Lieberman !

Alexander Lieberman

Professor Beadle

English 115 - 20857

21 February 2019

Happy, 100% Happy

100% of people want to be happy, but wouldn’t it be nice if 100% of us were actually

happy? In this essay, I will discuss three separate takes on how one can achieve happiness.

“What Suffering Does” by David Brooks, “Living with Less. A Lot Less.” by Graham Hill, and

“How Happy Are You and Why?” by Sonja Lyubomirsky all have the common goal of

illustrating ways to achieve happiness. They each encompass the transformation of a different

space to do so, with Brooks focusing on a positive, rather than negative, internal outlook on

suffering, Hill focusing on the external space of a more spiritual lifestyle instead of one close to

the destructiveness of materialism, and Lyubomirsky focusing on having a strong internal will to

be happy as opposed to only wishing for it.

In “What Suffering Does,” David Brooks explains how shifting one’s mentality on

suffering from negative to positive leads to happiness. He begins by providing his reasoning

behind how suffering develops one’s sense of self, and sparks a happier attitude overall. Brooks

mentions this expansion of self-awareness when saying that “suffering drags you deeper into

yourself... The agony... smashes through what they thought was the bottom floor of their

personality, revealing an area below” (285-286). He indicates that suffering brings one’s

personality to a low point that was previously undiscovered, therefore expanding the individual’s

perception of themselves, and improving the quality of life and personal emotions. Brooks
 Lieberman !2

further supports the magnificence of suffering by describing how it betters one’s sense of

capability and sprouts a desire for success. He mentions that “suffering gives people a more

accurate sense of their own limitations, what they can control and cannot control” and that “they

often feel an overwhelming moral responsibility to respond well to it,” which breeds the “sense

that they are at a deeper level than the level of happiness” (Brooks 286). Brooks claims that in

the midst of suffering, one will both discover their true range of control while realizing the

righteousness of their recovery. He suggests that, in combination, these internal changes allow

one to come back from their suffering better than ever, without any false hope, and happier than

they were to begin with due to restricting possibilities to positive outcomes.

Graham Hill’s “Living with Less. A Lot Less.” demonstrates the detrimental nature of

materialism and encourages a more spiritual lifestyle over one that involves an intense desire for

physical possession. He expresses this healthier way of living as the external source of

happiness. Hill references a U.C.L.A. study in which “32 middle-class Los Angeles families”

were observed. It was discovered that “all of the mothers’ stress hormones spiked during the time

they spent dealing with their belongings” (Hill 310). This helps prove that managing physical

possessions in fact causes stress, which is precisely the opposite effect of happiness. Therefore, a

life with less materials is less stressful and much happier than a life with more materials. Hill

notes the incongruity of product possession and happiness when stating, “Though American

consumer activity has increased substantially since the 1950s, the happiness levels have

flatlined” (311). This suggests that other, more spiritual and nonmaterial things, must be the

primary source of happiness instead, once again reinforcing Hill’s concept of living with less and

highlighting the happiness found when following it. Hill ends with a final piece of anecdotal
 Lieberman !3

evidence that demonstrates exactly the effect of the aforementioned lifestyle. He summarizes his

time dealing with less material possession when stating, “material objects take up mental as well

as physical space... I sleep better knowing I’m not using more resources than I need. I have less

—and enjoy more. My space is small. My life is big” (Hill 312). Hill explains how materials

waste mental space that could be used for more important things like spiritual connections and

happiness itself. He also mentions that having less does not translate to being less. He lives a

grand life while owning very little, implying that happiness comes from living a lifestyle with

“less” rather than a lifestyle with “more.”

“How Happy Are You and Why?” by Sonja Lyubomirsky is a extensive answer to the

popular question “Why we are happy?” Lyubomirsky goes over the scientific and unforeseen

effects on one’s happiness, but more importantly, explains the significance of changing one’s

focus from wanting happiness to actually taking action on the matter. Lyubomirsky defines the

mandatory drive involved in attaining happiness when she says, “the foundation of happiness can

be found in how you behave, what you think, and what goals you set every day of your life.

‘There is no happiness without action’” (196). She asserts that if one wants to be happy, they

need to take action by acting the part, thinking the part, and striving for better, emphasizing the

process of taking action and its importance to truly being happy. Lyubomirsky then elaborates on

the fact that happiness is something to be earned as opposed to something that is simply

discovered. She reveals the internal source of happiness when saying that it “is not out there for

us to find. The reason it’s not out there is that it’s inside us,” inferring that it is “a state of mind, a

way of perceiving and approaching ourselves and the world in which we reside” (Lyubomirsky

185). Lyubomirsky aims to debunk the myth that happiness must be found by noting its actual
 Lieberman !4

source: a healthy state of mind. One can only achieve such a thing by taking action. Without

taking action, one will remain focused on wanting to be happy, and will therefore stay that way.

Lyubomirsky presents multiple true stories to support her argument, that happiness only sprouts

from taking the initiative to be so. This includes Angela, who experienced abuse, bullying,

divorce, and financial conflict, as well as Randy, who faced suicidal losses of loved ones,

denigration, and divorce. Both of these people stay happy despite all the terrible things they have

been through. Lyubomirsky stresses that both Angela and Randy are able to maintain happiness

in the face of serious struggles by changing their state of mind. Rather than sulking in sorrow and

merely hoping for happiness, both of them took action to earn happier lives. Angela “has made

many friends” and “formed a whole community of liked-minded people” (Lyubomirsky 180) in

addition to enjoying various activities with her daughter Ella. Randy “picked himself up after his

divorce” and “claims that seeing the ‘silver lining in the cloud’ has always been his key to

survival” (Lyubomirsky 181). Angela and Randy are real-life examples of Lyubomirsky’s ideas.

This once again proves that taking action is the key to achieving happiness, rather than staying

stagnant and only wishing for it.

David Brooks, Graham Hill, and Sonja Lyubomirsky each value the transformation of

different spaces, but they all have the common intention of happiness. Brooks, in “What

Suffering Does,” explains how appreciating challenges for the benefits they wield, and not for

the troubles they may bring, leads to a happier life. Hill, in “Living with Less. A Lot Less.,”

illustrates how “living with less,” rather than more, characterizes a happy lifestyle. Finally,

Lyubomirsky, in “How Happy Are You and Why?,” sheds light on the process of taking action

and changing one’s state of mind to achieve happiness. These authors view happiness as a
 Lieberman !5

common goal to portray in their respective articles, but also as a common goal for the human

race. They surely wish for their readers to leave happier than they came. I hope that after reading

this essay, we are at least the littlest bit closer to that 100% happiness rate.
 Lieberman !6

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

___Dawn Skorczewski, Bedford St. Martin’s, 2016, pp. 284-287.

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.

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.