happiness narrative essay

How to Show Happiness in Writing (100+ Ways & Examples)

From the moment I picked up a pen, I knew my stories needed more than just plots and characters.

They needed the heartbeat of happiness.

Through trial and error, I’ve found ways to weave joy into the fabric of my narratives.

I’ve used these methods to describe happiness in several published novels and numerous short stories.

Here Is How to Show Happiness in Writing

Show happiness in writing by using vivid words like “ecstatic,” descriptive phrases such as “bursting with joy,” and crafting scenes that capture laughter, smiles, and the warmth of human connection. Convey happiness through characters’ actions, achievements, and shared moments of joy.

Table of Contents

Ready to light up your words with joy?

Let’s get started by going over the types of happiness to describe in writing.

Types of Happiness in Writing

Before you describe happiness in writing, you need to understand all the different varieties.

Let’s go over the major types of happiness in writing:

• Euphoric happiness
• Contented happiness
• Anticipatory happiness
• Reflective happiness
• Shared happiness

Euphoric Happiness

This type of happiness is about those peak moments of joy that feel almost overwhelming.

In writing, it’s when your characters experience a high so intense, that it’s almost transcendental.

Think of moments like winning a long-sought-after award, reuniting with a loved one, or achieving a dream against all odds.

These are the moments that leave your characters (and readers) breathless, their hearts pounding with unadulterated joy.

Contented Happiness

Contented happiness is quieter, more like a gentle stream than a roaring waterfall.

It’s found in the small, everyday moments that fill life with warmth and satisfaction. In your writing, it’s the peaceful morning routines, the comfortable silences between friends, or the serene end of a day well spent.

It’s less about the highs and more about a deep, sustaining sense of well-being.

Anticipatory Happiness

The excitement of looking forward to something wonderful gives this type of happiness its unique sparkle.

It’s the countdown to a special event, the planning of a surprise, or the hopeful dreams of what the future might hold.

In writing, use anticipatory happiness to build tension and excitement, showing your characters dreaming, planning, and yearning for what’s to come.

Reflective Happiness

This is the joy found in looking back and appreciating the journey.

It’s a type of happiness that comes with a tinge of nostalgia, a bittersweet acknowledgment of growth and change.

In writing, reflective happiness can be shown through characters reminiscing about past adventures, learning from their experiences, or finding peace with their past.

Shared Happiness

Happiness is often magnified when shared.

This type involves the joy of seeing someone else happy, of shared jokes, communal achievements, or the simple act of giving.

In writing, it’s the celebrations that bring communities together, the successes enjoyed as a team, or the laughter that bonds characters closer than ever before.

10 Ways to Show Happiness in Writing

Here are ten creative ways to do just that, each with a distinctive flavor of happiness.

With each method, I’ll give you 10 examples to really help you understand how to apply the strategy in your own stories.

1) The Laughter Echo

Laughter is contagious, and using it in your writing can instantly light up a scene.

But it’s not just about saying “they laughed.” It’s about describing the sound of laughter, the way it fills a room, catches someone by surprise or bubbles up from deep within.

Use laughter to show characters’ personalities, to ease tension, or to bond groups together.

• A giggle that turns into a full-blown belly laugh.
• Laughter that sounds like music, lifting the spirits of everyone who hears it.
• A snort of laughter at an unexpected joke.
• Silent chuckles shared between friends in a serious setting.
• Laughter that echoes through a house, making it feel alive.
• A character who laughs with their whole body, shaking with joy.
• A sarcastic quip that leads to shared amusement.
• Laughter that breaks the ice in a tense situation.
• A surprise tickle fight that ends in breathless laughter.
• The warm, infectious laughter of a loved one over the phone.

2) The Smile Spectrum

Smiles can convey a world of emotions, from shy, tentative smiles to beaming grins that crinkle the eyes.

In your writing, use a variety of smiles to show different shades of happiness.

Describe the way a smile transforms a face, how it feels to smile after a long day of sadness, or the effect of someone’s smile on those around them.

• A slow smile that spreads like sunrise.
• Smiles exchanged over a cup of coffee.
• A grin that’s all teeth and joy.
• The small, secret smile of inner amusement.
• A smile that lights up the room, drawing people in.
• Smirking at a private joke.
• A smile of relief after overcoming a challenge.
• The proud smile of accomplishment.
• A bashful smile at a compliment.
• Beaming at a friend across a crowded room.

3) Joyful Gestures

Joy doesn’t always need words.

Sometimes, it’s in the actions, the little gestures that say more than sentences ever could.

Think about the ways your characters show their happiness through what they do, not just what they say.

It could be the way they skip instead of walk when they’re excited, or how they can’t stop fidgeting with happiness.

• Dancing alone in the kitchen to a favorite song.
• Jumping up and down when receiving good news.
• A spontaneous hug that lifts someone off their feet.
• Clapping hands together in glee.
• A high five that turns into a handshake, then a hug.
• Making a loved one their favorite meal just because.
• Drawing happy faces on steamed-up windows.
• Leaving little notes of appreciation for others to find.
• A playful wink across the room.
• Twirling in a dress or skirt, caught up in a moment of pure bliss.

4) The Euphoria of Success

Capturing the moment of achievement in your writing can be a powerful way to convey happiness.

This isn’t just about winning; it’s about the journey to that win, the struggles overcome, and the final, triumphant realization of a goal.

It’s the euphoria that sweeps over your characters, leaving them (and your readers) breathless with joy.

• Crossing the finish line after months of training.
• The final piece of a puzzle clicking into place.
• A standing ovation after a performance.
• The flush of pride from a job well done.
• Tears of joy when a long-term goal is reached.
• A victory dance after a hard-earned win.
• Signing off on a project that took years to complete.
• The moment of silence before a crowd erupts in cheers.
• The overwhelming relief and happiness of passing a difficult test.
• A toast to celebrate the culmination of effort and dreams.

5) Serene Contentment

Not all happiness is loud or exuberant.

Some of the most profound joy is quiet, a deep river of contentment that runs through your characters’ lives.

Show this through scenes where little happens externally, but internally, your characters are at peace with the world and themselves.

• Watching a sunset in silent appreciation.
• The warmth of sipping a hot drink on a cold day.
• The comfortable silence between friends.
• A contented sigh after a satisfying day.
• Finding the perfect spot to read in a sunbeam.
• The gentle caress of a breeze on a warm day.
• The quiet hum of nature on a walk.
• The soft glow of candles in a tranquil room.
• Lying on the grass, watching clouds drift by.
• The peace of a deep, undisturbed sleep.

6) Shared Laughter

Shared happiness is doubly joyous, and laughter that bounces between characters can light up your writing.

This is about moments of connection, the inside jokes, and the shared hilarity that bonds characters together.

It’s laughter that weaves through your narrative, bringing characters closer and making your readers feel part of the group.

• A joke that becomes funnier each time it’s retold.
• Laughing until there are tears in their eyes.
• The kind of laughter that makes your stomach hurt.
• Shared looks that spark an outbreak of giggles.
• An accidental blunder that ends in shared amusement.
• Finding humor in a difficult situation, together.
• A story that gets more embellished with every telling.
• The uncontrollable fits of laughter that come from pure joy.
• A game that ends with everyone in stitches.
• The comfort of laughing with someone who truly understands you.

7) The Brightness of New Experiences

Happiness often comes from experiencing something new or seeing the world in a fresh way.

In your writing, capture the wonder and excitement of characters as they encounter new experiences.

Whether it’s a new relationship, a new place, or a new activity, these moments are ripe with happiness.

• The awe of seeing a breathtaking landscape for the first time.
• The thrill of trying a new hobby and loving it.
• The excitement of making a new friend.
• The joy of tasting a delicious food never tried before.
• The exhilaration of a first kiss.
• Discovering a passion they didn’t know they had.
• The nervous excitement of starting a new job.
• The wonder of exploring a new city.
• The satisfaction of learning a new skill.
• The simple pleasure of a new routine that feels just right.

8) Acts of Kindness

9) the euphoria of success.

This isn’t just about winning.

Instead, it’s about the journey to that win, the struggles overcome, and the final, triumphant realization of a goal.

10) Expressive Creativity

Creativity is a powerful outlet for joy, allowing characters to express their happiness in unique and fulfilling ways.

Through painting, writing, music, dance, or any form of creative expression, show how your characters channel their joy into something tangible, sharing it with the world.

• Painting a mural that brightens a dull wall.
• Writing a song that captures the essence of a happy moment.
• Choreographing a dance that feels like pure joy.
• Baking a beautiful and delicious cake for no reason at all.
• Crafting a handmade gift filled with love.
• A performance that leaves both the audience and the performers elated.
• A poem that brings smiles to those who read it.
• A photograph that captures a perfect moment.
• The satisfaction of completing a creative project.
• Sharing their artwork, not for acclaim, but for the joy of sharing.

50 Best Words to Describe Happiness in Writing

Joy, bliss, euphoria – words that paint happiness vividly.

• Exhilarated
• Lighthearted
• Happy-go-lucky
• Heartwarming
• Blissed-out

50 Best Phrases to Describe Happiness in Writing

“Happiness is a warm puppy” – short, sweet, and universal.

• Bursting with joy
• On cloud nine
• In seventh heaven
• Over the moon
• Walking on air
• A heart full of joy
• Smiling from ear to ear
• Floating on happiness
• A beam of sunshine
• Radiating joy
• A burst of happiness
• Feeling on top of the world
• A glow of contentment
• Bubbling with excitement
• A skip in their step
• Grinning like a Cheshire cat
• Eyes twinkling with delight
• Laughing without restraint
• Full of high spirits
• The warmth of happiness
• A soul filled with bliss
• Overflowing with joy
• Wrapped in euphoria
• Savoring the moment of bliss
• Basking in the glow of happiness
• A heart skipping with joy
• The light of joy in their eyes
• Drowning in a sea of happiness
• A chorus of joy in their heart
• A dance of delight
• The thrill of joy
• A symphony of happiness
• The peak of elation
• A smile that lights up the room
• The sweet taste of happiness
• Lost in a moment of joy
• A laughter that fills the air
• A touch of bliss
• The flush of pleasure
• A ripple of happiness
• The sparkle of pure joy
• The embrace of contentment
• The rush of exhilaration
• The whisper of joy
• A canvas painted with happiness
• The melody of laughter
• A tapestry of joyous moments
• The fragrance of happiness
• The color of joy
• The texture of bliss

3 Full Examples of Showing Happiness in Different Genres

Happiness shines, even in the darkest of tales.

Romance – The Moment of Realization

In the soft glow of the sunset, Ella and Jamie stood hand in hand, overlooking the tranquil lake.

The world seemed to pause, holding its breath as they looked into each other’s eyes, seeing the future they would build together. A smile, warm and genuine, spread across Ella’s face, reaching her eyes and lighting up her entire being. She laughed, a sound of pure joy and relief, as Jamie pulled her closer, whispering promises of forever.

In that moment, happiness wasn’t just an emotion; it was a palpable force, wrapping them in its warm embrace, promising a lifetime of shared smiles and intertwined paths.

Fantasy – The Victory Celebration

After the long-fought battle, the kingdom of Eldoria erupted in celebration.

In the grand hall, adorned with the banners of the victorious, the air was thick with the scent of roasting feasts and sweet mead. King Thalion, his face alight with a triumphant smile, raised his goblet high, his voice booming over the din, “To our freedom and future!” Cheers filled the hall, echoing off the stone walls, as warriors and citizens alike shared stories of bravery and loss, their laughter mingling with tears of relief.

The happiness that filled the room was infectious, a testament to their resilience and the promise of peace. It was a night where every smile, every hug, and every song was a brushstroke on the canvas of their shared joy, painting a future where happiness was no longer a fleeting dream but a lasting reality.

Mystery – The Unveiling of Truth

Detective Harris stood in the dimly lit room, the final piece of the puzzle clicking into place.

Around him, the team waited with bated breath, their exhaustion forgotten in the face of imminent revelation. With a flourish, he revealed the evidence that unmasked the culprit, a collective gasp filling the space. Then, as the weight of weeks of tension lifted, a spontaneous applause broke out, mingled with relieved laughter.

The joy was not just in solving the case but in restoring balance, in the triumph of truth over deceit. As they wrapped up, there was a lightness in their steps, smiles easier and more frequent, a shared happiness in their success and the knowledge that they had brought closure to those haunted by uncertainty.

In that moment, their camaraderie was a beacon of hope, a reminder of the joy found in the pursuit of justice and the collective relief of a mystery unraveled.

Here is a quick video about how to show happiness in writing an essay or school assignment:

Final Thoughts: How to Show Happiness in Writing

Ultimately, the journey to express happiness in writing has taught me that joy, in all its forms, is the most powerful story we can tell.

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Essays About Happiness: 5 Essay Examples and 6 Writing Prompts

Being happy and content is essential to living a successful life. If you are writing essays about happiness, start by reading our helpful guide.

Whenever we feel positive emotions rushing through our heads, chances are we are feeling happy. Happiness is what you feel when you enter the house, the smell of your favorite food being cooked or when you finally save up enough money to buy something you’ve wanted. It is an undeniably magical feeling. 

Happiness can do wonders for your productivity and well-being; when you are happy, you are more energetic, optimistic, and motivated. So it is, without a doubt, important. However, do not become caught up in trying to be happy, as this may lead to worse problems. Instead, allow yourself to feel your emotions; be authentic, even if that means feeling a little more negative.

5 Top Essay Examples

1. causes of happiness by otis curtis, 2. how to be happy by tara parker-pope, 3. reflections on ‘happiness’ by shahzada sultan.

• 4.  Happiness is Overrated by John Gorman

5. Toxic positivity by Suhani Mahajan

6 prompts for essays about happiness, 1. why is it important to be happy, 2. what is happiness to you, 3. the role of material things in happiness, 4. how does happiness make you more productive, 5. is true happiness achievable, 6. happiness vs. truth.

“If you don’t feel good about yourself you will have a similarly negative attitude towards others and education is one way of having good self-esteem, as it helps you to live life successfully and happily. Education is one way of getting that dream job and education is an essential cog in the wheel to living comfortably and happily. One English survey that included over 15,000 participants revealed that 81 percent of people who had achieved a good level of education had a high level of life satisfaction.”

Based on personal beliefs and research, Curtis’ essay describes different contributing causes to people’s happiness. These include a loving, stable family and good health. Interestingly, there is a positive correlation between education level and happiness, as Curtis cites statistics showing that education leads to high self-esteem, which can make you happier. 

“Socratic questioning is the process of challenging and changing irrational thoughts. Studies show that this method can reduce depression symptoms. The goal is to get you from a negative mindset (“I’m a failure.”) to a more positive one (“I’ve had a lot of success in my career. This is just one setback that doesn’t reflect on me. I can learn from it and be better.”)”

Parker-Pope writes about the different factors of happiness and how to practice mindfulness and positivity in this guide. She gives tips such as doing breathing exercises, moving around more, and spending time in places and with people that make you happy. Most importantly, however, she reminds readers that negative thoughts should not be repressed. Instead, we should accept them but challenge that mindset.

“Happiness is our choice of not leaving our mind and soul at the mercy of the sways of excitement. Happiness cannot eliminate sorrow, suffering, pain or death from the scheme of things, but it can help keep fear, anxiety, sadness, hopelessness, pessimism and other fathers of unhappiness at bay.”

Sultan discusses what happiness means to her personally. It provides an escape from all the dreariness and lousy news of daily life, not eliminating negative thoughts but keeping them at a distance, even just for a moment. She writes that to be happy; we should not base our happiness on the outcomes of our actions. We cannot control the world around us, so we should not link our happiness to it. If something doesn’t go our way, that is just how the world works. It is useless to be sad over what we cannot control.

4.   Happiness is Overrated by John Gorman

“Our souls do float across the sea of life, taking on water as they go, sinking ever so slightly — perhaps even imperceptibly — into despair. But our souls are not the bucket. Happiness itself is. And it’s the bucket we use to pour water out our souls and keep us afloat. What we really need is peace. Peace patches the holes in our souls and stops the leaking. Once we have peace, we will no longer need to seek happiness.”

In his essay, Gorman reflects on how he stopped trying to chase happiness and instead focused on finding peace in life. He writes that we are often so desperate looking for happiness that our lives become complicated, chaotic, and even depressing at times. He wants readers to do what they are passionate about and be their authentic selves; that way, they will find true happiness. You might also be interested in these essays about courage .

“That’s the mindset most of us have. Half of toxic positivity is just the suppression of 200% acceptable feelings such as anger, fear, sadness, confusion, and more. Any combination of such feelings is deemed “negative.” Honestly, mix ‘em up and serve them to me in a cocktail, eh? (Fine, fine, a mocktail. I reserve my right to one of those little umbrellas though.)

But by closing ourselves off to anything but positivity, we’re experiencing the same effects as being emotionally numb. Why are we doing this to ourselves?”

Mahajan writes about the phenomenon known as “toxic positivity” in which everyone is expected to be happy with their lives. It trivializes people’s misfortunes and sufferings, telling them to be happy with what they have instead. Mahajan opposes this, believing that everyone’s feelings are valid. She writes that it’s okay to be sad or angry at times, and the stigma around “negative feelings” should be erased. When we force ourselves to be happy, we may feel emotionally numb or even sad, the exact opposite of being happy. 

Many would say that happiness aids you in many aspects of your life. Based on personal experience and research, discuss the importance of being happy. Give a few benefits or advantages of happiness. These can include physical, mental, and psychological benefits, as well as anything else you can think of. 

Happiness means different things to different people and may come from various sources. In your essay, you can also explain how you define happiness. Reflect on this feeling and write about what makes you happy and why. Explain in detail for a more convincing essay; be sure to describe what you are writing about well. 

Happiness has a myriad of causes, many of which are material. Research the extent to which material possessions can make one happy, and write your essay about whether or not material things can truly make us happy. Consider the question, “Can money buy happiness?” Evaluate the extent to which it can or cannot, depending on your stance.  

Happiness has often been associated with a higher level of productivity. In your essay, look into the link between these two. In particular, discuss the mental and chemical effects of happiness. Since this topic is rooted in research and statistics, vet your sources carefully: only use the most credible sources for an accurate essay.

In their essays, many, including Gorman and Mahajan, seem to hold a more critical view of happiness. Our world is full of suffering and despair, so some ask: “Can we truly be happy on this earth?” Reflect on this question and make the argument for your position. Be sure to provide evidence from your own experiences and those of others. 

In dystopian stories, authorities often restrict people’s knowledge to keep them happy. We are seeing this even today, with some governments withholding crucial information to keep the population satisfied or stable. Write about whether you believe what they are doing is defensible or not, and provide evidence to support your point. 

For help with this topic, read our guide explaining “what is persuasive writing ?”

For help picking your next essay topic, check out our top essay topics about love .

Martin is an avid writer specializing in editing and proofreading. He also enjoys literary analysis and writing about food and travel.

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• How to write a narrative essay | Example & tips

How to Write a Narrative Essay | Example & Tips

Published on July 24, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.

A narrative essay tells a story. In most cases, this is a story about a personal experience you had. This type of essay , along with the descriptive essay , allows you to get personal and creative, unlike most academic writing .

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What is a narrative essay for, choosing a topic, interactive example of a narrative essay, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about narrative essays.

When assigned a narrative essay, you might find yourself wondering: Why does my teacher want to hear this story? Topics for narrative essays can range from the important to the trivial. Usually the point is not so much the story itself, but the way you tell it.

A narrative essay is a way of testing your ability to tell a story in a clear and interesting way. You’re expected to think about where your story begins and ends, and how to convey it with eye-catching language and a satisfying pace.

These skills are quite different from those needed for formal academic writing. For instance, in a narrative essay the use of the first person (“I”) is encouraged, as is the use of figurative language, dialogue, and suspense.

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Narrative essay assignments vary widely in the amount of direction you’re given about your topic. You may be assigned quite a specific topic or choice of topics to work with.

• Write a story about your first day of school.
• Write a story about your favorite holiday destination.

You may also be given prompts that leave you a much wider choice of topic.

• Write about an experience where you learned something about yourself.
• Write about an achievement you are proud of. What did you accomplish, and how?

In these cases, you might have to think harder to decide what story you want to tell. The best kind of story for a narrative essay is one you can use to talk about a particular theme or lesson, or that takes a surprising turn somewhere along the way.

For example, a trip where everything went according to plan makes for a less interesting story than one where something unexpected happened that you then had to respond to. Choose an experience that might surprise the reader or teach them something.

Narrative essays in college applications

When applying for college , you might be asked to write a narrative essay that expresses something about your personal qualities.

For example, this application prompt from Common App requires you to respond with a narrative essay.

In this context, choose a story that is not only interesting but also expresses the qualities the prompt is looking for—here, resilience and the ability to learn from failure—and frame the story in a way that emphasizes these qualities.

An example of a short narrative essay, responding to the prompt “Write about an experience where you learned something about yourself,” is shown below.

Hover over different parts of the text to see how the structure works.

Since elementary school, I have always favored subjects like science and math over the humanities. My instinct was always to think of these subjects as more solid and serious than classes like English. If there was no right answer, I thought, why bother? But recently I had an experience that taught me my academic interests are more flexible than I had thought: I took my first philosophy class.

Before I entered the classroom, I was skeptical. I waited outside with the other students and wondered what exactly philosophy would involve—I really had no idea. I imagined something pretty abstract: long, stilted conversations pondering the meaning of life. But what I got was something quite different.

A young man in jeans, Mr. Jones—“but you can call me Rob”—was far from the white-haired, buttoned-up old man I had half-expected. And rather than pulling us into pedantic arguments about obscure philosophical points, Rob engaged us on our level. To talk free will, we looked at our own choices. To talk ethics, we looked at dilemmas we had faced ourselves. By the end of class, I’d discovered that questions with no right answer can turn out to be the most interesting ones.

The experience has taught me to look at things a little more “philosophically”—and not just because it was a philosophy class! I learned that if I let go of my preconceptions, I can actually get a lot out of subjects I was previously dismissive of. The class taught me—in more ways than one—to look at things with an open mind.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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If you’re not given much guidance on what your narrative essay should be about, consider the context and scope of the assignment. What kind of story is relevant, interesting, and possible to tell within the word count?

The best kind of story for a narrative essay is one you can use to reflect on a particular theme or lesson, or that takes a surprising turn somewhere along the way.

Don’t worry too much if your topic seems unoriginal. The point of a narrative essay is how you tell the story and the point you make with it, not the subject of the story itself.

Narrative essays are usually assigned as writing exercises at high school or in university composition classes. They may also form part of a university application.

When you are prompted to tell a story about your own life or experiences, a narrative essay is usually the right response.

The key difference is that a narrative essay is designed to tell a complete story, while a descriptive essay is meant to convey an intense description of a particular place, object, or concept.

Narrative and descriptive essays both allow you to write more personally and creatively than other kinds of essays , and similar writing skills can apply to both.

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Happiness Essay: Definition, Outline & Examples

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A happiness essay is an academic paper that explores the concept of happiness, and how it can be achieved and maintained in our lives. The purpose of a happiness essay is to explore the psychological, social, and cultural factors that contribute to happiness. On this type of essay, students should provide insights into how individuals can cultivate a happy and fulfilling life.

In this article, we will explore the definition of happiness and its various components and outline the key elements of happiness essay structure. Whether you are seeking how to write a happiness essay or want to know more about this feeling, this is the right article. You will also find en example for your inspiration. Struggling with your writing? Say goodbye to stress and let our experts handle your ' write my essay for me ' challenge. Our team of skilled writers is ready to tackle any topic and deliver top-notch papers tailored to your instructions.

What Is a Happiness Essay?

The definition of a happiness essay can differ, but in general, a happiness essay is a paper that examines emotions, experiences, and perspectives related to the pursuit of contentment. Likewise, it may explore the philosophical and psychological aspects of delight and how it is affected by factors like wealth, relationships, and personal circumstances. A happiness essay provides a deeper understanding of enjoyment, how it can be achieved, and its influence on society. It is an opportunity to take readers on a reflective and stimulating journey, exploring the essence of joy. Writing a thematic essay on happiness is also a chance for writers to share their thoughts and observations with other people. Let's dive in and explore what delight really means to you!

Purpose of an Essay on Happiness

The reason for writing an essay about happiness is to explore the concept of delight to understand what it means to different people. For example, many believe it primarily depends on external factors such as wealth, success, or material possessions. However, it can be illustrated that true joy largely comes from internal factors, like one's outlook, personal growth, and relationships, especially with family and friends. A happiness essay helps to dispel common misconceptions about what satisfaction truly is. Writing a paper on this subject can describe a deeper, healthy understanding of this universal pursuit.

Ideas to Write a Happiness Essay on

When you want to write a happiness essay , first, it is important to ask: What is happiness to you? How can it be understood? One approach is to define happiness and examine its various dimensions, such as psychological, emotional, and physiological.  For example, career satisfaction is a crucial factor in achieving contentment. When people enjoy their jobs and feel fulfilled, they tend to report higher levels of delight. It's worth exploring the link between happiness and career satisfaction and how people can find meaning in their work.  Another idea of how to be happy would look at factors like relationships, personal growth, and achievement. Besides, the connection between money and happiness can also be a significant factor in the quality of life. Can you buy satisfaction?  The pursuit of happiness is a fundamental aspect of life, and analyzing its various dimensions can help us gain valuable insights into what leads to a happy life.

Happiness Essay Outline

An outline for a happiness essay serves as a roadmap for writers to keep their paper organized. It helps to break down researched content into manageable sections while ensuring that all necessary information is included.  The essay outline on happiness example might look something like this:

• Topic definition
• Topic importance
• Thesis statement
• Topic sentence
• Supporting evidence
• Concluding sentence, connected to your thesis
• Summarizing main points
• Final thoughts and future recommendations
• Encouraging readers to reflect on their delight

This outline provides a comprehensive format for an essay about happiness, ensuring that articles are well-structured, easy to understand, and cover all the necessary information.

Structure of a Happiness Essay

Happiness essay structure is critical to a successful article because it helps to organize the ideas clearly and coherently. It is easier for readers to follow and understand writers' perspectives on this complex and multifaceted topic if the essay has the following sections: Introduction:  provides context for the topic with a clear thesis statement. Body:  delves into the details while providing evidence to support the thesis. Conclusion:  summarizes the main points while restating the thesis statement in a new way. By following this structure, writers can produce compelling essays on happiness in life that engage and inform readers.

Happiness Essay Introduction

The introduction of a happiness essay is critical to setting the stage for the article’s body. Good introductions should have three key elements: a hook, background information, and a thesis statement.  The hook draws readers in and keeps them engaged, but a boring or generic one may make them lose interest. The background information provides context for the topic and gives the audience a better understanding of why the essay is being written. Lastly, the thesis statement states the writer's stance on contentment, providing a roadmap for the rest of the essay.  An essay about happiness introduction is an important part that sets the tone and lays the foundation for the paper. By following this structure, authors can ensure that the introduction of their paper is well-organized, concise, and effective in drawing the readers into their piece.

Happiness Essay Introduction Example

An introduction to your paper should be engaging, interesting, brief, and to the point. It clearly states the objectives of the research and introduces readers to the key arguments that will be discussed. Here is an example of a happiness essay introduction:

Satisfaction is never a straightforward and easily attainable idea. It has intrigued philosophers, religious figures, and people alike for centuries. Some say contentment is found inside a material wealth lifestyle, and others believe it is a state of mind or a result of spiritual fulfillment. But what is happiness, really? And how can we cultivate it in our own lives?

Happiness Essay Thesis Statement

A happiness essay thesis statement is the backbone of an article and a crucial element in your paper. A good thesis statement about happiness should be arguable, specific, and relevant to the topic. It is important for defining the scope of an article and highlighting its focus while also identifying what it will not cover.  Finally, the thesis statement tells readers the writer's point of view and sets a standard for judging whether the essay achieves its goal. By creating an effective statement, writers can significantly impact their paper's quality by providing direction and focus to the author’s argument.

Happiness Thesis Statement Example

This thesis statement defines the pursuit of delight and outlines its contributing factors. Here is an example of a happiness essay thesis statement sample:

True happiness comes from family, friends, and learning to be content in life, while money can only purchase momentary happiness.

Happiness Essay Body

A happiness body paragraph is a component of the body section of an article that provides evidence, examples, and supporting arguments to develop an essay's central idea. Good paragraphs cover a topic in-depth and engage readers, prompting them to reflect on what brings joy and how to pursue it. A paragraph about happiness should be well-structured and focused, analyzing factors contributing to contentment in a logical and coherent manner. A well-crafted essay body on happiness includes several paragraphs, each focused on specific aspects of enjoyment while supporting an article's overall argument. Following these guidelines, writers can create persuasive essay paragraphs.

Happiness Body Paragraph Example

Body paragraphs should provide a deeper understanding of the topic while engaging readers with relevant, thought-provoking information. Happiness body paragraph example:

Contentment brings a smile to our faces, peace to our hearts, and a skip in our steps. It's what many of us strive for every day, and it turns out it's not just good for our spirits but our health too! Studies have linked contentment to lower stress, reduced risk of heart disease, and elevated life satisfaction. Delight can come from doing what you love, being with loved ones, or having a sense of purpose. Or, it may simply be found in everyday moments like a sunny day, a good meal, or a breathtaking sunset. Although joy can be fleeting and affected by life events, we can still work to cultivate it in our lives.

Happiness Essay Conclusion

A conclusion is the last section of an essay that summarizes the main points while offering a final perspective on the topic. To write a strong conclusion on a happiness essay, consider these key elements: 

• summarize the main arguments
• provide closure
• include a final thought or reflection
• leave a lasting impression
• avoid introducing new information.

A good conclusion can make the difference between a forgettable essay and one that stays with the reader long after they've finished. Following these guidelines ensures that your essay conclusion about happiness effectively wraps up the argument and provides readers with memorable final impressions.

Happiness Essay Conclusion Sample

Conclusion helps readers better understand the topic by providing a sense of resolution or insight. Here is an example of a happiness essay conclusion:

In conclusion, delight is a difficult and multi-faceted concept that can influence various factors, including personal relationships, life events, and individual perspectives. The pursuit of contentment is a common initiative for all humans, and it is evident that becoming content requires a perfect balance and order of internal and external factors. This article presents evidence that helps you see clearly that contentment is not a fixed state. It is a journey that needs effort, reflection, and self-awareness to enjoy. I hope this paper has helped you realize a deeper understanding of this topic and become better equipped to embark on your pursuit of joy. 

How to Write an Essay on Happiness?

If you want to write an essay on happiness, remember that it can be a hard yet rewarding experience. Whether you are doing it for a class assignment, a job, a scholarship application, or personal growth, exploring what contentment means to you can be the journey of self-discovery.  You should clearly understand the topic and have a well-structured plan. The steps to effective happiness essay writing include defining satisfaction, conducting research, and organizing thoughts. When writing, it's crucial to consider factors that contribute to delight and obstacles that can hinder the process. Following the steps below, you can craft an article that effectively communicates your perspective on this topic.

1.  Pick a Topic About Happiness

Choosing a topic about happiness essay can be daunting, but with some guidance and creativity, you may find a subject that is both interesting and relevant. When brainstorming for happiness essay topics, follow these steps:

• Start with a broad idea related to your issue. Narrow the focus to a specific aspect, gather information, list potential cases, evaluate options, refine the matter, and check for relevance to your audience.
• Gather information, consider the different perspectives, and take note of the arguments you come across.
• Come up with five to ten potential concerns and evaluate each, asking questions such as if it is interesting, has enough information available, and if you can find a unique approach.
• Refine your chosen discussion to make it specific, focused, relevant, and interesting to your audience.

2. Do In-Depth Research

Gathering information from credible sources is crucial when writing an essay about happiness. Here are some tips to ensure that you collect accurate and relevant facts:

• Research from trustworthy sources like academic journals, books by experts, and government websites.
• Evaluate information's credibility and reliability. When you are reading, take notes on the information that you find. Write down the author, title, and publication date of each source to keep track of your research.
• Use multiple sources to broaden your understanding of your topic.
• Organize your research with a citation manager or bibliography.

Following these tips, you can delve into a wealth of credible sources for your happiness essays to elevate your article to new heights of insight.

3. Create an Outline for a Happiness Essay

Crafting an outline is essential in writing an essay on happiness and can give your work the structure and direction it needs to succeed. Here's how to create an effective happiness essay outline:

• Framework Start by outlining the main sections of your essay - introduction, body, and conclusion.
• Pinpoint your ideas Determine the key points you want to convey in each section.
• Supplement with specifics Add details that reinforce and support your ideas under each main point.
• Follow the guide Use the happiness essay outline example above as a starting point, but feel free to customize depending on the situation.

By following these steps and utilizing an essay outline , you'll have a clear map to guide you as you craft your paper, ensuring that your ideas are coherently organized, and your writing flows effortlessly.

4. Write an Essay About Happiness

In this essay about happiness, we will delve into the elusive and complex nature of this emotion. Here is an example to follow when you write your happiness essay.

Contentment is a subjective experience that varies significantly from person to person. It is often considered the ultimate goal of human life, and many people spend their entire lives searching for it. Despite its elusive nature, it is a crucial component of well-being and has been linked to numerous benefits for physical, mental, and emotional health. The reasons to smile or experience joy are varied and can be both internal and external. Some individuals find joy in the simple things in life, like being with family, pursuing their passions, or exploring new experiences. On the other hand, others may find it through accomplishing personal goals, acquiring material goods, or attaining financial security. Nonetheless, it's crucial to keep in mind that these external sources of happiness may not always be possible and may not alleviate suffering. Conversely, true joy comes from within and is characterized by a sense of being content, satisfied, and with purpose. It can be cultivated through mindfulness, gratitude, and self-reflection. By focusing on personal growth, forming meaningful relationships, and finding meaning and purpose in life, individuals, including children, can develop a deep sense of satisfaction that is not dependent on external circumstances and is not easily disturbed by life's problems. In conclusion, delight is a complex and multifaceted experience that both internal and external factors can influence. While external sources can bring temporary joy, true and lasting contentment can only be found within. Individuals can create a foundation for joy that will endure throughout their lives by focusing on personal growth and cultivating a positive mindset.

5. Proofread Your Happiness Essay

When proofreading your happiness essay, make sure to take your time and approach it methodically. Follow these steps:

• Read through the entire essay to get a sense of its overall structure and flow.
• Pay close attention to the introduction, as this sets the tone for the entire piece.
• Look for typos, grammatical errors, and awkward phrasing .
• Ensure your paragraphs are well-organized, with clear transitions between ideas. Check that your happy essay accurately reflects your thoughts and clearly conveys the message you want.
• Finally, read the paper out loud to yourself, or have someone else read it to you.

This can help you pick up on any errors that you might have missed during your initial proofreading. Finally, the article will leave a lasting impression on your reader and enhance your credibility as a writer.

Happiness Essay Examples

If you're looking to write truly captivating happiness essays, it's always helpful to seek inspiration from various sources. Consider checking out these excellent essay examples about happiness:  Happiness essay example 1

Essay example about happiness 2

Happiness essay sample 3

Essay on happiness example 4

Example of a happiness essay 5

They offer a rich tapestry of perspectives on what enjoyment truly means. Whether you draw on your own experiences or delve into the experiences of others, a happiness essay example will serve as a valuable resource as you strive to make your mark on this timeless topic.

Happiness Essay Writing Tips

When writing a happiness essay, there are key tips to keep in mind to help you create a compelling piece of work. Here are a few suggestions to get you started in happiness essays writing:

• Explore the concept from a cultural or historical perspective, looking at how attitudes towards your topic have changed over time across different societies.
• Consider how relationships, community, and social connections shape our enjoyment. How can these factors interact?
• Weigh the benefits and drawbacks of different approaches, such as positive or negative thinking, mindfulness, and self-care, offering a well-rounded perspective on the topic.
• Reflect on the connection between happiness and success, considering whether one necessarily leads to the other or can be pursued independently of success.
• Incorporate humor and lightheartedness into your writing, making your essay entertaining.

By going about integrating these unique tips into your writing day by day, you'll be able to craft essays on happiness that are both original and memorable, capturing the reader's imagination from start to finish. Students can explore a vast range of topics through our platform, from an essay about true friendship  and a  family essay to an illustration essay that will show how to convey complex ideas in a clear and engaging way.

Bottom Line on Happiness Essay Writing

To write a happiness essay, you should consider providing long and in-depth ways to explore what truly brings us joy. Instead of repeating common knowledge, take a personal approach and reflect on the things that delight you. Consider the fact that relationships, gratitude, mindfulness, and activities all contribute to shaping our joy. Your happiness essays should also showcase your introspective side. Examine any challenges or obstacles you have faced in your journey toward contentment. This will make your paper not only unique but also relatable and insightful. The goal is to create a piece that offers a fresh perspective on the concept of happiness and a true reflection of your experiences.

Buy custom essay online from StudyCrumb and get a happiness paper delivered on time. Top-notch quality is guaranteed!

Daniel Howard is an Essay Writing guru. He helps students create essays that will strike a chord with the readers.

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The Winners of Our Personal Narrative Essay Contest

We asked students to write about a meaningful life experience. Here are the eight winning essays, as well as runners-up and honorable mentions.

By The Learning Network

Update: Join our live webinar on Oct. 8 about teaching with our Narrative Writing Contest.

In September, we challenged teenagers to write short, powerful stories about meaningful life experiences for our first-ever personal narrative essay contest .

This contest, like every new contest we start, was admittedly a bit of an experiment. Beyond a caution to write no more than 600 words, our rules were fairly open-ended, and we weren’t sure what we would get.

Well, we received over 8,000 entries from teenagers from around the world. We got stories about scoring the winning goal, losing a grandparent, learning to love one’s skin and dealing with mental illness. We got pieces that were moving, funny, introspective and honest. We got a snapshot of teenage life.

Judging a contest like this is, of course, subjective, especially with the range of content and styles of writing students submitted. But we based our criteria on the types of personal narrative essays The New York Times publishes in columns like Lives , Modern Love and Rites of Passage . We read many, many essays that were primarily reflective but, while these pieces might be well-suited for a college application, they weren’t exactly the short, powerful stories we were looking for in this contest.

The winning essays we selected were, though, and they all had a few things in common that set them apart:

They had a clear narrative arc with a conflict and a main character who changed in some way. They artfully balanced the action of the story with reflection on what it meant to the writer. They took risks, like including dialogue or playing with punctuation, sentence structure and word choice to develop a strong voice. And, perhaps most important, they focused on a specific moment or theme — a conversation, a trip to the mall, a speech tournament, a hospital visit — instead of trying to sum up the writer’s life in 600 words.

Below, you’ll find these eight winning essays, published in full. Scroll to the bottom to see the names of all 35 finalists we’re honoring — eight winners, eight runners-up and 19 honorable mentions. Congratulations, and thank you to everyone who participated!

The Winning Essays

Nothing extraordinary, pants on fire, eggs and sausage, first impressions, cracks in the pavement, sorry, wrong number, the man box.

By Jeniffer Kim

It was a Saturday. Whether it was sunny or cloudy, hot or cold, I cannot remember, but I do remember it was a Saturday because the mall was packed with people.

I was with my mom.

Mom is short. Skinny. It is easy to overlook her in a crowd simply because she is nothing extraordinary to see.

On that day we strolled down the slippery-slick tiles with soft, inconspicuous steps, peeking at window boutiques in fleeting glances because we both knew we wouldn’t be buying much, like always.

I remember I was looking up at the people we passed as we walked — at first apathetically, but then more attentively.

Ladies wore five-inch heels that clicked importantly on the floor and bright, elaborate clothing. Men strode by smelling of sharp cologne, faces clear of wrinkles — wiped away with expensive creams.

An uneasy feeling started to settle in my chest. I tried to push it out, but once it took root it refused to be yanked up and tossed away. It got more unbearable with every second until I could deny it no longer; I was ashamed of my mother.

We were in a high-class neighborhood, I knew that. We lived in a small, overpriced apartment building that hung on to the edge of our county that Mom chose to move to because she knew the schools were good.

We were in a high-class neighborhood, but as I scrutinized the passers-by and then turned accusing eyes on Mom, I realized for the first time that we didn’t belong there.

I could see the heavy lines around Mom’s eyes and mouth, etched deep into her skin without luxurious lotions to ease them away. She wore cheap, ragged clothes with the seams torn, shoes with the soles worn down. Her eyes were tired from working long hours to make ends meet and her hair too gray for her age.

I looked at her, and I was ashamed.

My mom is nothing extraordinary, yet at that moment she stood out because she was just so plain.

Mumbling I’d meet her at the clothes outlet around the corner, I hurried away to the bathroom. I didn’t want to be seen with her, although there was no one important around to see me anyway.

When I finally made my way to the outlet with grudging steps, I found that Mom wasn’t there.

With no other options, I had to scour the other stores in the area for her. I was dreading returning to her side, already feeling the secondhand embarrassment that I’d recently discovered came with being with her.

I couldn’t have been more wrong. Mom was standing in the middle of a high-end store, holding a sweater that looked much too expensive.

She said, “This will look good on you. Do you want it?”

It was much too expensive. And I almost agreed, carelessly, thoughtlessly.

Then I took a closer look at the small, weary woman with a big smile stretching across her narrow face and a sweater in her hands, happy to be giving me something so nice, and my words died in my throat.

I felt like I’d been dropped into a cold lake.

Her clothes were tattered and old because she spent her money buying me new ones. She looked so tired and ragged all the time because she was busy working to provide for me. She didn’t wear jewelry or scented perfumes because she was just content with me.

Suddenly, Mother was beautiful and extraordinarily wonderful in my eyes.

I was no longer ashamed of her, but of myself.

“Do you want it?” My mom repeated.

“No thanks.”

By Varya Kluev

I never kissed the boy I liked behind the schoolyard fence that one March morning. I never had dinner with Katy Perry or lived in Kiev for two months either, but I still told my entire fourth-grade class I did.

The words slipped through my teeth effortlessly. With one flick of my tongue, I was, for all anybody knew, twenty-third in line for the throne of Monaco. “Actually?” the girls on the swings beside me would ask, wide eyes blinking with a childlike naivety. I nodded as they whispered under their breath how incredible my fable was. So incredible they bought into it without a second thought.

I lied purely for the ecstasy of it. It was narcotic. With my fabrications, I became the captain of the ship, not just a wistful passer-by, breath fogging the pane of glass that stood between me and the girls I venerated. No longer could I only see, not touch; a lie was a bullet, and the barrier shattered. My mere presence demanded attention — after all, I was the one who got a valentine from Jason, not them.

This way I became more than just the tomboyish band geek who finished her multiplication tables embarrassingly fast. My name tumbled out of their mouths and I manifested in the center of their linoleum lunch table. I became, at least temporarily, the fulcrum their world revolved around.

Not only did I lie religiously and unabashedly — I was good at it. The tedium of my everyday life vanished; I instead marched through the gates of my alcazar, strode up the steps of my concepts, and resided in my throne of deceit. I believed if I took off my fraudulent robe, I would become plebeian. The same aristocracy that finally held me in high regard would boot me out of my palace. To strip naked and exclaim, “Here’s the real me, take a look!” would lead my new circle to redraw their lines — they would take back their compliments, sit at the table with six seats instead of eight, giggle in the back of the class when I asked a question. I therefore adjusted my counterfeit diadem and continued to praise a Broadway show I had never seen.

Yet finally lounging in a lavender bedroom one long-sought-after day, after absently digesting chatter about shows I didn’t watch and boys I didn’t know, I started processing the floating conversations. One girl, who I had idolized for always having her heavy hair perfectly curled, casually shared how her parents couldn’t afford to go on their yearly trip the coming summer. I drew in an expectant breath, but nobody scoffed. Nobody exchanged a secret criticizing glance. Instead, another girl took her spoon of vanilla frosting out of her cheek and with the same air of indifference revealed how her family wasn’t traveling either. Promptly, my spun stories about swimming in crystal pools under Moroccan sun seemed to be in vain.

The following Monday, the girls on the bus to school still shared handfuls of chocolate-coated sunflower seeds with her. At lunch, she wasn’t shunned, wasn’t compelled to sit at a forgotten corner table. For that hour, instead of weaving incessant fantasies, I listened. I listened to the girls nonchalantly talk about yesterday’s soccer game where they couldn’t score a single goal. Listened about their parent’s layoff they couldn’t yet understand the significance of. I listened and I watched them listen, accepting and uncritical of one another no matter how relatively vapid their story. I then too began to talk, beginning by admitting that I wasn’t actually related to Britney Spears.

By Ryan Young Kim

When first I sat down in the small, pathetic excuse of a cafeteria the hospital had, I took a moment to reflect. I had been admitted the night before, rolled in on a stretcher like I had some sort of ailment that prevented me from walking.

But the nurses in the ward were nice to me, especially when they saw that I wasn’t going to be one of the violent ones. They started telling me something, but I paid no attention; I was trying to take in my surroundings. The tables were rounded, chairs were essentially plastic boxes with weight inside, and there was no real glass to be seen.

After they filled out the paperwork, the nurses escorted me to my room. There was someone already in there, but he was dead asleep. The two beds were plain and simple, with a cheap mattress on top of an equally cheap wooden frame. One nurse stuck around to hand me my bedsheets and a gown that I had to wear until my parents dropped off clothes.

The day had been exhausting, waiting for the psychiatric ward to tell us that there was a bed open for me and the doctors to fill out the mountains of paperwork that come with a suicide attempt.

Actually, there had been one good thing about that day. My parents had brought me Korean food for lunch — sullungtang , a fatty stew made from ox-bone broth. God, even when I was falling asleep I could still taste some of the rice kernels that had been mixed into the soup lingering around in my mouth.

For the first time, I felt genuine hunger. My mind had always been racked with a different kind of hunger — a pining for attention or just an escape from the toil of waking up and not feeling anything. But I always had everything I needed — that is, I always had food on my plate, maybe even a little too much. Now, after I had tried so hard to wrench myself away from this world, my basic human instinct was guiding me toward something that would keep me alive.

The irony was lost on me then. All I knew was that if I slept earlier, that meant less time awake being hungry. So I did exactly that. Waking up the next day, I was dismayed to see that the pangs of hunger still rumbled through my stomach. I slid off my covers and shuffled out of my room. The cafeteria door was already open, and I looked inside. There was a cart of Styrofoam containers in the middle of the room, and a couple people were eating quietly. I made my way in and stared.

I scanned the tops of the containers — they were all marked with names: Jonathan, Nathan, Kristen — and as soon as I spotted my name, my mouth began to water.

My dad would sometimes tell me about his childhood in a rural Korean village. The hardships he faced, the hunger that would come if the village harvest floundered, and how he worked so hard to get out — I never listened. But in that moment, between when I saw my container and I sat down at a seat to open it, I understood.

The eggs inside were watery, and their heat had condensated water all over, dripping onto everything and making the sausages soggy. The amount of ketchup was pitiful.

But if I hadn’t been given plastic utensils, I think I would have just shoved it all into my mouth, handful by handful.

By Isabel Hui

When I woke up on August 4, 2016, there was only one thing on my mind: what to wear. A billion thoughts raced through my brain as wooden hangers shuffled back and forth in the cramped hotel closet. I didn’t want to come off as a try-hard, but I also didn’t want to be seen as a slob. Not only was it my first day of high school, but it was my first day of school in a new state; first impressions are everything, and it was imperative for me to impress the people who I would spend the next four years with. For the first time in my life, I thought about how convenient it would be to wear the horrendous matching plaid skirts that private schools enforce.

It wasn’t insecurity driving me to madness; I was actually quite confident for a teenage girl. It was the fact that this was my third time being the new kid. Moving so many times does something to a child’s development … I struggled finding friends that I could trust would be there for me if I picked up and left again. But this time was different because my dad’s company ensured that I would start and finish high school in the same place. This meant no instant do-overs when I pick up and leave again. This time mattered, and that made me nervous.

After meticulously raiding my closet, I emerged proudly in a patterned dress from Target. The soft cotton was comfortable, and the ruffle shoulders added a hint of fun. Yes, this outfit was the one. An hour later, I felt just as powerful as I stepped off the bus and headed toward room 1136. But as I turned the corner into my first class, my jaw dropped to the floor.

Sitting at her desk was Mrs. Hutfilz, my English teacher, sporting the exact same dress as I. I kept my head down and tiptoed to my seat, but the first day meant introductions in front of the whole class, and soon enough it was my turn. I made it through my minute speech unscathed, until Mrs. Hutfilz stood up, jokingly adding that she liked my style. Although this was the moment I had been dreading from the moment I walked in, all the anxiety that had accumulated throughout the morning surprisingly melted away; the students who had previously been staring at their phones raised their heads to pay attention as I shared my story. My smile grew as I giggled with my peers, ending my speech with “and I am very stylish, much like my first period teacher.” After class, I stayed behind and talked to Mrs. Hutfilz, sharing my previous apprehension about coming into a new school and state. I was relieved to make a humorous and genuine connection with my first teacher, one that would continue for the remainder of the year.

This incident reminded me that it’s only high school; these are the times to have fun, work hard, and make memories, not stress about the trivial details. Looking back four years later, the ten minutes I spent dreading my speech were really not worth it. While my first period of high school may not have gone exactly the way I thought it would, it certainly made the day unforgettable in the best way, and taught me that Mrs. Hutfilz has an awesome sense of style!

By Adam Bernard Sanders

It was my third time sitting there on the middle school auditorium stage. The upper chain of braces was caught in my lip again, and my palms were sweating, and my glasses were sliding down my nose. The pencil quivered in my hands. All I had to do was answer whatever question Mrs. Crisafulli, the history teacher, was going to say into that microphone. I had answered 26 before that, and 25 of those correctly. And I was sitting in my chair, and I was tapping my foot, and the old polo shirt I was wearing was starting to constrict and choke me. I pulled pointlessly at the collar, but the air was still on the outside, only looking at the inside of my throat. I was going to die.

I could taste my tongue in my mouth shriveling up. I could feel each hard-pumping heartbeat of blood travel out of my chest, up through my neck and down my arms and legs, warming my already-perspiring forehead but leaving my ghost-white fingers cold and blue. My breathing was quick. My eyes were glassy. I hadn’t even heard the question yet.

Late-night readings of my parents’ anatomy textbooks had told me that a sense of impending doom was the hallmark of pulmonary embolism, a fact that often bubbled to the surface of my mind in times like these. Almost by instinct, I bent my ring and little fingers down, holding them with my thumb as the two remaining digits whipped to my right wrist and tried to take my pulse. Mr. Mendoza had taught us this last year in gym class. But I wasn’t in gym class that third period. I was just sitting on the metal folding chair, waiting for Mrs. Crisafulli to flip to the right page in her packet for the question.

Arabella had quizzed me in second-period French on the lakes of Latin America. Nicaragua. Atitlán. Yojoa. Lake Titicaca, that had made Raj, who sat in front of me, start giggling, and Shannon, who sat three desks up and one to the left, whip her head around and raise one fist to her lips, jab up her index finger, and silence us. Lakes were fed by rivers, the same rivers that lined the globe on my desk like the cracks in the pavement I liked to trace with my shoe on the walk home. Lake Nicaragua drains into the San Juan River, which snakes its way around the port of Granada to empty into the Caribbean Sea. I knew that.

At that moment I was only sure of those two things: the location of Lake Nicaragua and my own impending doom. And I was so busy counting my pulse and envisioning my demise that I missed Mrs. Crisafulli’s utterance of the awaited question into her microphone, as I had each year in the past as one of the two people left onstage.

“ … Coldest … on earth,” was all I heard. My pencil etched shaggy marks as my shaking hands attempted to write something in the 20 seconds remaining.

“Asia,” I scrawled.

So, for the third time in three years, I got it wrong, and for the third time, I didn’t die. I walked home that day, tracing the faults in the pavement and wondering what inside me was so cracked and broken. Something had to be fissured inside, like the ridges and rivers on my desk globe that I would throw out later that evening, but fish from the trash can when the sun rose the next day.

By Michelle Ahn

My phone buzzes. An unfamiliar number with a 512 area code — I later find out it’s from Texas. It’s a selfie of a 30-something man, smiling with his family, a strange picture to receive as I live halfway across the country.

For the past three years, I — a 14-year-old girl living in Virginia — have been getting texts meant for this man, Jared. Over the years, I’ve pieced together parts of who he is; middle-aged, Caucasian, and very popular according to the numerous messages I’ve received for him.

Throughout this time, I’ve also been discovering who I am. When I received the first text, I was a playful sixth grader, always finding sly ways to be subversive in school and with friends. With this new method of mischief in my hands, naturally, I engaged:

“My sweet momma just told me that BYU Texas Club is holding a Texas Roundup free BBQ dinner on October 10th! Thought y’all would enjoy,” came one of the texts.

After staring at the message for a while, I responded.

As time went on, the story of the mystery man deepened. I was halfway through sixth grade, for example, when I learned he was part of the “Elder’s Quorum,” a rather ominous-sounding group. Looking it up, I learned that it was not a cult, as I’d initially thought, but rather an elite inner circle within the Mormon Church.

This was around the same time my family had stopped going to church. I’d started to spend more time taking art classes and trying out various sports — tennis, basketball, even archery — and soon church fell to the side. Instead, I meddled in the Quorum’s group texts; when a message came about a member moving away, I excitedly responded, “Let me help y’all out, brother!”

I’m not sure exactly when it happened, but after a while I started to feel guilty about this deception. I wondered if I’d somehow ruined Jared’s reputation, if his friends were turned off by my childish responses. I was also dealing with changes within my friend group at the time; the biggest change being letting go of a close but toxic friend; I realized that I needed friendships that were more mutually supportive.

Shortly after, I got a phone call from a strange woman. She started talking about the struggles in her life; her children, her job, even about how she wanted to leave Texas forever. In comparison, my own problems — the B minus I’d gotten, the stress of an upcoming archery tournament, the argument I had with my sister — all seemed superficial. I timidly informed her I wasn’t Jared, and her flustered response told me that I should have told her at the start of the call.

A while later, I got another text: “Congratulations on getting married!” It had never occurred to me how much Jared’s life had changed since I had received his number. But of course it did; over time, I’d outgrown my prankster middle school self, gained the confidence to build a solid friend group, and devoted myself to my primary loves of art and archery. Why wouldn’t Jared also be settling into his own life too?

Though I’ve since taken every opportunity to correct those who text Jared, it still happens every once in a while. Just last month, I got another random text; all it said was: “Endoscopy!” When I got it, I laughed, and then I wrote back.

“Hey, sorry, you have the wrong number. But I hope Jared’s doing well.”

By Maria Fernanda Benavides

“Mayfier? Marfir?” the tournament judge called squinting her eyes, trying to find the spelling error, although there was no error.

“It’s Mafer. It’s a nickname for my full name, Maria Fernanda.”

She stared at me blankly.

“My parents are creative,” I lied, and she laughed.

“O.K., Mahfeer, you’re up!”

I walk to the center and scanned the room before starting as instructed. I took a deep breath.

I reminded myself, “Use your voice.”

I spoke loudly at first, trying to hide the fact that I was overthinking every single word that came out of my mouth. As my performance continued, the artificial confidence became natural, and I started speaking from my heart as I told the story of my experience as an immigrant woman, and I described how much I missed my father who had to travel back and forth every weekend to see my mom and me, and how disconnected I felt from my family, and how I longed to have a place I could call home.

My performance came to an end, and I made my way back to my seat with newly found optimism as I reflected on how performing had consumed me.

I used my voice. Finally. I had found my home in the speech program.

Waiting for the speech tournament to post the names of the finalists was excruciating. I jumped off my seat every time a staff member passed by. I didn’t care about accumulating state points or individual recognition. I wanted the chance to speak again.

Finally, a girl walked up to the oratory postings with a paper on her hand, and the entire cafeteria surrounded her, impatiently waiting to see who the finalists were. Then, I saw it.

My name. Written in dense, black letters.

I smiled to myself.

This time, as I walked to the oratory final, I did so by myself, as I had finally acquired self-assurance needed to navigate the quiet hallways of the high school. I could only hear the heels of the two girls behind me.

“I heard that Saint Mary’s Hall freshman made it to oratory finals,” one of them said, obviously speaking about me. “She broke over me. I didn’t see her performance. Did you? Did you see her performance? What is her speech about?” she questioned the other one.

“It’s about being a Mexican immigrant.”

“Oh, so that’s why she broke.”

“It’s the same pity narrative, there’s nothing different about it.”

Suddenly, the confidence that I had acquired from the previous rounds vanished, and I found myself wishing that I had my older, more experienced teammates by my side to help me block the girls’ words. But no one was there.

I thought my narrative was what made my words matter, what made me matter.

But they didn’t matter. Not anymore. From that moment on, I knew I would be recognized around the circuit as the Mexican girl whose name no one knows how to pronounce. I didn’t even need to speak about my identity to be identified. Everyone would recognize me not for my achievement or my being, but by the peculiar way I pronounce words. I could speak about different topics, but it felt like it wouldn’t make a difference. It felt like my voice didn’t make a difference.

“Mafer, how did it feel?” my coach asked me after the round. “It felt amazing!” I lied.

I didn’t feel anything. Not anymore. Speech gave me a voice, but it also took it away.

By Gordon Lewis

We’re all average boys: hard working in school, spending every minute together in the summer, and doing our best to pretend we don’t have a worry in the world. The facts are no different as the sun is beginning to set on a warm July evening. Sam and I say goodbye to Ben, stepping out of our best friend’s house.

“My sister is going to pick me up while we’re walking, is that O.K.?” I ask.

“Actually, she can probably drive you home, too.”

“Sounds good,” says Sam, but lacking his usual upbeat, comedic energy. Neither of us says anything else, but I’m O.K. with it, we just keep walking. I look around, admiring the still, peaceful park as the warm summer breeze brushes across my face. The crickets are chirping and an owl sings along between the soft hum of cars rolling along nearby. It’s nature’s tune of serenity.

I almost forgot Sam was with me until he asked, “Can I ask you kind of a weird question?”

“Sure,” I say, expecting a joke in poor taste as per usual.

“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to,” he says before asking.

More hesitantly, I say, “O.K.”

“Do you have someone that you talk to about like deeper stuff … Like more emotional stuff?” Silence hits us like a brick wall: The crickets stop chirping, the owl stops hooting, even the cars stop driving by. It’s deafening. I’m only shocked at the question because it’s Sam, one of the happiest and funniest people I know.

I’m wondering. My disappointment takes over just as quickly as my hope fades as I fail to come up with a name. In the end, the closest thing I can think of is the book I occasionally write in when I’m feeling sad or stressed.

“Huh,” I say quietly, “I’ve never really thought about that, but I guess not.”

“Yeah, I didn’t either, but at camp we did activities and had talks that led to more emotional conversations.” I’m silently both jealous and proud of him, but it’s mostly jealousy.

“It’s funny,” I say, “in English we always joked about that TED Talk guy talking about the man box, but it’s actually so true. We shouldn’t feel like we can’t talk about deeper stuff like that.”

“Yeah,” laughed Sam. Silence drapes over us again, but this time it’s more comfortable. I’m lost in my thoughts trying to think of what to say next, but there’s too much. I’ve never had an opportunity like this before. However it’s not shocking or overwhelming, even though it’s with Sam of all people — instead it’s therapeutic.

The silence is broken once again by Sam:

“Like I never told you guys that my parents got divorced.”

“I’m-I’m sorry,” I say, “That really sucks.” I’m disappointed in myself for not saying more.

“It’s O.K.,” Sam says, but I know he’s lying. I can feel his sadness.

Drowning in my thoughts, I try to pick out something to say. But there’s too much to say. There are too many options after being silent for 16 years.

Headlights appear in front of us, and for a split second I’m relieved, but it rapidly turns into regret.

Knowing it’s Rose, I quickly tell sam, “If you ever want to talk again just let me know.”

I say hi to Rose, masking my solemn, thoughtful mood as tiredness. The warm breeze gives my cheek one final kiss; nature resumes her number, and the cars roll by again as Sam and I reluctantly step into the car.

In alphabetical order by the writer’s last name

“Sorry, Wrong Number” by Michelle Ahn

“Speechless” by Maria Fernanda Benavides

“First Impressions” by Isabel Hui

“Nothing Extraordinary” by Jeniffer Kim

“Eggs and Sausage" by Ryan Young Kim

“Pants on Fire” by Varya Kluev

“The Man Box” by Gordon Lewis

“Cracks in the Pavement” by Adam Bernard Sanders

“The First (and Last) Time Speedy Wasn’t Speedy Enough” by Maya Berg

“Searching for Air” by Sydney Do

“Fear on My Mind” by Daytona Gerhardy

“Under the Starry Sky” by Letian Li

“Chinatown Diptych” by Jeffrey Liao

“They” by Haven Low

“The Vigil” by Beda Lundstedt

“How My Brother Taught Me to Drive” by Sarah Shapiro

Honorable Mentions

“The Six in Mid-August” by Liah Argiropoulos

“‘Those Aren’t Scratches Are They?’” by Casey Barwick

“Brown Is Beautiful” by Tiffany Borja

“I Am Ordinary, After All” by Rebecca Braxley

“Torn” by Melanie D.

“The Stupid Seven” by Madeline G.

“Speak No Evil” by Amita Goyal

“Building My Crown” by Ambar Guzman

“Me, Myself, and a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich” by Zachary Hommel

“The Tomato” by Raymond Huang

“Out” by Michael H.

“Cold Noodles With a Side of Birdballs” by Audrey Koh

“Banya in Siberia” by Arshiya Sanghi

“Traffic” by Kecia Seo

“The Power of Ambiguity” by Marcus Shallow

“Land Mine” by Geneve Thomas-Palmer

“How to Fall Asleep With the Lights On” by Caroline Wei

“The Taste of Tofu” by Amy Zhou

“The Newcomer’s Journey” by Maria Z.

Thank you to all our contest judges!

Edward Bohan, Amanda Christy Brown, Elda Cantú, Julia Carmel, Elaine Chen, Nancy Coleman, Nicole Daniels, John Dorman, Shannon Doyne, Jeremy Engle, Tracy Evans, Ross Flatt, Vivian Giang, Caroline Crosson Gilpin, Michael Gonchar, Lovia Gyarkye, Annissa Hambouz, Karen Hanley, Christine Hauser, Susan Josephs, Shira Katz, Dahlia Kozlowsky, Megan Leder, Miya Lee, Debbie Leiderman, Shauntel Lowe, Keith Meatto, Sue Mermelstein, Amelia Nierenberg, Anna Nordeen, John Otis, Ken Paul, Pia Peterson, Natalie Proulx, Nancy Redd, Kenneth Rosen, Rebecca Rufo-Tepper, Kristina Samulewski, Meghan Stoddard, Brett Vogelsinger, Bonnie Wertheim, Jack Wheeler, Lena Wilson, Sanam Yar

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Article • 10 min read

Ben-Shahar's Happiness Model

Balancing the benefits for both present and future.

By the Mind Tools Content Team

(Also known as "The Hamburger Model")

Many people are raised with the belief that if you get good grades in school, get a degree from a good university, and then secure a good job, then you'll be happy. Sounds pretty familiar, right?

The problem is that, sometimes, this approach to life doesn't make people happy. Sure, they might have a wonderful family, a good job and a lovely home, but they are still dissatisfied with life and are searching for something else. No matter how hard they work, or how much money they earn, they still feel unfulfilled.

However, when we experience true happiness, our life takes on a joyful luster and vividness. We're fulfilled and productive in what we do, we accomplish our goals, and our lives have meaning and purpose.

So how can we find this type of happiness? According to Dr Tal Ben-Shahar, leading researcher and author of the book "Happier," we need to learn how to live for today and for tomorrow at the same time. Only when we find the right balance can we achieve our goals, and live the life we've always imagined.

In this article, we'll explore Tal Ben-Shahar's Happiness Model, and explain how you can use the model to bring more happiness to your own life. (We are grateful for his personal permission to do so.)

The Model Explained

According to Ben-Shahar's model, there are four archetypes that people can exhibit in the way they live. These are:

• "Rat Racing."

As you can see in Figure 1 (below), the model is divided into four quadrants. The horizontal axis represents current detriments and current benefits, and the vertical axis represents future detriments and future benefits. (As an example, "staying late at work" is an action that creates a current detriment, but – you hope – delivers a future benefit. As such, it falls in the top left quadrant.)

Each quadrant represents one of Ben-Shahar's archetypes, and each of these archetypes reflects a different combination of present happiness and future benefit.

Let's look at each archetype in greater detail.

Nihilism falls in the bottom left hand quadrant of the Happiness Model.

Nihilists are people who have given up hope of finding meaning in life. Nihilists don't enjoy any present happiness, nor do they have any sense of purpose or hope for the future. As a result, they're "resigned to their fate."

Example: Jim has worked his entire life as a supervisor in the same industry. He's unhappy in his job, and at this point in his career, he's given up on the idea that he'll ever receive another raise.

Not only is Jim unhappy with his current state, but he has no belief that things will change anytime soon. As a result, he's unwilling to work hard to change things.

Hedonism falls in the lower right hand quadrant of the model.

Hedonists focus on present happiness only, and give little thought to future consequences. They may think that "working hard" is painful and tedious, and may avoid this.

As a result, hedonists feel unchallenged, and are often unfulfilled.

Example: Maggie has worked as a temp for years. She flits from one organization to the next, thriving on learning a new role and getting to know new colleagues. But once she has gotten comfortable in the new organization, she quickly becomes bored with her tasks and her colleagues. So, she asks for a transfer.

Although Maggie's life is fun and easy, she's unhappy because she never really accomplishes anything. She has no future goals, nor does she have any purpose to her life.

The Rat Race falls in the upper left hand quadrant of the model. In the Rat Race, we detrimentally put off present happiness in the hope of some future benefit.

This archetype is likely the most familiar to many of us. Here, people constantly pursue goals that they think will make them happy. When those goals are achieved, however, a new goal (and the accompanying stress and anxiety) almost immediately takes its place. While Rat Racers may experience brief flashes of satisfaction when they achieve goals, any thought of present happiness is then quickly pushed to the side.

Example: Carl worked extremely hard through high school, taking advanced placement courses so he could get into a top-notch university (which is what his parents always told him he had to do to succeed). When he got to college, he did a degree in business (when he would've preferred to major in theater), and put off trips and nights out with his friends so he could study.

When Carl graduated, he had numerous job offers thanks to his good grades and past internships. Although he knew he should be happy at his success, he wasn't. He took a job with the largest firm, and started his new career. He continued to work hard, but every promotion and raise he received only added more stress and unhappiness to his life.

The Happiness archetype falls in the upper right quadrant of the model. This archetype reflects a good balance between present happiness and future benefits.

According to Ben-Shahar, we achieve happiness when we're able to enjoy both the journey and the destination that we're moving towards. We've learned how to set goals that are meaningful, but we don't focus exclusively on achieving them at the expense of everything else. We focus on today's pleasures, as well as our dreams and goals.

Example: Joan just transferred to a new department in her organization, and she's excited about the role she's taking on. She loves the company, and finds her work meaningful and rewarding. This is the kind of organization she can see herself being a part of for the rest of her life.

Although the option is there for her to work 80-hours a week, Joan has politely but firmly told her boss that she's unable to put in these kinds of hours: spending time with her family is extremely important to her, and she's committed to devoting time for this. She works a reasonable number of extra hours ("no successful business was ever built working 9 to 5"), but, by and large, Joan is home every night for dinner. She's achieved a perfect balance in her career: she's there for her family, and engaged in a challenging and rewarding career.

Using the Model

Dr. Ben-Shahar says that it's impossible for us to feel constantly happy all the time. Sometimes, we do have to put off present happiness for important future gains; for instance, when we have to stay late at work to finish an important project.

It's also sometimes important to focus on present pleasures, as a hedonist does. For instance, lying on the beach or watching TV can not only rest and rejuvenate us, but these pleasurable activities can also bring happiness into our life.

The point, however, is to spend as much time as possible engaged in activities that give us both present and future benefits.

What's most useful about the Happiness Model is that it can be used as a window into our life. For instance, look at the four quadrants. Where do you spend the majority of your time?

Are you living a Rat Race life, pursuing future goals at the expense of your present happiness? Or are you living more as a Hedonist, avoiding challenging goals in order to pursue daily pleasures, with no thought to future growth or development?

Or, do you feel that you've achieved happiness? Are you taking pleasure in today, as well as focusing your efforts on pursuing longer-term goals?

We can use the Happiness Model to assess where we are in our current life. If we're not in the right quadrant of the model, we can start today making changes that will create more balance in our life.

To explain this model, Ben-Shahar uses the analogy of eating different types of hamburger. "Nihilistic hamburgers" taste bad and leave you feeling ill. Hedonistic hamburgers taste great, but make you fat. Rat race hamburgers are boring but are good for you; while happiness burgers are healthy and taste great!

This is why Ben-Shahar calls this model "The Hamburger Model."

The Happiness Model was developed by Harvard professor, Dr Tal Ben-Shahar, and published in his book, "Happier." (Mind Tools Premium Club and Corporate users can access our in-depth review of the book as a 15-minute audio podcast or transcript.)

The Happiness Model defines four happiness archetypes. These are:

• Nihilism – Nihilists have lost the joy in life. They derive no present pleasure in their work or life, and expect no future benefits or rewards. They've "given up."
• Hedonism – Hedonists live for the moment. They pursue pleasure and an easy life, and give little or no thought to future consequences and plans.
• Rat Racing – The Rat Race archetype often sacrifices current pleasures and benefits in anticipation of some future reward.
• Happiness – True happiness is achieved when there is a perfect balance between present pleasure and future benefits.

We can use the Happiness Model to shed light on the life we're living now, and the life that we wish we were living. The power to change always lies within us!

Tal Ben-Shahar (2007), ' Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment .' McGraw-Hill Education

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The Joy of Leadership: How Positive Psychology Can Maximize Your Impact (and Make You Happier) in a Challenging World

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How to Write a Perfect Narrative Essay (Step-by-Step)

By Status.net Editorial Team on October 17, 2023 — 10 minutes to read

• Understanding a Narrative Essay Part 1
• Typical Narrative Essay Structure Part 2
• Narrative Essay Template Part 3
• Step 1. How to Choose Your Narrative Essay Topic Part 4
• Step 2. Planning the Structure Part 5
• Step 3. Crafting an Intriguing Introduction Part 6
• Step 4. Weaving the Narrative Body Part 7
• Step 5. Creating a Conclusion Part 8
• Step 6. Polishing the Essay Part 9
• Step 7. Feedback and Revision Part 10

Part 1 Understanding a Narrative Essay

A narrative essay is a form of writing where you share a personal experience or tell a story to make a point or convey a lesson. Unlike other types of essays, a narrative essay aims to engage your audience by sharing your perspective and taking them on an emotional journey.

• To begin, choose a meaningful topic . Pick a story or experience that had a significant impact on your life, taught you something valuable, or made you see the world differently. You want your readers to learn from your experiences, so choose something that will resonate with others.
• Next, create an outline . Although narrative essays allow for creative storytelling, it’s still helpful to have a roadmap to guide your writing. List the main events, the characters involved, and the settings where the events took place. This will help you ensure that your essay is well-structured and easy to follow.
• When writing your narrative essay, focus on showing, not telling . This means that you should use descriptive language and vivid details to paint a picture in your reader’s mind. For example, instead of stating that it was a rainy day, describe the sound of rain hitting your window, the feeling of cold wetness around you, and the sight of puddles forming around your feet. These sensory details will make your essay more engaging and immersive.
• Another key aspect is developing your characters . Give your readers an insight into the thoughts and emotions of the people in your story. This helps them connect with the story, empathize with the characters, and understand their actions. For instance, if your essay is about a challenging hike you took with a friend, spend some time describing your friend’s personality and how the experience impacted their attitude or feelings.
• Keep the pace interesting . Vary your sentence lengths and structures, and don’t be afraid to use some stylistic devices like dialogue, flashbacks, and metaphors. This adds more depth and dimension to your story, keeping your readers engaged from beginning to end.

Part 2 Typical Narrative Essay Structure

A narrative essay typically follows a three-part structure: introduction, body, and conclusion.

• Introduction: Start with a hook to grab attention and introduce your story. Provide some background to set the stage for the main events.
• Body: Develop your story in detail. Describe scenes, characters, and emotions. Use dialogue when necessary to provide conversational elements.
• Conclusion: Sum up your story, revealing the lesson learned or the moral of the story. Leave your audience with a lasting impression.

Part 3 Narrative Essay Template

• 1. Introduction : Set the scene and introduce the main characters and setting of your story. Use descriptive language to paint a vivid picture for your reader and capture their attention.
• Body 2. Rising Action : Develop the plot by introducing a conflict or challenge that the main character must face. This could be a personal struggle, a difficult decision, or an external obstacle. 3. Climax : This is the turning point of the story, where the conflict reaches its peak and the main character must make a critical decision or take action. 4. Falling Action : Show the consequences of the main character’s decision or action, and how it affects the rest of the story. 5. Resolution : Bring the story to a satisfying conclusion by resolving the conflict and showing how the main character has grown or changed as a result of their experiences.
• 6. Reflection/Conclusion : Reflect on the events of the story and what they mean to you as the writer. This could be a lesson learned, a personal realization, or a message you want to convey to your reader.

Part 4 Step 1. How to Choose Your Narrative Essay Topic

Brainstorming ideas.

Start by jotting down any ideas that pop into your mind. Think about experiences you’ve had, stories you’ve heard, or even books and movies that have resonated with you. Write these ideas down and don’t worry too much about organization yet. It’s all about getting your thoughts on paper.

Once you have a list, review your ideas and identify common themes or connections between them. This process should help you discover potential topics for your narrative essay.

Narrowing Down the Choices

After brainstorming, you’ll likely end up with a few strong contenders for your essay topic. To decide which topic is best, consider the following:

• Relevance : Is the topic meaningful for your audience? Will they be able to connect with it on a personal level? Consider the purpose of your assignment and your audience when choosing your topic.
• Detail : Do you have enough specific details to craft a vivid story? The more detail you can recall about the event, the easier it’ll be to write a compelling narrative.
• Emotional impact : A strong narrative essay should evoke emotions in your readers. Choose a topic that has the potential to elicit some emotional response from your target audience.

After evaluating your potential topics based on these criteria, you can select the one that best fits the purpose of your narrative essay.

Part 5 Step 2. Planning the Structure

Creating an outline.

Before you start writing your narrative essay, it’s a great idea to plan out your story. Grab a piece of paper and sketch out a rough outline of the key points you want to cover. Begin with the introduction, where you’ll set the scene and introduce your characters. Then, list the major events of your story in chronological order, followed by the climax and resolution. Organizing your ideas in an outline will ensure your essay flows smoothly and makes sense to your readers.

Detailing Characters, Settings, and Events

Taking time to flesh out the characters, settings, and events in your story will make it more engaging and relatable. Think about your main character’s background, traits, and motivations. Describe their appearance, emotions, and behavior in detail. This personal touch will help your readers connect with them on a deeper level.

Also, give some thought to the setting – where does the story take place? Be sure to include sensory details that paint a vivid picture of the environment. Finally, focus on the series of events that make up your narrative. Are there any twists and turns, or surprising moments? Address these in your essay, using vivid language and engaging storytelling techniques to captivate your readers.

Writing the Narrative Essay

Part 6 step 3. crafting an intriguing introduction.

To start your narrative essay, you’ll want to hook your reader with an interesting and engaging opening. Begin with a captivating sentence or question that piques curiosity and captures attention. For example, “Did you ever think a simple bus ride could change your life forever?” This kind of opening sets the stage for a compelling, relatable story. Next, introduce your main characters and provide a bit of context to help your readers understand the setting and background of the story.

Part 7 Step 4. Weaving the Narrative Body

The body of your essay is where your story unfolds. Here’s where you’ll present a series of events, using descriptive language and vivid details.

Remember to maintain a strong focus on the central theme or main point of your narrative.

Organize your essay chronologically, guiding your reader through the timeline of events.

As you recount your experience, use a variety of sensory details, such as sounds, smells, and tastes, to immerse your reader in the moment. For instance, “The smell of freshly brewed coffee filled the room as my friends and I excitedly chattered about our upcoming adventure.”

Take advantage of dialogue to bring your characters to life and to reveal aspects of their personalities. Incorporate both internal and external conflicts, as conflict plays a crucial role in engaging your reader and enhancing the narrative’s momentum. Show the evolution of your characters and how they grow throughout the story.

Part 8 Step 5. Creating a Conclusion

Finally, to write a satisfying conclusion, reflect on the narrative’s impact and how the experience has affected you or your characters. Tie the narrative’s events together and highlight the lessons learned, providing closure for the reader.

Avoid abruptly ending your story, because that can leave the reader feeling unsatisfied. Instead, strive to create a sense of resolution and demonstrate how the events have changed the characters’ perspectives or how the story’s theme has developed.

For example, “Looking back, I realize that the bus ride not only changed my perspective on friendship, but also taught me valuable life lessons that I carry with me to this day.”

Part 9 Step 6. Polishing the Essay

Fine-tuning your language.

When writing a narrative essay, it’s key to choose words that convey the emotions and experiences you’re describing. Opt for specific, vivid language that creates a clear mental image for your reader. For instance, instead of saying “The weather was hot,” try “The sun scorched the pavement, causing the air to shimmer like a mirage.” This gives your essay a more engaging and immersive feeling.

Editing for Clarity and Concision

As you revise your essay, keep an eye out for redundancies and unnecessary words that might dilute the impact of your story. Getting to the point and using straightforward language can help your essay flow better. For example, instead of using “She was walking in a very slow manner,” you can say, “She strolled leisurely.” Eliminate filler words and phrases, keeping only the most pertinent information that moves your story forward.

Proofreading for Typos

Finally, proofread your essay carefully to catch any typos, grammatical errors, or punctuation mistakes. It’s always a good idea to have someone else read it as well, as they might catch errors you didn’t notice. Mistakes can be distracting and may undermine the credibility of your writing, so be thorough with your editing process.

Part 10 Step 7. Feedback and Revision

Gathering feedback.

After you’ve written the first draft of your narrative essay, it’s time to gather feedback from friends, family, or colleagues. Share your essay with a few trusted people who can provide insights and suggestions for improvement. Listen to their thoughts and be open to constructive criticism. You might be surprised by the different perspectives they offer, which can strengthen your essay.

Iterating on the Draft

Once you have collected feedback, it’s time to revise and refine your essay. Address any issues or concerns raised by your readers and incorporate their suggestions. Consider reorganizing your story’s structure, clarifying your descriptions, or adding more details based on the feedback you received.

As you make changes, continue to fine-tune your essay to ensure a smooth flow and a strong narrative. Don’t be afraid to cut out unnecessary elements or rework parts of your story until it’s polished and compelling.

Revision is a crucial part of the writing process, and taking the time to reflect on feedback and make improvements will help you create a more engaging and impactful narrative essay.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can i create an engaging introduction.

Craft an attention-grabbing hook with a thought-provoking question, an interesting fact, or a vivid description. Set the stage for your story by introducing the time, place, and context for the events. Creating tension or raising curiosity will make your readers eager to learn more.

What strategies help develop strong characters?

To develop strong characters, consider the following:

• Give your characters distinct traits, strengths, and weaknesses.
• Provide a backstory to explain their actions and motivations.
• Use dialogue to present their personality, emotions, and relationships.
• Show how they change or evolve throughout your story.

How can I make my story flow smoothly with transitions?

Smooth transitions between scenes or events can create a more coherent and easy-to-follow story. Consider the following tips to improve your transitions:

• Use words and phrases like “meanwhile,” “later that day,” or “afterward” to signify changes in time.
• Link scenes with a common theme or element.
• Revisit the main characters or setting to maintain continuity.
• Introduce a twist or an unexpected event that leads to the next scene.

What are some tips for choosing a great narrative essay topic?

To choose an engaging narrative essay topic, follow these tips:

• Pick a personal experience or story that holds significance for you.
• Consider a challenge or a turning point you’ve faced in your life.
• Opt for a topic that will allow you to share emotions and lessons learned.
• Think about what your audience would find relatable, intriguing, or inspiring.

How do I wrap up my narrative essay with a strong conclusion?

A compelling conclusion restates the main events and highlights any lessons learned or growth in your character. Try to end on a thought-provoking note or leave readers with some food for thought. Finally, make sure your conclusion wraps up your story neatly and reinforces its overall message.

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When writers set down the facts of their lives into a compelling story , they’re writing a narrative essay. Personal narrative essays explore the events of the writer’s own life, and by crafting a nonfiction piece that resonates as storytelling, the essayist can uncover deeper truths in the world.

Narrative essays weave the author’s factual lived experiences into a compelling story.

So, what is a narrative essay? Whether you’re writing for college applications or literary journals , this article separates fact from fiction. We’ll look at how to write a narrative essay through a step-by-step process, including a look at narrative essay topics and outlines. We’ll also analyze some successful narrative essay examples.

Learn how to tell your story, your way. Let’s dive into this exciting genre!

What is a Narrative Essay?

The narrative essay is a branch of creative nonfiction . Also known as a personal essay, writers of this genre are tasked with telling honest stories about their lived experiences and, as a result, arriving at certain realizations about life.

Think of personal narrative essays as nonfiction short stories . While the essay and the short story rely on different writing techniques, they arrive at similar outcomes: a powerful story with an idea, theme , or moral that the reader can interpret for themselves.

Now, if you haven’t written a narrative essay before, you might associate the word “essay” with high school English class. Remember those tedious 5-paragraph essays we had to write, on the topic of some book we barely read, about subject matter that didn’t interest us?

Don’t worry—that’s not the kind of essay we’re talking about. The word essay comes from the French essayer , which means “to try.” That’s exactly what writing a narrative essay is: an attempt at organizing the real world into language—a journey of making meaning from the chaos of life.

Narrative essays work to surface meaning from lived experience.

Narrative Essay Example

A great narrative essay example is the piece “Flow” by Mary Oliver, which you can read for free in Google Books .

The essay dwells on, as Mary Oliver puts it, the fact that “we live in paradise.” At once both an ode to nature and an urge to love it fiercely, Oliver explores our place in the endless beauty of the world.

Throughout the essay, Oliver weaves in her thoughts about the world, from nature’s noble beauty to the question “What is the life I should live?” Yet these thoughts, however profound, are not the bulk of the essay. Rather, she arrives at these thoughts via anecdotes and observations: the migration of whales, the strings of fish at high tide, the inventive rescue of a spiny fish from the waterless shore, etc.

What is most profound about this essay, and perhaps most amusing, is that it ends with Oliver’s questions about how to live life. And yet, the stories she tells show us exactly how to live life: with care for the world; with admiration; with tenderness towards all of life and its superb, mysterious, seemingly-random beauty.

Such is the power of the narrative essay. By examining the random facts of our lives, we can come to great conclusions.

What do most essays have in common? Let’s look at the fundamentals of the essay, before diving into more narrative essay examples.

Narrative Essay Definition: 5 Fundamentals

The personal narrative essay has a lot of room for experimentation. We’ll dive into those opportunities in a bit, but no matter the form, most essays share these five fundamentals.

• Personal experience
• Meaning from chaos
• The use of literary devices

Let’s explore these fundamentals in depth.

All narrative essays have a thesis statement. However, this isn’t the formulaic thesis statement you had to write in school: you don’t need to map out your argument with painstaking specificity, you need merely to tell the reader what you’re writing about.

Take the aforementioned essay by Mary Oliver. Her thesis is this: “How can we not know that, already, we live in paradise?”

It’s a simple yet provocative statement. By posing her thesis as a question, she challenges us to consider why we might not treat this earth as paradise. She then delves into her own understanding of this paradise, providing relevant stories and insights as to how the earth should be treated.

Now, be careful with abstract statements like this. Mary Oliver is a master of language, so she’s capable of creating a thesis statement out of an abstract idea and building a beautiful essay. But concrete theses are also welcome: you should compel the reader forward with the central argument of your work, without confusing them or leading them astray.

You should compel the reader forward with the central argument of your work, without confusing them or leading them astray

2. Personal Experience

The personal narrative essay is, shockingly, about personal experience. But how do writers distill their experiences into meaningful stories?

There are a few techniques writers have at their disposal. Perhaps the most common of these techniques is called braiding . Rather than focusing on one continuous story, the writer can “braid” different stories, weaving in and out of different narratives and finding common threads between them. Often, the subject matter of the essay will require more than one anecdote as evidence, and braiding helps the author uphold their thesis while showing instead of telling .

Another important consideration is how you tell your story . Essayists should consider the same techniques that fiction writers use. Give ample consideration to your essay’s setting , word choice , point of view , and dramatic structure . The narrative essay is, after all, a narrative, so tell your story how it deserves to be told.

3. Meaning from Chaos

Life, I think we can agree, is chaotic. While we can trace the events of our lives through cause and effect, A leads to B leads to C, the truth is that so much of our lives are shaped through circumstances beyond our control.

The narrative essay is a way to reclaim some of that control. By distilling the facts of our lives into meaningful narratives, we can uncover deeper truths that we didn’t realize existed.

By distilling the facts of our lives into meaningful narratives, we can uncover deeper truths that we didn’t realize existed.

Consider the essay “ Only Daughter ” by Sandra Cisneros. It’s a brief read, but it covers a lot of different events: a lonesome childhood, countless moves, university education, and the trials and tribulations of a successful writing career.

Coupled with Cisneros’ musings on culture and gender roles, there’s a lot of life to distill in these three pages. Yet Cisneros does so masterfully. By organizing these life events around her thesis statement of being an only daughter, Cisneros finds meaning in the many disparate events she describes.

As you go about writing a narrative essay, you will eventually encounter moments of insight . Insight describes those “aha!” moments in the work—places in which you come to deeper realizations about your life, the lives of others, and the world at large.

Now, insight doesn’t need to be some massive, culture-transforming realization. Many moments of insight are found in small interactions and quiet moments.

For example, In the above essay by Sandra Cisneros, her moments of insight come from connecting her upbringing to her struggle as an only daughter. While her childhood was often lonely and disappointing, she realizes in hindsight that she’s lucky for that upbringing: it helped nurture her spirit as a writer, and it helped her pursue a career in writing. These moments of gratitude work as insight, allowing her to appreciate what once seemed like a burden.

When we reach the end of the essay, and Cisneros describes how she felt when her father read one of her stories, we see what this gratitude is building towards: love and acceptance for the life she chose.

5. Literary Devices

The personal narrative essay, as well as all forms of creative writing, uses its fair share of literary devices . These devices don’t need to be complex: you don’t need a sprawling extended metaphor or an intricate set of juxtapositions to make your essay compelling.

However, the occasional symbol or metaphor will certainly aid your story. In Mary Oliver’s essay “Flow,” the author uses literary devices to describe the magnificence of the ocean, calling it a “cauldron of changing greens and blues” and “the great palace of the earth.” These descriptions reinforce the deep beauty of the earth.

In Sandra Cisneros’ essay “Only Daughter,” the author employs different symbols to represent her father’s masculinity and sense of gender roles. At one point, she lists the few things he reads—sports journals, slasher magazines, and picture paperbacks, often depicting scenes of violence against women. These symbols represent the divide between her father’s gendered thinking and her own literary instincts.

More Narrative Essay Examples

Let’s take a look at a few more narrative essay examples. We’ll dissect each essay based on the five fundamentals listed above.

Narrative Essay Example: “Letting Go” by David Sedaris

Read “Letting Go” here in The New Yorker .

Sedaris’ essay dwells on the culture of cigarette smoking—how it starts, the world it builds, and the difficulties in quitting. Let’s analyze how this narrative essay example uses the five fundamentals of essay writing.

• Thesis: There isn’t an explicitly defined thesis, which is common for essays that are meant to be humorous or entertaining. However, this sentence is a plausible thesis statement: “It wasn’t the smoke but the smell of it that bothered me. In later years, I didn’t care so much, but at the time I found it depressing: the scent of neglect.”
• Personal Experience: Sedaris moves between many different anecdotes about smoking, from his family’s addiction to cigarettes to his own dependence. We learn about his moving around for cheaper smokes, his family’s struggle to quit, and the last cigarette he smoked in the Charles de Gaulle airport.
• Meaning from Chaos: Sedaris ties many disparate events together. We learn about his childhood and his smoking years, but these are interwoven with anecdotes about his family and friends. What emerges is a narrative about the allure of smoking.
• Insight: Two parts of this essay are especially poignant. One, when Sedaris describes his mother’s realization that smoking isn’t sophisticated, and soon quits her habit entirely. Two, when Sedaris is given the diseased lung of a chain smoker, and instead of thinking about his own lungs, he’s simply surprised at how heavy the lung is.
• Literary Devices: Throughout the essay, Sedaris demonstrates how the cigarette symbolizes neglect: neglect of one’s body, one’s space, and one’s self-presentation.

 Narrative Essay Example: “My Mother’s Tongue” by Zavi Kang Engles

Read “My Mother’s Tongue” here in The Rumpus .

Engles’ essay examines the dysphoria of growing up between two vastly different cultures and languages. By asserting the close bond between Korean language and culture, Engles explores the absurdities of growing up as a child of Korean immigrants. Let’s analyze how this narrative essay example uses the five fundamentals of essay writing.

• Thesis: Engles’ essay often comes back to her relationship with the Korean language, especially as it relates to other Korean speakers. This relationship is best highlighted when she writes “I glowed with [my mother’s] love, basked in the warm security of what I thought was a language between us. Perhaps this is why strangers asked for our photos, in an attempt to capture a secret world between two people.”This “secret world” forms the crux of her essay, charting not only how Korean-Americans might exist in relation to one another, but also how Engles’ language is strongly tied to her identity and homeland.
• Personal Experience: Engles writes about her childhood attachment to both English and Korean, her adolescent fallout with the Korean language, her experiences as “not American enough” in the United States and “not Korean enough” in Korea, and her experiences mourning in a Korean hospital.
• Meaning from Chaos: In addition to the above events, Engles ties in research about language and identity (also known as code switching ). Through language and identity, the essay charts the two different cultures that the author stands between, highlighting the dissonance between Western individualism and an Eastern sense of belonging.
• Insight: There are many examples of insight throughout this essay as the author explores how out of place she feels, torn between two countries. An especially poignant example comes from Engles’ experience in a Korean hospital, where she writes “I didn’t know how to mourn in this country.”
• Literary Devices: The essay frequently juxtaposes the languages and cultures of Korea and the United States. Additionally, the English language comes to symbolize Western individualism, while the Korean language comes to symbolize Eastern collectivism.

Narrative Essay Example: 3 Rules for Middle-Age Happiness by Deborah Copaken

Read “3 Rules for Middle-Age Happiness” here in The Atlantic .

Copaken’s essay explores her relationship to Nora Ephron, the screenwriter for When Harry Met Sally . Let’s analyze how this narrative essay example uses the five fundamentals of essay writing.

• Thesis: This essay hands us the thesis statement in its subtitle: “Gather friends and feed them, laugh in the face of calamity, and cut out all the things—people, jobs, body parts—that no longer serve you.”
• Personal Experience: Copaken weaves two different threads through this essay. One thread is her personal life, including a failing marriage, medical issues, and her attempts at building a happy family. The other is Copaken’s personal relationship to Ephron, whose advice coincides with many of the essay’s insights.
• Meaning from Chaos: This essay organizes its events chronologically. However, the main sense of organization is found in the title: many of the essayist’s problems can be perceived as middle-aged crises (family trouble, divorce, death of loved ones), but the solutions to those crises are simpler than one might realize.
• Insight: In writing this essay, Copaken explores her relationship to Ephron, as well as Copaken’s own relationship to her children. She ties these experiences together at the end, when she writes “The transmission of woes is a one-way street, from child to mother. A good mother doesn’t burden her children with her pain. She waits until it becomes so heavy, it either breaks her or kills her, whichever comes first.”
• Literary Devices: The literary devices in this article explore the author’s relationship to womanhood. She wonders if having a hysterectomy will make her “like less of a woman.” Also important is the fact that, when the author has her hysterectomy, her daughter has her first period. Copaken uses this to symbolize the passing of womanhood from mother to daughter, which helps bring her to the above insight.

How to Write a Narrative Essay in 5 Steps

No matter the length or subject matter, writing a narrative essay is as easy as these five steps.

1. Generating Narrative Essay Ideas

If you’re not sure what to write about, you’ll want to generate some narrative essay ideas. One way to do this is to look for writing prompts online: Reedsy adds new prompts to their site every week, and we also post writing prompts every Wednesday to our Facebook group .

Taking a step back, it helps to simply think about formative moments in your life. You might a great idea from answering one of these questions:

• When did something alter my worldview, personal philosophy, or political beliefs?
• Who has given me great advice, or helped me lead a better life?
• What moment of adversity did I overcome and grow stronger from?
• What is something that I believe to be very important, that I want other people to value as well?
• What life event of mine do I not yet fully understand?
• What is something I am constantly striving for?
• What is something I’ve taken for granted, but am now grateful for?

Finally, you might be interested in the advice at our article How to Come Up with Story Ideas . The article focuses on fiction writers, but essayists can certainly benefit from these tips as well.

2. Drafting a Narrative Essay Outline

Once you have an idea, you’ll want to flesh it out in a narrative essay outline.

Your outline can be as simple or as complex as you’d like, and it all depends on how long you intend your essay to be. A simple outline can include the following:

• Introduction—usually a relevant anecdote that excites or entices the reader.
• Event 1: What story will I use to uphold my argument?
• Analysis 1: How does this event serve as evidence for my thesis?
• Conclusion: How can I tie these events together? What do they reaffirm about my thesis? And what advice can I then impart on the reader, if any?

One thing that’s missing from this outline is insight. That’s because insight is often unplanned: you realize it as you write it, and the best insight comes naturally to the writer. However, if you already know the insight you plan on sharing, it will fit best within the analysis for your essay, and/or in the essay’s conclusion.

Insight is often unplanned: you realize it as you write it, and the best insight comes naturally to the writer.

Another thing that’s missing from this is research. If you plan on intertwining your essay with research (which many essayists should do!), consider adding that research as its own bullet point under each heading.

For a different, more fiction-oriented approach to outlining, check out our article How to Write a Story Outline .

3. Starting with a Story

Now, let’s tackle the hardest question: how to start a narrative essay?

Most narrative essays begin with a relevant story. You want to draw the reader in right away, offering something that surprises or interests them. And, since the essay is about you and your lived experiences, it makes sense to start your essay with a relevant anecdote.

Think about a story that’s relevant to your thesis, and experiment with ways to tell this story. You can start with a surprising bit of dialogue , an unusual situation you found yourself in, or a beautiful setting. You can also lead your essay with research or advice, but be sure to tie that in with an anecdote quickly, or else your reader might not know where your essay is going.

For examples of this, take a look at any of the narrative essay examples we’ve used in this article.

Theoretically, your thesis statement can go anywhere in the essay. You may have noticed in the previous examples that the thesis statement isn’t always explicit or immediate: sometimes it shows up towards the center of the essay, and sometimes it’s more implied than stated directly.

You can experiment with the placement of your thesis, but if you place your thesis later in the essay, make sure that everything before the thesis is intriguing to the reader. If the reader feels like the essay is directionless or boring, they won’t have a reason to reach your thesis, nor will they understand the argument you’re making.

4. Getting to the Core Truth

With an introduction and a thesis underway, continue writing about your experiences, arguments, and research. Be sure to follow the structure you’ve sketched in your outline, but feel free to deviate from this outline if something more natural occurs to you.

Along the way, you will end up explaining why your experiences matter to the reader. Here is where you can start generating insight. Insight can take the form of many things, but the focus is always to reach a core truth.

Insight might take the following forms:

• Realizations from connecting the different events in your life.
• Advice based on your lived mistakes and experiences.
• Moments where you change your ideas or personal philosophy.
• Richer understandings about life, love, a higher power, the universe, etc.

5. Relentless Editing

With a first draft of your narrative essay written, you can make your essay sparkle in the editing process.

Remember, a first draft doesn’t have to be perfect, it just needs to exist.

Remember, a first draft doesn’t have to be perfect, it just needs to exist. Here are some things to focus on in the editing process:

• Clarity: Does every argument make sense? Do my ideas flow logically? Are my stories clear and easy to follow?
• Structure: Does the procession of ideas make sense? Does everything uphold my thesis? Do my arguments benefit from the way they’re laid out in this essay?
• Style: Do the words flow when I read them? Do I have a good mix of long and short sentences? Have I omitted any needless words ?
• Literary Devices: Do I use devices like similes, metaphors, symbols, or juxtaposition? Do these devices help illustrate my ideas?
• Mechanics: Is every word spelled properly? Do I use the right punctuation? If I’m submitting this essay somewhere, does it follow the formatting guidelines?

Your essay can undergo any number of revisions before it’s ready. Above all, make sure that your narrative essay is easy to follow, every word you use matters, and that you come to a deeper understanding about your own life.

Above all, make sure that your narrative essay is easy to follow, every word you use matters, and that you come to a deeper understanding about your own life.

Next Steps for Narrative Essayists

When you have a completed essay, what’s next? You might be interested in submitting to some literary journals . Here’s 24 literary journals you can submit to—we hope you find a great home for your writing!

If you’re looking for additional feedback on your work, feel free to join our Facebook group . You can also take a look at our upcoming nonfiction courses , where you’ll learn the fundamentals of essay writing and make your story even more compelling.

Writing a narrative essay isn’t easy, but you’ll find that the practice can be very rewarding. You’ll learn about your lived experiences, come to deeper conclusions about your personal philosophies, and perhaps even challenge the way you approach life. So find some paper, choose a topic, and get writing—the world is waiting for your story!

Sean Glatch

Thanks for a superbly efficient and informative article…

We’re glad it was helpful, Mary!

Very helpful,, Thanks!!!

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What Is Happiness Essay

What is happiness? We can ask hundreds of people, and each of them would probably give different answers. One would say that happiness is to be with a loved one, the second would say that happiness is the stability, and the third, on the contrary, would say that happiness is the unpredictability. For someone, to be happy is to have a lot of money while for others – to be popular. All in all, there are plenty of different understandings of happiness.

Personally, I consider happiness as simplicity and peace when my family and friends are healthy and happy as well. I recognize that they all are dear to me and able to understand what is going on inside me. I know that they will support me in any situation doing everything that depends on them. In return, I am also ready to do much for them. What we do for others, helping them when they need our help, advice, or support and obtaining appreciation, is happiness because helping others, we are doing something very significant and necessary.

What does it mean to be happy? I think it is, primarily, a state of mind, it means to have harmony with yourself and the people around. Happiness is multi-faceted. Perhaps, the word “love” is the most appropriate one to describe my happiness as love is driven by our world. People create wonderful things concerning their job, hobby, or family. Love is life, and I am happy when I realize that I live up to the hilt.

However, some people might be unhappy even though they should be. For example, teenagers who have everything to live a happy life, including healthy family, close friends, and enough money to satisfy basic needs, ask their parents to buy the latest model of IPhone. In the case, parents could not afford it, some teenagers tend to feel unhappy. After all, one can be a successful leader and have millions as well as prestige, but do not have a loving family and emotional harmony.

In my opinion, material values are not a true measure of happiness. Happiness is the ability to be optimistic in spite of difficulties and the ability to overcome them successfully. Finally, challenges should be taken as the lessons that life presents us. Even the negative things teach something, give a new experience, or refer to the correct direction.

I believe that happiness is not a gift and not a given right as every person has its own happiness inside. Moreover, it is never too late to become happy. We can inspire and motivate ourselves and others to be happy. A stranger’s passing smile, warm rays of the sun penetrating the window, or a cup of freshly brewed coffee – happiness is in detail. Everyone chooses and prefers different sources. It is of great importance for people to enjoy moments of life, even the most insignificant ones.

We need to appreciate every moment in our lives remembering that happiness is within us. After all, time passes, and we are getting hurt by the fact that we did not appreciate the time when we had a chance. Therefore, living in peace and harmony with others, helping those who need your help, and avoiding things that you would regret about in future are paramount ways to find happiness and make others happy.

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IvyPanda. (2023, October 29). What Is Happiness Essay. https://ivypanda.com/essays/what-is-happiness-essay/

"What Is Happiness Essay." IvyPanda , 29 Oct. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/what-is-happiness-essay/.

IvyPanda . (2023) 'What Is Happiness Essay'. 29 October.

IvyPanda . 2023. "What Is Happiness Essay." October 29, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/what-is-happiness-essay/.

1. IvyPanda . "What Is Happiness Essay." October 29, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/what-is-happiness-essay/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "What Is Happiness Essay." October 29, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/what-is-happiness-essay/.

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What about Happiness? A Critical Narrative Review with Implications for Medical Education

Fabienne schwitz.

1 Cardiologist and medical educator, Department of Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, Medical Sciences Building, Suit 102A, London, Canada

2 Department of Cardiology, Inselspital Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, CH 3010 Bern, Switzerland

Jacqueline Torti

3 Department of Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, Medical Sciences Building, Suit 102A, London, Canada

Lorelei Lingard

Introduction:.

Despite abundant scholarship and improvement initiatives, the problem of physician wellbeing persists. One reason might be conceptual: the idea of ‘happiness’ is rare in this work. To explore how it might influence the conversation about physician wellbeing in medical education, we conducted a critical narrative review asking: ‘How does happiness feature in the medical education literature on physician wellbeing at work?’ and ‘How is happiness conceptualized outside medicine?’

Following current methodological standards for critical narrative review as well as the Scale for the Assessment of Narrative Review Articles, we conducted a structured search in health research, humanities and social sciences, a grey literature search, and consultation with experts. After screening and selection, content analysis was performed.

Of 401 identified records, 23 were included. Concepts of happiness from the fields of psychology (flow, synthetic happiness, mindfulness, flourishing), organizational behaviour (job satisfaction, happy-productive worker thesis, engagement), economics (happiness industry, status treadmill), and sociology (contentment, tyranny of positivity, coercive happiness) were identified. The medical education records exclusively drew on psychological concepts of happiness.

Discussion and Conclusion:

This critical narrative review introduces a variety of conceptualizations of happiness from diverse disciplinary origins. Only four medical education papers were identified, all drawing from positive psychology which orients us to treat happiness as individual, objective, and necessarily good. This may constrain both our understanding of the problem of physician wellbeing and our imagined solutions. Organizational, economical and sociological conceptualizations of happiness can usefully expand the conversation about physician wellbeing at work.

Introduction

For more than 30 years, we have been discussing the issue of physician wellbeing at work. Scholarship on physician wellbeing and related concepts such as life satisfaction and wellness has: analysed contributors and impacts of burnout [ 1 , 2 , 3 ], identified health problems among physicians and potential solutions [ 1 , 4 , 5 ], explored wellness and the pursuit of balance [ 6 , 7 , 8 ], and implemented interventions to improve resilience among physicians [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ]. This scholarship has informed a movement to improve wellbeing in medical education and medicine [ 13 , 14 ]. Main dimensions of this movement are: changing of organizational strategies [ 1 , 12 ], promoting the wellbeing of physicians in training through faculty development [ 13 , 15 ] and systematic strengthening of individual factors [ 1 , 12 , 15 ].

Despite this wealth of scholarship and improvement initiatives, the problem of physician wellbeing seems to have improved very little [ 15 ]. Data from the Association of American Medical Colleges Graduation Questionnaire and Year 2 Questionnaire from 2016 to 2019 show no sign of improvements among medical students despite targeted efforts [ 16 , 17 ]. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education also surveys residents and faculty annually, but changes to wellbeing in recent years are challenging to analyze due to a change in the structure of the questionnaire and the onset of the pandemic. What is clear is that mental illness and suicide among doctors has increased [ 18 ], supported by data highlighting high rates of mental health symptoms among physicians [ 19 ]. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have worsened the situation. Its potential impact on the mental wellbeing of health workers has been studied [ 20 ], with consistent reports of stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms among healthcare professionals [ 21 ]. Thus, the question of why physician wellbeing efforts are unsuccessful is particularly pressing.

One reason might be conceptual. Amid the suite of concepts around which physician wellbeing work has formed, the notion of ‘happiness’ does not strongly feature. Happiness is a richly theorized construct in other domains. It is used for a number of different constructs [ 22 , 23 ], and a distinction between affective wellbeing and eudaimonia or eudaimonic wellbeing (meaning and purpose of life) has been recognised since antiquity [ 22 ]. While the two conditions, wellbeing and happiness, are related (or even perhaps conflated) in the literature, their relationship is not clear. This review arises from our assumption that the term ‘happiness’ may carry additional, distinctive meanings that could influence the conversation about physician wellbeing in medical education. Other scholars have had similar ideas: e.g., Alan Peterkin has noted that ‘pleasure and happiness are neglected in our training and in our work’ [ 24 ]. Thus, we conducted a critical narrative review guided by two questions: ‘How does happiness feature in the medical education literature on physician wellbeing?’ and ‘How is happiness conceptualized outside medicine?’ We aim to describe whether and how happiness features in medical education, how the construct of happiness is understood in other select domains, and how we might adopt understandings from other domains to enrich the scholarship of physician wellbeing at work going forward.

This critical narrative review followed the Scale for the Assessment of Narrative Review Articles (SANRA) procedure [ 25 ] and was also informed by Kahlke’s work [ 26 ]. Our goal has been to explore a wide-ranging literature and to be deliberately selective in highlighting works that allow us to achieve the key contribution of a narrative review: deepened understanding that advances the scholarly conversation [ 27 ].

Our review began with the question ‘How does happiness feature in the medical education literature on physician wellbeing?’ ‘Happiness’ is a broad and multifaceted concept, one which a single review would struggle to comprehensively capture; given our interest in physician happiness at work, we used the term “workplace happiness” to focus our inquiry. We conducted a structured literature search in the medical literature for ‘workplace happiness AND physicians’ in the databases PubMed, CINHAL and PsycINFO with librarian assistance. In the screening process, we excluded records that contained the term ‘happiness’ (or derivatives such as ‘happy’) in passing, without definition or conceptualization. For example, one article mentioned that 52% of pathologists are ‘happy’ with their job but did not describe how happiness was understood [ 28 ].

Having identified the records in medical education, our next step was a humanities and social sciences literature search to address the second question, ‘How is the term happiness used outside medicine?’ We searched using purposeful combinations of ‘workplace happiness’ and ‘happiness’ in Web of Science, Embase and Scopus. Searches in the grey literature covered a broad spectrum from Google Scholar to TED Talks. Discussion with experts from psychology, sociology, philosophy, women studies and medical education helped us identify relevant sources. We did not use synonyms for happiness in our search, as our intent was not a full exploration of the conceptualization of happiness but rather an understanding of how these disciplines use the term happiness.

The authors judged the sufficiency of our database on two levels. First, we sought to represent a range of disciplines in which happiness is theorized. Because our structured search returned sources from sociology, psychology, economics and organizational behaviour, these became the focus of our results. Critical narrative review involves compiling a selective rather than comprehensive set of records; we judged this range of disciplines sufficient to provide useful insights on which to base future research. The second point of sufficiency relates to how many and which records from each discipline are necessary to represent key notions around happiness. Rather than setting a threshold for a specific number of records, the authors instead considered whether the records offered a sufficiently robust description of the concept. As we analysed selected records, we judged them sufficient once we could explain the concept and recognize redundancies in additional records. Where we could not make this judgment, we sought additional records. Overall, we justified the choice of literature based on its ability to support a description of different conceptualizations of happiness that could advance our thinking on the topic in medical education. This process is the essence of rigour in critical narrative reviews [ 26 ].

Screening and selection were shaped by the orientations of our research team members. Our group includes a senior medical education researcher with disciplinary roots in the humanities, an early career medical education researcher with roots in public health and health promotion, and a cardiology educator completing a masters in medical education. We brought to the review different degrees of familiarity and comfort with the disciplines we were searching: for instance, we were all familiar with medical education scholarship, but two of us were also familiar with scholarship and vocabulary from social sciences, psychology and organizational behaviour, while none of us were familiar with economics scholarship. This invariably influenced our insights and enthusiasms for particular concepts retrieved in our search, but together we endeavoured to address all retrieved records with the same attention and support each other to interpret those we were less familiar with.

After screening and selection of records for both the focused medical education search and the broader, multi-discipline search, content analysis was done to enhance the trustworthiness of the study. Content analysis offered a way to arrange the data systematically into distinct categories, including definitions and conceptualizations of happiness, disciplinary origin of ideas, connections and similarities, and differences or tensions. Concept mapping enabled us to visualize the relationships among these categories, and informed our interpretation of these relationships.

Our searches retrieved 401 records. After abstract and title screening, 28 were selected for full-text review, of which 13 were included. An additional 10 were included from hand-searching and grey literature for a total of 23. Our focused medical education search yielded 4 records. Our second, broader search yielded records from psychology (8), organizational behavior (6), economics (2) and sociology (3). While such disciplinary categories are necessarily simplifications, we use them in the following sections as organizing structures to highlight disciplinary patterns in how the records characterize happiness ( Figure 1 : Disciplinary patterns in the characterization of happiness). Because our analysis of the medical education records showed that this scholarship exclusively employed psychological concepts, we have included these records (which address our first research question) in that section. Because of the small number of medical education records, the bulk of our results address our second research question. Terminologies vary and are used interchangeably in this literature (Cromby cited in Frawley) [ 29 ]; however, for consistency we deliberately use the term ‘happiness’ except when quoting from a record that uses another term.

Disciplinary patterns in the characterization of happiness.

Happiness as a psychological concept

Psychological concepts of happiness have in common a predominantly individual approach. In this section, we highlight four psychological concepts that have particular relevance in the context of physician wellbeing at work, including those that have already been taken up in medical education.

The first concept is flow theory [ 30 ], which states that you need a flow feeling – a state of ideal balance between challenges and abilities—to be happy. Flow is a state of being focused; having a sense of ecstasy, inner clarity and serenity; knowing that an activity is doable; feeling timelessness and intrinsic motivation [ 31 ]. Flow tends to occur at work more than in leisure time [ 32 ]: e.g., a musician could reach a flow state during a concert. The concept of flow has its origin in positive psychology. The initial study about flow theory by psychologist Csíkszentmihályi included surgeons, and the concept of flow has been taken up in medical education in a paper about enhancing career enjoyment, performance and workplace happiness [ 33 , 34 ]. This work supported flow through training in individual interventions such as coaching, psychological skills training, mental skills training or stress management training [ 33 ]. While supporting flow in health care is recognized to require supplementary system-level interventions, such as increasing time for patient care, minimizing administrative tasks, and promoting constructive learning environments, scholarship at the system level is less common [ 33 , 35 ].

The second concept from positive psychology is synthetic happiness. The term was coined by Daniel Gilbert in a 2004 TED Talk, although his subsequent writings do not use it. Contrasted with ‘natural happiness’ which is what we feel when we get what we want, ‘synthetic happiness is what we make when we do not get what we want’ [ 36 ]. A term coined by Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert, synthetic happiness acts like a psychological immune system, to ‘[strike] a balance that allows us to feel good enough to cope with our situation but bad enough to do something about it’ [ 36 , 37 ]. We convince ourselves that we have is what we would have chosen anyway. For instance, clinical clerkship students acknowledge what they like or dislike about each specialty as they rotate through them, but during residency their choice is already made, so they are likely to convince themselves that they are happy with it. Synthetic happiness helps us to find a way to like what we have. However, synthetic is not ‘false’; Gilbert argues that ‘synthetic Happiness is as real and enduring as the natural happiness’ [ 36 ], suggesting it could have implications for being happy in an imperfect workplace.

Finally, two related concepts from positive psychology occurred in our records: flourishing and mindfulness [ 38 , 39 ]. Flourishing draws on the metaphor of flower growth, and refers to a lifestyle determined by optimal living, mastering life’s tasks, kindness, personal growth, and resilience. Five pillars are required: positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment [ 40 ]. These factors form the basic precondition for a life of profound fulfilment. Mindfulness is described as a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness. While it shares features with flourishing, it is the practice of non-judgmental attention in the moment. Only one record used mindfulness as part of a suite of interventions to ‘increase happiness’ 4 ; the others did not articulate increased happiness as an explicit goal of mindfulness.

Happiness as an organizational concept

Organizational approaches to happiness arise from the premise that individuals spend most of their adult lives working. As such, happiness in the workplace is a key component of overall happiness in life. In this section, we highlight key concepts in our records that were associated with happiness at work, including job satisfaction, productivity, and employee engagement.

A common idea in the organizational literature about happiness is ‘job satisfaction’. Components of job satisfaction that contribute to employee happiness include aspects at the transient, individual (employee) and organizational or collective level [ 41 , 42 ]. Transient-level contributions to workplace happiness include momentary affect, emotion at work and flow state [ 43 ]. Employee-level contributions to workplace happiness include job security, meaningful work, positive relationships with coworkers, recognition, autonomy and engagement [ 44 ]. The organizational aspects that contribute to workplace happiness include opportunities for growth, compensation, job flexibility, a positive work environment, work-life balance, and organizational culture [ 44 ]. Both the employer (leader) and the individual (follower) play a strong role in shaping organizational aspects that contribute to happiness through constructive dissensus [ 45 ]. Constructive dissensus refers to a mutual understanding between leaders and followers, including shared beliefs and values, leading to improved quality of life at work. Interventions aimed at improving workplace happiness should be multi-faceted and focus both on improving individual happiness as well as the organizational aspects to enhance job performance and employee retention [ 45 ].

The happy-productive worker thesis states that all things being equal, happy workers perform better than those who are less happy. This idea has been the holy grail of management and organizational psychology research for two decades. With roots in positive psychology, the happy-productive worker thesis explicitly focuses on ‘productivity as a consequence of happiness at work’ [ 46 ]. Happiness in this thesis was operationalized by a diversity of constructs (affect, wellbeing, burnout, life satisfaction, growth and purpose), which may explain the inconclusive nature of the empirical literature, which finds that people who are happy in general are more productive, but people who are happy specifically at work are not necessarily so.

‘Engagement’ was a crucial dimension of measuring happiness at work [ 47 ]. Workplace engagement is defined as a persistent affective state that includes how employees express themselves physically, cognitively, and emotionally at work. The physical aspect of engagement focuses on the energy expended by individuals to perform their job, while the cognitive aspect focuses on employees’ beliefs about their organization and the emotional aspect focuses on how employees feel towards the organization [ 48 ]. Workplace happiness is the ‘positive outcomes at the workplace which are a result of many interlinked factors ranging from employee-work relation within the organization to the end results of efficient production and customer satisfaction’ [ 47 ]. The organizational behavior literature connects engagement to productivity. Describing engagement as having a positive correlation with constructs like organization growth, lower operational costs, lower absenteeism, and decreased intentions to turnover [ 47 ], the organizational literature begins to articulate an economics of happiness which is even more explicit in the economic records we analyzed.

Happiness as an economic concept

Economic approaches to happiness arise from the position that happy workers improve the economy. Therefore, the search for happiness has also become more and more of a business. In this section, we highlight the aspects related to the ‘happiness industry’.

Happiness is a central concept in economics. Global institutions such as the World Bank and the World Health Organization embrace the relationship between subjective happiness and economic wellbeing [ 29 ], and, since 2012, the World Happiness Report has tracked the happiness of countries as a marker of economic health. ‘Happiness economics’ conceives of happiness as an objective, measurable entity, something that can be ‘reduced to calculable units’ [ 29 ]. Happiness is calculated at individual and group levels, with the goal of converting happiness into familiar kinds of economic capital like gross domestic product, consumer spending, and employment rates.

With the rise of the happiness industry, the interaction between happiness and the markets becomes a central concern of economics. As a marketing device, happiness is strategic. Consumer groups must be poised ‘between pleasure and pain’: just happy enough to sustain the idea that products bring happiness and just unhappy enough to feel the need to buy more [ 49 ]. However, economic growth compulsion can have a negative impact on happiness, as consumers are confronted with the agony of choice. Multiple options can only contribute to happiness as long as the number of options is still manageable. Once a certain threshold is reached, additional options do not bring further happiness. And purchasing power is not the solution.

Studies of the relationship between income and happiness suggest that, despite economic growth and increased prosperity, people are not happier. At the same time, however, critical economic scholars warn against extrapolating that poorer means happier (Pender cited in Frawley) [ 29 ], and raise concern that the emphasis on the subjective sensations of the populace can deflect attention from objective realities like insufficient food. Furthermore, the relationship between money and happiness is complex: the ‘status treadmill’ concept captures the notion that it is relative, not absolute, income that can lead to happiness, and we are happier when our relative income is higher than our peers [ 50 ]. In relation to physician happiness at work, these economic concepts suggest a complex, nonlinear relation between physician income and happiness.

Happiness as a social concept

Sociological approaches to happiness arise from the position that the predominantly psychological treatment of happiness fails to attend to the affordances and impediments to happiness that exist at a structural level. In this section, we highlight two concepts – the crisis of contentment and happiness as coercion – that arose in our records.

In the book, Deconstructing Happiness, McKenzie describes a crisis of contentment. They distinguish happiness, which is an individual characteristic, from contentment, which is ‘a collective social project’ [ 51 ] arising from ‘committing to something greater than the self’ [ 51 ]. Contentment is socially defined and motivated, standing in contrast to pleasure-driven, temporary and individual forms of happiness. With this distinction, the author argues that we are currently experiencing a ‘crisis of contentment’ (not of happiness) in modern society. Our lives are ‘filled with an almost unending range of products, services and self-help books that will lead to happiness’ but ‘people do not seem to be as happy as they SHOULD be’ [ 51 ] because individual happiness cannot provide meaning and long-term satisfaction without context. The values and norms of the social world provide this context. Therefore, ‘how the individual is able to positively place him-or herself with regard to social values and norms’ [ 51 ] is the basis of contentment.

The concept of a crisis of contentment moves us away from concerns about the individual’s happiness or lack thereof. Instead, we must be concerned with the social, political and economic factors that shape the relationship between the individual and society [ 51 ]. In particular, we need to critique our expectations of happiness [ 29 ]. Some sociologists have argued that the idea of happiness is part of a widespread ‘tyranny of positivity’ in modernity, pressuring individuals ‘to conform to culturally sanctioned ideals of behavior and disposition’ [ 51 ]. A growing body of work challenges the ‘epistemological fallacy that happiness ‘has’ a kind of essence’ and argues instead that the concept of happiness is a relational construct, gaining meaning from socio-historical context and attendant social norms’ [ 51 ]. Happiness, they argue, is not a neutral concept.

Happiness as coercion is an instance of its lack of neutrality, as argued by critical feminist scholarship. For instance, Sara Ahmed considers happiness as a ‘world-making device’ [ 52 ]: the world is made by prescribing what is appropriate ‘happiness’ based on largely unacknowledged social values and norms. Happiness, then, is an instrument for reorienting the individual toward a common good. Thus, as ‘an idea or aspiration within everyday life’ happiness can lead to ‘forms of coercion …such that one person’s happiness is …made conditional on their willingness to be made happy by the same things as other people’. Happiness, therefore, makes demands on us [ 50 ]. It demands that we accept, with a smile, the social values that have dictated what happiness is. Using the example of ‘happy housewife’ of the 1950s, she argues that this notion of female happiness enforces ‘gendered forms of labour’ and encourages us to consider the possibility of refusing to be happy in the ways that society prescribes. What would it mean instead to ‘claim the freedom to be unhappy’ [ 52 ]?

This critical narrative review has articulated multiple conceptualizations of happiness that could inform the way we approach physician wellbeing at work in medical education. In this section, we provide three main insights about these conceptualizations of happiness and consider their implications for scholarship and improvement efforts related to physician wellbeing in the workplace.

Happiness is not only individual: it is also social

The four medical education papers we analysed that explored physician happiness at work all relied upon concepts of happiness based in positive psychology. And while efforts to promote physician flow and mindfulness at work are valuable, they represent a partial view of the phenomenon due to their focus on the individual. Even in the Canadian Medical Association Journal call to consider ‘Physician health: beyond wellness to happiness’, the emphasis is on personal attributes such as stoicism and perfectionism. However, as McKenzie argued, ‘the individual approach to happiness is both incomplete and inherently flawed’ [ 51 ]. We would argue that we’ll never fully understand physician happiness by exclusively emphasizing individual psychology. We need to also address the relationship between the individual and society by considering the concept of contentment, which requires paying attention to social, political and economic factors. As McKenzie has suggested, with this shift ‘the goal is no longer supporting individual attempts to find happiness, rather [it is] experiencing the ups and downs of life within a meaningful social narrative’ [ 51 ]. Given this, we might ask, what would it mean to have ‘a meaningful social narrative’ for physicians to experience the ups and downs of their work?

A first step might be to normalize these ups and downs and openly discuss how we make sense of them, paying attention to the social, political and economic factors that shape this sense-making. Economics, for instance, is part of this social narrative, but absolute income is less important than relative income [ 50 ]. Attention to such factors might helpfully complicate discussions about the place of physician income in wellbeing at work and draw our attention to questions of the relative value of health professions and medical specialties in inter and intra professional workplaces. Other social factors that matter for a meaningful social narrative of the ups and downs of physician work include ‘a thriving and collaborative group identity’ [ 49 ] which this literature connects to the promise of constructive dissensus. To further explore this promise, scholarship might begin to connect the wellbeing conversation to the conversation about teamwork to understand how the ability to negotiate shared meaning in moments of conflict influences physician contentment.

Individual happiness is not objective, it is subjective

The definition of happiness is multifaceted. Terminologies vary, and there remain no standardised definitions [ 29 ]. But what most terms have in common is that they approach happiness as an objective thing – something we can ‘get’ more or less of. However, our results suggest agreement that happiness is subjective: it is something we perceive and even something we manufacture thanks to our psychological immune system. Knowing that happiness is subjective, unstable, situated – even synthetic – calls into question our insistence on measuring it. Most of the records about physician happiness from medical education were measurement-focused. A critical examination of both our insatiable appetite to measure and the individual measures themselves is necessary if we are to avoid oversimplifying the construct of happiness as we integrate it more fully into medical education. Notwithstanding the question of whether happiness can be measured at all, our results suggest that understanding happiness may have more to do with measuring expectations and interpretations than experiencing happiness. Given this, we might explore the expectations and interpretations medical trainees bring to the profession, how they change over time, and how these changes influence happiness at work.

Happiness is not straightforwardly good; it is also potentially coercive

Critical sociological approaches to happiness draw our attention to the role of happiness as ‘a central pacifying rhetoric and important technolog[y] for the management of subjectivity to ensure … the perpetuation of the existing order of things’ [ 29 ]. Such critiques of happiness remind us that, amid our efforts to promote the happiness of individual physicians, we must also be critically reflexive. We need to ask questions such as: Who defines ‘happiness’ for physicians? What social norms and power relations does that definition serve? Does our conceptualization of physician happiness acknowledge cultural contingencies? We are not suggesting that we should abandon initiatives that seek to improve happiness; however, as we pursue them, we must also ask ourselves how these perpetuate an existing structural and political order that is ‘coercive’, sustaining unacknowledged power relations. To use Ahmed’s term, do we cast as ‘killjoys’ [ 52 ] physicians who refuse to perpetuate the existing order by refusing to be happy-as-prescribed? Do we support physicians to be unhappy in the face of tragedy, or demand that they suppress that emotion and be happy (or at least neutral)? Recognizing that dominant understandings of happiness might disempower some physicians based on culture, gender, race or other minority factors, we should consider whether and how the prevalent conceptualization of happiness takes equality, diversity, inclusion and decolonisation (EDI-D) into account. As Slavin has recognized, ‘wellbeing programming has been a one-size-fits-all approach and has not adequately acknowledged and addressed the additional threats to wellbeing and satisfaction faced by many in our community’ [ 15 ]. To advance the conversation about physician happiness at work, we need to recognize how conventional definitions of physician happiness may be coercive, especially for minorities and equity deserving groups. We should be alert to physician unhappiness as a symptom not a disease – and even, perhaps, as a form of resistance to prescribed narratives.

Limitations

A critical narrative review of happiness is, by design, selective and positioned rather than exhaustive and neutral [ 53 ]. We have chosen to highlight disciplines and concepts of happiness specifically related to our focus on physician happiness in the workplace. Consequently, our review examines the concept of workplace happiness as one important component of happiness in medical education: other aspects of happiness beyond ‘workplace happiness’ are likely relevant but are not captured in this work. We have focused on a subset of disciplines (psychology, sociology, economics, organizational behavior), and we acknowledge that our review of concepts of happiness in each discipline is selective rather than comprehensive: it reflects the records our search returned and there may be other insights about happiness in these disciplines that future work building on our own could explore. Furthermore, the inclusion of additional disciplines would probably enrich and expand the conceptualizations of happiness we have described in this work. A particular gap is the lack of philosophy records captured in our search, which initially surprised us. After consulting with a philosophy scholar, we determined that this was because the terminology in philosophy differs significantly from our search terms. Likely other disciplines, such as religious studies or history, were also outside the scope of our initial search due to differences in terminology for the happiness construct. This is a challenge for any review: reviewers need to decide how far from their original search terms to venture and where to draw the line. For this first narrative review of ‘happiness’ as it relates to physician happiness at work, we decided to remain consistent in our search terms and we therefore acknowledge that our results cannot be comprehensive of all treatments of the concept in all published literature. Finally, our review of included disciplines was not intended to be exhaustive, but to describe some key conceptualizations of happiness as they relate to understanding physician happiness at work. Undoubtedly there is much more to be learned about the history and nuances of each of these fields’ approaches to happiness.

This critical narrative review has revealed that medical education rarely incorporates the concept of happiness in the workplace and, when it does, it draws exclusively from positive psychology. This disciplinary emphasis orients us to treat happiness as individual, objective, and necessarily good. Understanding organizational, economic and social aspects of happiness can usefully expand the conversation about physician wellbeing at work to include the insights that happiness is also social, subjective, and potentially coercive. With such insights, we might imagine different solutions to the persistent problem of physician wellbeing – in fact, we might even redefine the problem itself.

Competing Interests

The authors have no competing interests to declare.

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Essay on Happiness

List of essays on happiness, essay on happiness – short essay (essay 1 – 150 words), essay on happiness – for kids and children (essay 2 – 200 words), essay on happiness – 10 lines on happiness written in english (essay 3 – 250 words), essay on happiness (essay 4 – 300 words), essay on happiness – ways to be happy (essay 5 – 400 words), essay on happiness – for school students (class 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 standard) (essay 6 – 500 words), essay on happiness – ways of developing happiness (essay 7 – 600 words), essay on happiness – sources of suffering, happiness and conclusion (essay 8 – 750 words), essay on happiness – long essay on happiness (essay 9 – 1000 words).

Happiness is defined by different people in different ways. When we feel positive emotions we tend to feel happy. That is what happiness is all about. Happiness is also regarded as the mental state of a person in an optimistic manner.

Every person defines happiness in his/her own manner. In whatever manner you may define happiness; the truth is that it is vital for a healthy and prosperous life.

In order to make students understand what true happiness is all about, we have prepared short essays for students which shall enlighten them further on this topic.

Audience: The below given essays are exclusively written for school students (Class 3, 4 ,5, 6 and 7 Standard).

Introduction:

Happiness is a state of mind and the feeling expressed when things are going great. It is what we feel when we get our first car, buy a new house or graduate with the best grades. Happiness should be distinguished from joy. When joy is a constant state of mind, happiness depends on events in our lives.

Importance of Happiness:

The opposite of happiness is sadness which is a state of negativity in the mindset. When we remain sad for an extended period of time it can lead to depression. To avoid this state of mind we must always remind ourselves of happenings in our lives that made us happy.

Conclusion:

Though life throws countless challenges at us on a daily basis, if we drown in those challenges we would definitely become depressed. It is important that we find positive things in our daily lives to get excited about and feel the happiness.

Happiness is a state of mind which makes you feel accomplished in life and having everything in this world without a single reason to repent. Well, although there can be no perfect definition of happiness; happiness is when you feel you’re at the top of the world where a sense of complete satisfaction prevails.

The meaning of happiness is relative and varies from people to people. For some, happiness is when you experience professional success, reunions with family and friends, eating out, reading books or watching good movies. While for others, happiness can be accomplished by some weekend activities which might help you de-stress and get the satisfaction of mind.

If you involve yourself in social activities where you help the needy and provide support to the weaker section of the society, you can experience happiness if not anything else. When a young boy flies a kite, plays with mud, and watches the nature, for him, that is the greatest happiness in the world.

The happiness of mind is often considered quite contrary to jealousy and anger which you experience once you have failed or unaccomplished any desired goal. You should always try to rehearse the ways of keeping yourself satisfied and keeping away from negativity to experience peace and happiness in life. True happiness begins where desire ends!

What is happiness? It is a state of being happy. But it does not mean to be happy all the time. Happiness is a feeling of something good that is happening in our life. We feel happy when we achieve something. But happiness is spread when our dear one is happy as well. Some people find true happiness in playing with their pets, while some may find happiness in staying engaged in creative work.

Happiness is often derived from channelizing thoughts to positive thinking. However, it is not as simple as it may sound.

To achieve the state of complete happiness one has to practice on improving the state of life by:

1. Staying contended in life with what you have. Cribbing and grumbling never lead to happiness.

2. Staying focused on the current life instead of daydreaming of the good days or old days.

3. Stop blaming for something that went terribly wrong in life. The life is all about moving on. Stop worrying and set new goals in life.

4. Being thankful to God for all the good things that you have in your life.

5. Having good people around you who can boost up positivity in your life.

Everyone desires to be happy in life. Happiness cannot be achieved without establishing complete control of one’s thoughts as it is very easy to be carried away by the waves of thoughts and emotions surrounding us. Remind yourself of the good things of your life and be thankful about it.

What is happiness? Some would state that happiness implies being well off. Others would state that for them, happiness intends to be sound. You will discover individuals saying that for them happiness implies having love in their life, having numerous companions, a great job, or accomplishing a specific objective. There are individuals, who trust that the want of a specific wish would make happiness in their life; however, it may not be so. Having true happiness is something which is desired by all.

The Path to Happiness:

There are small things which when incorporated into our daily lives, can lead us to the path of happiness. For instance, instead of thinking about problems, we should actually be thinking about the solutions. Not only will we be happier but we shall also be able to solve our problems faster. Similarly, once in a while, you start the day with the longing to achieve a few targets. Toward the day’s end, you may feel disappointed and miserable, in light of the fact that you haven’t possessed the capacity to do those things. Take a look at what you have done, not at what you have not possessed the capacity to do. Regularly, regardless of whether you have achieved a ton amid the day, you let yourself feel disappointed, due to some minor assignments you didn’t achieve. This takes away happiness from you.

Again, now and then, you go throughout the day effectively completing numerous plans, yet as opposed to feeling cheerful and fulfilled, you see what was not cultivated and feel troubled. It is out of line towards you.

Each day accomplishes something good which you enjoy doing. It may tend to be something little, such as purchasing a book, eating something you cherish, viewing your most loved program on TV, heading out to a motion picture, or simply having a walk around the shoreline. Even small things can bring great levels of happiness in our lives and motivate us for new goals.

Happiness is not what you feel from outside, rather it is something which comes from your inner soul. We should find happiness in us rather than searching for it in worldly desires.

Happiness is defined by different people in different ways. Some find happiness in having a luxurious life while some find it in having loving people around them rather than money. True happiness lies within us and our expectation of happiness. It is something that should be felt and cannot be explained in words.

Even though this simple word has a lot of meaning hidden in it, many fail to understand the real one or feel the real happiness. Finding happiness in the outer world is the main reason for this failure. Nothing can buy you happiness, whether be the favorite thing you desire for or the person you love the most or the career you build, unless and until you feel it within yourself.

Ways to be Happy:

Bring happiness and soulful life to yourself rather than expecting it from the outside world like things, money, etc. Being happy is not as easy as advised to be one happier person. To be content and happy with whatever you have and yourself it takes time and patience. You should practice to be a happier person in all moments and eventually you will notice that no sorrow can sink you down.

Whatever good or bad happened in your past shouldn’t bother your present. Learn to live today with more happiness than yesterday and forget about your past sadness for a harmonious life. Thankfulness to the life you got is another important character you should acquire to be happy. If you compare yourself with someone with better luxurious life, then you will never be happy or content and do it the other way.

Don’t depress your mind with bad and negative thoughts about yourself and around. Try to find every goodness in a situation you face and accept the things that already happened, whether good or bad. Never forget to choose merrier and positive people to be closer to you so that their vibes will also help you in being one merrier person.

Whenever you feel low and depressed never hesitate to go to those around you to find happiness. But be aware of those negative ones that may pull you even deeper into the bad thoughts. Always surround yourself with positive thinking and motivating people so that you can rise higher even from the deepest fall.

Happiness is nothing but a feeling that will be seeded into your soul only if you wish to and nothing other than yourself can indulge this feeling in you. Don’t spoil your life finding happiness somewhere else.

Happiness is a very complicated thing. Happiness can be used both in emotional or mental state context and can vary largely from a feeling from contentment to very intense feeling of joy. It can also mean a life of satisfaction, good well-being and so many more. Happiness is a very difficult phenomenon to use words to describe as it is something that can be felt only. Happiness is very important if we want to lead a very good life. Sadly, happiness is absent from the lives of a lot of people nowadays. We all have our own very different concept of happiness. Some of us are of the opinion that we can get happiness through money, others believe they can only get true happiness in relationships, some even feel that happiness can only be gotten when they are excelling in their profession.

As we might probably know, happiness is nothing more than the state of one being content and happy. A lot of people in the past, present and some (even in the future will) have tried to define and explain what they think happiness really is. So far, the most reasonable one is the one that sees happiness as something that can only come from within a person and should not be sought for outside in the world.

Some very important points about happiness are discussed below:

1. Happiness can’t be bought with Money:

A lot of us try to find happiness where it is not. We associate and equate money with happiness. If at all there is happiness in money then all of the rich people we have around us would never feel sad. What we have come to see is that even the rich amongst us are the ones that suffer depression, relationship problems, stress, fear and even anxiousness. A lot of celebrities and successful people have committed suicide, this goes a long way to show that money or fame does not guarantee happiness. This does not mean that it is a bad thing to be rich and go after money. When you have money, you can afford many things that can make you and those around you very happy.

2. Happiness can only come from within:

There is a saying that explains that one can only get true happiness when one comes to the realisation that only one can make himself/herself happy. We can only find true happiness within ourselves and we can’t find it in other people. This saying and its meaning is always hammered on in different places but we still refuse to fully understand it and put it into good use. It is very important that we understand that happiness is nothing more than the state of a person’s mind. Happiness cannot come from all the physical things we see around us. Only we through our positive emotions that we can get through good thoughts have the ability to create true happiness.

Our emotions are created by our thoughts. Therefore, it is very important that we work on having only positive thoughts and this can be achieved when we see life in a positive light.

Happiness is desired by every person. However, there are very few persons that attain happiness easily in life.

It is quite tough to get happiness in life as people usually link it with the things and the people around them. The simple fact is that happiness usually starts as well as finishes with your own life. All those people who understand this fact easily get the true happiness in their life.

Happiness in Relationships:

There are lots of people who link happiness with the money and there are few others also who link it with the personal relations. It is very important to know that if you are not happy with yourself then, it is not possible to remain happy in your relationship as well.

The problems in the relationship have been increasing speedily and the main cause behind it is the huge amount of expectation that we have from the other individual. We always want them to make us feel happy. For example, some people feel happy if their partner plans a surprise for them or if he/she buy them a new dress. But all these things are not a true source of happiness in life.

Ways of Developing Happiness:

The lack of happiness in the relationship not only exists in couples but also in the relationship of friends, sister – brother or parent-child.

The following are the few ways that help in creating happiness in the relationships:

1. Pay Attention to Yourself:

You should always pay attention to yourself to get happiness. You should not give importance to any other person in your life in comparison to yourself and also expect the same from that person. Giving too much importance to the other and not receiving anything back from them makes a person disappointed and happiness gets lost.

2. Have some Initiative:

You can make the plan of traveling outside yourself. Don’t wait for your parent, partner or kid to take you outside. You can ask them to come along with you if they want. But, if they decline your offer then, don’t get discouraged and carry on your trip plan along with full happiness.

3. Provide some Space:

It is necessary to provide some amount of space to every individual and spend some time with oneself. It helps in creating happiness.

Happiness is Necessary for Good Life:

It does not matter that whether you are a working expert, a schoolchild, a retired person or a housewife, happiness is necessary for everybody to live a good and happy life. Happiness is essential for an individual’s emotional comfort. A person who is not fit emotionally will feel an impact on his complete health that will drain very soon.

Unluckily, despite the fact that happiness is tremendously necessary, people do not give so much importance to all those habits which can keep them happy. They are so excessively captivated inside their professional lives as well as other nuts and bolts of life that they overlook to relish the happy memories of their life. It is also the main reason that problems like anxiety, stress, and depression are increasing gradually in people’s lives today.

Happiness is an internal feeling. It is a healthy emotion. Happiness helps us to stay fit both mentally and physically. Happiness helps in lowering stress and keeping away from any health issues. The reason of happiness may be different for different person. You just need to find out what actually makes you happy. So, if you want real happiness in life then, you need to understand that only you can make yourself happy.

“There is no way to happiness, happiness is the way” this sentence has been attributed to Buddha. Well, at least that’s what it says on one sticker in my dorm room. The fact is that man has occupied himself with the path to happiness for millennia. Something happened during our evolution that made us deeply question the purpose of our existence. People like Buddha are part of the answer, or at least they try to give us the answer.

Since these questions have troubled us there have been many who sought to answer them and by doing so, they formed philosophies and religions. The search for earthly happiness will make many do incredible deeds but if this energy is used in the wrong way it can cause great suffering. How can we know which recipe for happiness is the best one and what we should devote our time and attention to? The trick is, there is no right answer and as the first sentence of this essay states, there is no way to be happy because being happy is the way. That’s how I got my head around this problem, let me explain some more.

Source of Suffering:

At the expense of sounding Buddhist, when you think about most of the things that make us unhappy are material in nature. They are the things that we really do not need but they make us feel happy. This notion is not just something the wise man from the 6 th century BC India expressed but many more have said this before and after him. Socrates and Jesus to name just a few.

What I find interesting in the struggle for happiness is the paradox present in the instructions to reach it. One has a  thought all through life to be good and hard working so he can get the things he wants and needs later on in life but then as you start to struggle for the money you realize that your life is turning into a money grabbing game. So, the source of happiness and stability becomes the source of all your anxiety and aggression. Naturally, we can see how some people thought that all material things stand on the path to our happiness.

But what about the immaterial, what if you are in love with someone you are not supposed to love? The above instruction would tell you to surrender your heart’s desire and you will be free from constraints. Is this happiness? Or is it the struggle to do and achieve the impossible the real source of happiness?

Source of Happiness:

People often forget that they are animals and like all of them they have a logic to their nature and their own specific needs. Like all the other animal’s people are caught in the struggle for existence and sometimes surviving the day can be a real ordeal if you get caught in the wrong circumstances. Men has made himself safe from most of the things that could have harmed him in nature but in doing so he forgot what he has made.

Think about the present from a historical perspective. Even a hundred years ago most people lost up to 80% of all their children to diseases, clean water was a rarity for most of our existence, and people actually had to labor to make food and to have enough to feed their family all through the year. The fact is we have a lot to be grateful for in the present age and the fact that some of us are unhappy because we do not have all our heart’s desires is just a symptom of collective infancy. Having all of your loved ones around you, with a roof to shelter under and with lots of delicious food is the only source of happiness man needs everything else should just be a bonus.

Happiness cannot be found by rejecting everything that is material or by earning more money then you can spend. The trick is to find balance by looking at yourself and the lives of people around you and by understanding that there is a lot to be grateful for, the trick is to stop searching for a path and to understand that we are already walking on one. As long as we are making any type of list of the prerequisite for our life of happiness, we will end up unsatisfied because life does not grant wishes we are the ones that make them come true. Often the biggest change in our lives comes from a simple change of perspective rather than from anything we can own.

Happiness is the state of emotional wellbeing and being contented. Happiness is expressed through joyful moments and smiles. It is a desirable feeling that everybody want to have at all times. Being happy is influenced by situations, achievements and other circumstances. Happiness is an inner quality that reflects on the state of mind. A peaceful state of mind is considered to be happiness. The emotional state of happiness is mixture of feelings of joy, satisfaction, gratitude, euphoria and victory.

How happiness is achieved:

Happiness is achieved psychologically through having a peaceful state of mind. By a free state of mind, I mean that there should be no stressful factors to think about. Happiness is also achieved through accomplishment of goals that are set by individuals. There is always happiness that accompanies success and they present feelings of triumph and contentment.

To enable personal happiness in life, it is important that a person puts himself first and have good self-perception. Putting what makes you happy first, instead of putting other people or other things first is a true quest towards happiness. In life, people tend to disappoint and putting them as a priority always reduces happiness for individuals. There is also the concept of practicing self-love and self-acceptance. Loving oneself is the key to happiness because it will mean that it will not be hard to put yourself first when making decisions.

It is important for an individual to control the thoughts that goes on in their heads. A peaceful state of mind is achieved when thoughts are at peace. It is recommended that things that cause a stressful state of mind should be avoided.

Happiness is a personal decision that is influenced by choices made. There is a common phrase on happiness; “happiness is a choice” which is very true because people choose if they want to be happy or not. Happiness is caused by circumstances and people have the liberty to choose those circumstance and get away from those that make them unhappy.

Happiness is also achieved through the kind of support system that an individual has. Having a family or friends that are supportive will enable the achievement of happiness. Communicating and interacting with the outside world is important.

Factors Affecting Happiness:

Sleep patterns influence the state of mind thus influence happiness. Having enough sleep always leads to happy mornings and a good state of mind for rest of the day. Sleep that is adequate also affects the appearance of a person. There is satisfaction that comes with having enough sleep. Enough rest increases performance and productivity of an individual and thus more successes and achievements are realized and happiness is experienced.

Another factor affecting happiness is the support network of an individual. A strong support network of family and friends results in more happiness. Establishing good relationships with neighbors, friends and family through regular interactions brings more happiness to an individual. With support network, the incidences of stressful moments will be reduced because your family and friends will always be of help.

Sexual satisfaction has been established to affect happiness. It is not just about getting the right partner anymore. It is about having a partner that will satisfy you sexually. There is a relationship between sex and happiness because of the hormones secreted during sexual intercourse. The hormone is called oxytocin and responsible for the happiness due to sexual satisfaction. Satisfaction also strengthens the relationships between the partners and that creates happiness.

Wealth also plays a significant role in happiness. There is a common phrase that is against money and happiness: “money cannot buy happiness” is this true? Personally, I believe that being financially stable contributes to happiness because you will always have peace of mind and many achievements. Peace of mind is possible for wealthy people because they do not have stressors here and then compared to poor people. Also, when a person is wealthy, they can afford to engage in luxurious activities that relaxes the mind and create happiness. For a person to be wealthy, they will have had many achievements in life. These achievement make them happy.

A good state of health is an important factor that influences the happiness of individuals. A healthy person will be happy because there are no worries of diseases or pain that they are experiencing. When a person is healthy, their state of mind is at peace because they are not afraid of death or any other health concerns. Not only the health of individuals is important, but also the health of the support system of the person. Friends and family’s state of health will always have an impact on what we feel as individuals because we care about them and we get worried whenever they are having bad health.

Communication and interactions are important in relation to an individual’s happiness. Having a support system is not enough because people need to communicate and interact freely. Whenever there are interactions like a social gathering where people talk and eat together, more happiness is experienced. This concept is witnessed in parties because people are always laughing and smiling in parties whenever they are with friends.

Communication is key to happiness because it helps in problem solving and relieving stressors in life. Sharing experiences with a support system creates a state of wellbeing after the solution is sought. Sometime when I am sad, I take my phone and call a friend or a family member and by the time the phone call is over, I always feel better and relieved of my worries.

Happiness is an important emotion that influences how we live and feel on a daily basis. Happiness is achieved in simple ways. People have the liberty to choose happiness because we are not bound by any circumstances for life. Factors that influence happiness are those that contribute to emotional wellbeing. Physical wellbeing also affects happiness. Every individual finds happiness in their own because they know what makes them happy and what doesn’t.

Emotions , Happiness , Psychology

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How to Describe Happiness: 100 Phrases

You’d think figuring out how to describe happiness would be easy…

but when you’re trying to think of how to express happiness in a sentence, it’s easy to draw a blank. That’s why I’m sharing this list of ways to describe happiness, excitement, and joy. I hope these happy phrases help with your novel, story, or whatever you’re writing!

When I shared my Master List of Ways to Describe Anger the other week, on my Facebook author page , one person told me she expected a paywall when she clicked. That was a pretty nice compliment! So I thought I’d do one on how to describe happiness, too. Most of the time, you can express emotions through internal monologue, dialogue, and actions. Once in a while, though, you run into the need to describe the feeling in the point of view of your character.

There are really infinite ways to convey emotion in writing. I have 100 ways here to write about happiness, joy, contentment, hope, and gratitude here. They’re not in any particular order — really, it’s just the order that I thought of them. 🙂

They aren’t all going to be ones you use personally, because every writer is different! Chances are, they’ll make you think of even more words and phrases.

How to Describe Happiness

his heart leaped up for joy

he felt a surge of happiness

I was paralyzed with happiness

their mood lifted

she was bursting with joy

he could hardly contain his happiness

his mood lightened

my spirits brightened

hope bloomed inside her

happiness glowed inside him

he felt a sudden flare of joy

I could barely conceal my delight

they were flabbergasted with joy

sunshine flooded her soul

his spirits were flying high

her hopes soared

she felt like her feet barely touched the ground

joy engulfed me

it cheered her soul

joy took hold of him

inside, she was smiling

she almost jumped for joy

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happiness overtook him

she took a defiant joy in it

happiness streaked through him like a comet

a quiet contentment spread through him

contentment filled her heart

happiness trembled inside of her

his heart dared to hope

happiness swelled within her

gratitude flowed through her

had she ever been happier in her life?

it elevated his mood

he couldn’t think of a time he’d ever been happier

their joy unfolded like a flower

she felt a glimmer of happiness

he felt dizzy with excitement

joy rushed through me

my happiness was so intense it scared me

he thought he would die of joy

her heart was singing

she felt drunk with happiness

he was intoxicated with joy

his heart throbbed with happiness

she burned with a fierce joy

happiness crept over him

it was almost more happiness than she could take

he knew a profound joy

her happiness grew

I was wild with joy

happiness expanded inside him

they were suffused with happiness

joy sparkled inside her

happiness shimmered inside me

happiness danced through her thoughts

he almost collapsed with happiness

it raised his spirits

it brought my spirits up

contentment warmed her from within

happiness radiated through him

he’d never felt more alive

she felt fully and wonderfully alive

I was filled with joyful energy

she could’ve wept for joy

I wanted to shout for joy

he was weak with gratitude

his heart pounded with happiness

she savored the feeling of contentment

a sudden feeling of happiness surprised him

an unexpected happiness consumed her

happiness made me feel invincible

joy rippled through him

gratitude welled up inside her

he felt a flush of happiness

happiness resonated through him

she was transported with joy

it was almost too much happiness to bear

contentment tiptoed into her heart

he was overcome with happiness

he’d unearthed a greater joy than any he’d ever known

her spirits bounded higher

it brought him a ray of happiness

she felt a whisper of happiness

he felt an inkling of joy

she felt a stab of hope

satisfaction settled in his soul

happiness washed over her

his soul took flight

she felt in love with the whole world

he had no words for the gratitude he felt

she was buzzing with happiness

she felt like she was floating

he was in heaven

she was treasuring every moment

she surrendered to bliss

the weight lifted from my soul

he felt a solemn sense of happiness

joy bubbled up inside of her

his happiness overflowed

my heart almost broke with joy

I’m curious: if you read the whole list straight through, did it make you feel happier? It had that effect on me!

Either way, I hope you’re happy to have the list! And if you you like lists for writers, check out my book Master Lists for Writers, if you haven’t already!

Do you have some ideas about how to describe happiness? Would you like to share an example of a description of happiness from your own writing? Please go ahead in the comments section below! Thanks for stopping by, and happy writing!

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45 thoughts on “ how to describe happiness: 100 phrases ”.

Bryn, your posts are always filled with such awesome information for the reader and writer in all of us! Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy life to do this. And, yes, I was smiling towards the end!

Hi, Marcia! Oh, I’m so glad you like them. 🙂

Yup! U r right!

I love these lists. I print them out and use them regularly. They help inspire and find the right words. I use them as a cheat sheet.

Constance, I’m so glad they’re helpful! I do think of them as “cheat sheets” (except it’s not really cheating, of course!)

These are great! And SO helpful!! <3

Hi, Caro! Aw thanks. Hope you’re having a great week!

You helped me improve in my composition a lot.THANK YOU!???

I absolutely love your lists. I refer to them all the time when I find myself needing inspiration or repeating too many phrases. Thank you so much for sharing.

Ohh, thank you friend. 🙂

Wonderful list! Thank you, Bryn.

Thank you so much. I’m so happy that I’ll no longer spend minutes trying to convey a simple emotion and it’s all thanks to you!

Thanks, Bryn. These are great descriptions. 🙂 — Suzanne

Thanks Bryn, I’ve saved this and will use it often. Happiness has crept over me! Cary

How amazing! Where do you get all these ideas from?

Aw thanks! It took me a long time. 🙂

How long????

Thanks for this wonderful list about happiness

I was wondering on Google and I found this!!! Such a lovely article ? I too write on aintyouliving.blogspot.com from India. Hopefully you’ll find something interesting on my blog. Well, love from India ♥️

This was so useful! I started using a few in my everyday writing and it’s made a huge difference

This is a great post and a huge help for writers like myself. Amazing information! Thank you.

Hi Margie! Thanks—I am so glad you found it useful!

Hi! I kind of used this in my writing. Thank you so much!

What I wrote: The room erupted in cheers. People were laughing and smiles were everywhere. Thank GOODNESS! I could barely conceal my happiness. Joy and relief welled up inside of me, and I sighed. I let out the deep breath that I had been holding onto for what seemed like a long time. My job here was done and my dream… had come true.

Ashlyn, so glad it helped. And I love what you wrote! Thanks for sharing!

Wow! Amazing ?! I LOVE it!!!

what an amazing list of words, enjoyed it thank you!!

they helped me a lot in my creative writings.

Wow,Bryn! Thank you ?! I use it a lot on my Compositions!

OMG this is priceless, thank you thank you thank you thank you! Bless your soul for this.

thx, my child now gets high marks for her compo

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awww you are soo sweet,you are helpful you are a role modelll:)

thanks this really helped with my compo ???

my god! Amazing stuff!, huge round of Applause!!

I am Sheema Suroor Mohammad

Thanks heaps great list!!

Thank you. This is exactly what i was looking for. Please note that you are helping emerging authors with this your list that i personally refer to as inexhaustible list.

That is an impressive list! Thanks for sharing!

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Happy to learn happiness in so many words, Wonder how it comprehends so wide! Thank you so much.

this really helped me and i fucking hate you

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I found this website a couple of days ago, and let me tell you, I love it so much! These are so helpful when trying to make things sound interesting without using the same phrases over and over again! Thank you for making these!

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The Quest for Utopia: Examining Sacrifice and Happiness in “The Ones who Walk Away from Omelas”

This essay about Ursula K. Le Guin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” explores the complex interplay between sacrifice and happiness in the pursuit of utopia. Set in the vibrant city of Omelas, the narrative exposes a disturbing truth: the prosperity of the many hinges on the suffering of one innocent child. Le Guin deftly navigates moral ambiguity, challenging readers to confront the ethical dilemmas inherent in societal structures. As dissent whispers amid the revelry, the narrative invites reflection on the price of collective contentment and the imperative of conscience. Ultimately, it serves as a poignant reminder that true utopia cannot be built upon the exploitation of the vulnerable, advocating instead for a vision grounded in empathy, equity, and ethical fortitude.

How it works

In the labyrinthine depths of Ursula K. Le Guin’s literary landscape, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” stands as a beacon of introspection, illuminating the treacherous terrain of sacrifice and happiness in the pursuit of utopia. Within the tapestry of Omelas, a city ensconced in an aura of euphoria and prosperity, lies a sinister secret: the perpetually suffering innocence of a solitary child. Here, amidst the jubilant cacophony of festivities and communal harmony, the price of utopia is starkly revealed—a sacrificial offering of agony and despair.

Le Guin masterfully crafts a narrative that plunges readers into the heart of moral ambiguity, beckoning them to traverse the intricate webs of conscience and consequence. Omelas, with its kaleidoscopic allure, serves as both a haven of joy and a crucible of moral reckoning. The citizens of this utopian enclave, ensnared in the allure of collective bliss, are complicit in the perpetuation of the child’s torment. Their acceptance of this moral calculus, wherein the happiness of the many is predicated upon the suffering of the one, lays bare the fragility of ethical certitude and the depths of human depravity.

Yet, amidst the throngs of revelry and the veneer of contentment, whispers of dissent linger like echoes in the abyss. The ones who walk away from Omelas, emboldened by a flicker of conscience, shun the allure of complacency and chart a course beyond the confines of the city walls. Their departure heralds a rupture in the fabric of societal acquiescence, a poignant indictment of the moral bankruptcy that festers beneath the facade of utopian perfection.

Le Guin’s narrative invites readers to grapple with the enigmatic interplay of sacrifice and happiness, probing the contours of human nature and societal exigency. Is the pursuit of utopia inexorably tethered to the sacrificial altar of individual suffering? Can genuine happiness be forged in the crucible of moral compromise, or does it necessitate a steadfast adherence to the dictates of conscience and compassion?

Through the lens of Omelas, Le Guin beckons readers to confront the shadows that lurk within the recesses of utopian aspiration, to interrogate the ethical calculus that underpins the quest for collective contentment. The narrative serves as a clarion call to transcend the allure of superficial bliss and to embrace a vision of utopia that is predicated not on the subjugation of the marginalized, but on the principles of empathy, equity, and ethical fortitude.

In the labyrinthine depths of Ursula K. Le Guin’s literary landscape, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” stands as a testament to the enduring power of narrative to provoke introspection, to challenge preconceptions, and to illuminate the contours of the human condition. As readers embark on their own odyssey through the labyrinth of moral ambiguity, they are reminded that the quest for utopia is not merely a journey of destination, but a voyage of ethical reckoning—a pilgrimage guided by the beacon of conscience and the imperative of compassion.

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PapersOwl.com. (2024). The Quest for Utopia: Examining Sacrifice and Happiness in "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/the-quest-for-utopia-examining-sacrifice-and-happiness-in-the-ones-who-walk-away-from-omelas/ [Accessed: 12 Apr. 2024]

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PapersOwl.com. (2024). The Quest for Utopia: Examining Sacrifice and Happiness in "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/the-quest-for-utopia-examining-sacrifice-and-happiness-in-the-ones-who-walk-away-from-omelas/ [Accessed: 12-Apr-2024]

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Personal Narrative Essay: The Idea of Happiness

“Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.”  -Joseph Addison. The word happiness differs in definition for each person as everyone has different preferences. For some people to be happy all they need to do is see their friends, to others, it is being alone for a time. Some people need to buy expensive clothes to be happy and others just need to buy food to get that feeling. They all have the common theme of being pleased with oneself and the things they’ve done. Happiness is the absence of sadness and being pleased with life at the time. To obtain this feeling in your life, you need to do things you love to do and with the people you want to do them with, as well as focusing on the present. 

Doing the things you love to do with the people you want to do it with usually makes people really happy. When I am on a soccer field with my friends during a game, I can’t stop myself from looking around and smiling with joy. When I step on that beautiful field with my cleats on at 8:00 at night. I instantly have a feeling of pure bliss. Feeling the perfect green grass under my feet makes me feel like I’m gliding as I walk over to the bench to my team. Hearing people juggling, passing, shooting, or just talking makes me happier and happier knowing what I’m about to do. Seeing all of my friends there and hearing all of their voices at one time calling for me just makes my heart jump higher. I know that for the next 90 minutes all of my problems would disappear the second that whistle blew to start the game. I pick up the soccer ball, look around, and just appreciate the fact that I am here right now.  Even though it’s just a game, it gives me this feeling because I love this sport and the people I am doing it with make it better. The simple game of “soccer” changes my life when I am playing it. That’s what happiness is, the opposite of sadness and being pleased with life at the same time. That’s what it does for me. Many people in society think that any sport is just a game to the players and everyone watching them, but they are much more. Sports relieve stress from everyone participating in them by having people forget about all of their worries and focus on the game. You are working out during them so endorphins are being released causing happiness for everyone. If one does not do these things in their life it will be harder for them to be happy consistently. Not only do you need to do the things you love with the people you want to do them with, you also need to focus on the present to have happiness.

If you focus on the future you will be anxious and if you focus on the past you will be depressed, but if you focus on the present you will be in peace. I was hiking up a mountain with my family when I first realized this. As I was walking up the mountain, I didn’t know what awaited me on the dirt path I was walking on to get to the top of the mountain. I kept hearing many different noises that I’ve never heard before so I didn’t know what they were. I couldn’t see over the trees and bushes, so my mind was only focused on what I couldn’t see and not the beauty of nature around me. The crisp mountain air was filling me up as I was trying to calm myself down. I was so anxious for what was going to happen that I couldn’t pay attention to what was happening at the moment. Once I got to the top all the anxiety just vanished from my mind completely. I could finally focus on the moment and that’s what I did. I sat down without a worry in the world and just looked at the sunset happening over the trees and the water, and I was so happy. This may seem like a very simple and regular occurrence to many people, but to me it really makes me focus on what’s happening in the present. Happiness is the opposite of sadness and being pleased with life at the same time and I felt all of that as I watched that ball of fire slowly get swallowed up by the beautiful nature in front of me. Society says to forget about the past and look to the future to help you out. I personally think that you need to focus on the present to be happier. As I said, when I was climbing up I was scared of what was ahead because I didn’t know what would happen in the next minutes and was scared as I couldn’t see what would happen. But once I got to the top and actually looked at what was happening at the moment, it destroyed what society says about happiness. Having the ability to focus on the moment and what is happening will make you a lot happier than if you were looking at the past or at the future.  

“True happiness arises, in the first place, from the enjoyment of one’s self.” - Joseph Addison. The idea of happiness can be taken as the opposite of sadness as well as being positive in life at the time.  Do the things you want to do along the people you want to do them with and look at what’s happening at the moment to be happy. It is important to know this because if you don’t, you won’t know how to obtain this feeling. Trying to figure out how to be happy is hard but once you figure it out it makes life so much easier. Whenever you become sad or angry with life, make sure to do something you love either by yourself or with people you like and appreciate the moment and what’s happening around you.

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Happiness Essay for Students and Children

500+ words essay on happiness.

Happiness is something which we can’t describe in words it can only be felt from someone’s expression of a smile. Likewise, happiness is a signal or identification of good and prosperous life. Happiness is very simple to feel and difficult to describe. Moreover, happiness comes from within and no one can steal your happiness.

Can Money Buy You Happiness?

Every day we see and meet people who look happy from the outside but deep down they are broken and are sad from the inside. For many people, money is the main cause of happiness or grief. But this is not right. Money can buy you food, luxurious house, healthy lifestyle servants, and many more facilities but money can’t buy you happiness.

And if money can buy happiness then the rich would be the happiest person on the earth. But, we see a contrary image of the rich as they are sad, fearful, anxious, stressed, and suffering from various problems.

In addition, they have money still they lack in social life with their family especially their wives and this is the main cause of divorce among them.

Also, due to money, they feel insecurity that everyone is after their money so to safeguard their money and them they hire security. While the condition of the poor is just the opposite. They do not have money but they are happy with and stress-free from these problems.

In addition, they take care of their wife and children and their divorce rate is also very low.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Happiness Comes from Within

As we now know that we can’t buy happiness with money and there is no other shortcut to happiness. It is something that you feel from within.

In addition, true happiness comes from within yourself. Happiness is basically a state of mind.

Moreover, it can only be achieved by being positive and avoiding any negative thought in mind. And if we look at the bright side of ourselves only then we can be happy.

Happiness in a Relationship

People nowadays are not satisfied with their relationship because of their differences and much other reason. But for being happy in a relationship we have to understand that there are some rules or mutual understanding that keeps a relationship healthy and happy.

Firstly, take care of yourself then your partner because if you yourself are not happy then how can you make your partner happy.

Secondly, for a happy and healthy relationship give you partner some time and space. In addition, try to understand their feeling and comfort level because if you don’t understand these things then you won’t be able to properly understand your partner.

Most importantly, take initiative and plan to go out with your partner and family. Besides, if they have plans then go with them.

To conclude, we can say that happiness can only be achieved by having positive thinking and enjoying life. Also, for being happy and keeping the people around us happy we have to develop a healthy relationship with them. Additionally, we also have to give them the proper time.

FAQs about Happiness

Q.1 What is True Happiness? A.1 True happiness means the satisfaction that you find worthy. The long-lasting true happiness comes from life experience, a feeling of purpose, and a positive relationship.

Q.2 Who is happier the rich or the poor and who is more wealthy rich or poor? A.2 The poor are happier then the rich but if we talk about wealth the rich are more wealthy then the poor. Besides, wealth brings insecurity, anxiety and many other problems.

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Home — Essay Samples — Life — Memories — Memories of Happiness and Accomplishments in My Life

Memories of Happiness and Accomplishments in My Life

• Categories: Happiness Memories Personal Experience

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Published: Apr 11, 2019

Words: 1435 | Pages: 3 | 8 min read

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