditch

English 115

25 September 2018

Is Happiness Internal or External?

Happiness. It is not profitable, measurable nor tradable. And yet, above all else in the

world, it is what everyone seeks. I have analysed a book titled “Pursuing Happiness”, which

explores and discusses the many questions about happiness based on modern psychology and

philosophies. There are 4 articles within the book, written by Sonja Lyubomirsky, David

Brooks, His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Howard Cutler as well as Graham Hill respectively

which I believe shows that happiness can be achieved through internal or external space. The

articles also revealed that the individual is in control of his/her own happiness and should not

let anything dictate the way they obtain happiness. Basically, even though all the authors hold

different opinions on happiness and the steps that one can take on achieving it, they all agree

that one’s mind and actions can determine one’s happiness.

The first author, Sonja Lyubomirsky, in her essay “How happy are you and why”,

presents her case by stating that happiness is achieved through one’s internal space as she

discusses about how we should not let our genes predestine our happiness as well as how

happiness must be “found”. She also covers a wide range of research to consider steps that

individuals can take to increase their levels of happiness. In her article, she aired her belief

that “Happiness, more than anything, is a state of mind, a way of perceiving and approaching

ourselves and the world in which we reside.” (Lyubomirsky 185). Basically, she is explaining

that happiness is inside us, or more specifically, it is dependent on our state of mind. She goes

on to suggest that by managing and changing our state of mind to adapt it to our perception

and the world around us, we would be able to achieve happiness. She also hopes that her
 Ooi 2

readers have accepted the fact that “the specifics of one’s life circumstances, unless they are

truly dire, are really not the crux of one’s unhappiness” (Lyubomirsky 186). She is trying to

tell her readers to put aside their thoughts about how their circumstances would influence

their happiness and that they should instead implement some discipline and self-control to get

through this phase in life. In addition, based on the Happiness Twin Study, which concludes

that everyone is born with a happiness set point, Lyubomirsky states that “even though our

happiness set point cannot be changed doesn’t mean that our happiness level cannot be

changed” (Lyubomirsky 190). She then explains that our genes do not determine our life

experiences and behaviour, so despite the happiness set point which we are born with, we can

still improve our happiness level through our life experiences which are under our control as

our genes requires a particular set of life experiences in order to be expressed. In short, she

wants her readers to understand that the fountain of happiness can be “found in how you

behave, what you think and what goals you set in your everyday lives” (Lyubomirsky 196).

In other words, Lyubomirsky wants her readers to know that happiness lies in one’s own

hands, which shows that she believes happiness is determined by one’s internal space.

Next, the second author, David Brooks, in his article What Suffering Does, also places

an emphasis on internal space as he believes that suffering and happiness is intertwined, and

that suffering can help one make inroads into discovering his/herself as well as achieve

happiness. To prove his point, he quoted a German American Theologian named Paul Tillich,

who said, “people who endure suffering are taken beneath the routines of life and find they

are not who they believed themselves to be” (Tillich 285). The quote was meant to convey

the message that one would take a different path which would lead to self-discovery if they

endured some form of suffering before in his/her life. Brook’s explanation is that one will go

above and beyond to overcome this hurdle which would allow one to discover something new

about themselves in that process. Brooks also stated that “suffering gives people a more
 Ooi 3

accurate sense of their own limitations, like what they can or cannot control” (Brooks 286).

He believes that those who undergo a traumatic experience or are trust down into deeper

zones are forced to overcome it which would provide them with a sense of relief as they feel

an overwhelming moral responsibility to respond well to it. To sum up the point he is

making, Brooks states in his article that through suffering, one can “achieve a sense of

holiness” (Brooks 286) and that one should fully immerse themselves with the problem at

hand so that they can recover and learn about their deep-rooted feelings and thinking.

Ultimately, like the previous author, Professor Lyubomirsky, Brooks also believes that

suffering revolves on one’s state of mind or internal space, as it could be one’s ticket to

happiness if he/she learns to cope and deal with their suffering.

The authors for the third article, His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Howard Cutler,

both share the same views as the previous two authors in that happiness is achieved through

one’s internal space. They both think that “happiness is determined by one’s state of mind

rather than external events” (Cutler 22). They also mentioned that out happiness level has

very little to do with our absolute condition but rather how we perceive the situation and how

happy or satisfied we are with what we have. To back up their claims, The Dalai Lama, who

is the spiritual leader of Tibet hence very well versed on this subject, went on to explain his

reasoning by saying, “As long as there is a lack of inner discipline that brings calmness to the

mind, no matter what external facilities or conditions one has, one would never be able to

find the happiness or joy they seek” (Cutler 25). He was basically trying to say that to find

true happiness, one has to have a strong and stable mindset. As if one is always harbouring

spiteful and hateful thoughts, they would not be able to achieve a sense of calmness in the

mind, which would also lead to an absence of affection and compassion, two elements

necessary for one to achieve happiness. The Dalai Lama also stated that the “true antidote to

greed is contentment” (Cutler 27). This statement ties in to the topic of achieving happiness
 Ooi 4

because when one is content, he/she would also be happy. However, the Dalai Lama raised

the issue of greed because excessive desire can lead to greed which in turn leads to over

expectation and cultivates a materialistic lifestyle. He went on to say that greed is often not

satisfied by obtaining so one should have a strong sense of contentment to cull one’s greed.

When one is greedy, he or she will never be content with anything they have which would

lead to unhappiness. Therefore, the Dalai Lama proved that greed and contentment is very

intricately linked with the path to achieving happiness even though we do not realize it. To

conclude his points, the Dalai Lama wants us to approach life with the goal of achieving

happiness, as it would be easier to give up the things that might prove harmful to us even

though they give us momentary pleasure. His suggestions and philosophical views show that

he believes that happiness stems from one’s internal space, which is one’s mind and how they

choose to lead their life.

Finally, the final author, Graham Hill, is the only author who had a different view

compared to the preciously discussed authors as he believes that happiness is linked to

external space rather than internal space. He even based his article on his own life story to

prove that happiness is not measured by material wealth. In his article, Hill said that “this

stuff ended up running my life, or a lot of it; the things I consumed ended up consuming me”

(Hill 308). Through that statement, he was trying to emphasize that in his pursuit for material

wealth, he lost track of his goals in life as he was too preoccupied with getting newer stuff

and adding it to his collection. It can be hard to stay interested in one’s goals as success

requires patience, the opposite of the instant gratification which materialism provides. To

further support his point about happiness being linked to one’s external space, Hill said, “My

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

it all” (Hill 309). He was basically trying to tell his readers that they have to let go of their

need to have the greatest-and-latest thing and be happy with what they have as the excitement
 Ooi 5

for new things would wear off after a while. This statement somewhat correlates to the Dalai

Lama’s article who also mentioned about greed and how it can lead to materialism. In short,

Hill wants his readers to be aware that the things that you own does not define who you are

and that the best stuff in life are relationships, experiences, and meaningful work rather than

material items. This shows that Hill believes happiness is linked to one’s external space, as

throughout the article, he is constantly trying to dissuade his readers from overindulging in

luxury as having too many material objects can crowd out one’s emotional needs.

In conclusion, three among the four authors believe that happiness is dependent on the

individual and his state of mind rather than external events with the exception of Graham

Hill, who believed that one should avoid materialism to achieve happiness and focus on the

simple things in life. However, all 4 authors share the belief that regardless of internal or

external space, one can achieve happiness by taking control and having a strong mind. They

want the readers to know that even in the face of adversity or times of suffering, there will

always be a way to find happiness if one just looks hard enough or embraces the challenges

in front of them.
 Ooi 6

Works Cited

Lyubomirsky, Sonja. “How Happy Are You and Why?” Pursuing Happiness, Edited by

Matthew Parfitt and Dawn Skorczewski, Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2016, pp. 179–197.

Hill, Graham. “Living with Less. A Lot Less.” Pursuing Happiness, Edited by Matthew

Parfitt and Dawn Skorczewski, Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2016, pp. 308–313.

Brooks, David. “What Suffering Does.” Pursuing Happiness, Edited by Matthew Parfitt and

Dawn Skorczewski, Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2016, pp. 284–287.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama., et al. “The Sources of Happiness” Pursuing Happiness, Edited

by Matthew Parfitt and Dawn Skorczewski, Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2016, pp. 21–33.