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Friday, April 12, 2013

The theory of happiness

Hypothesis : The lesser you expect from life, the happier you will be.

Sometimes the only way to attain understanding about a specific aspect of life is to deduce it scientifically. After all, you don't acquire much from dealing with matters emotionally.

Anyhow, this week has been a pretty bipolar one altogether. I don't mean to romanticize every single aspect of my mental health or my social life, but honestly, it's been a hard hitting week. I won't bother with the details, but all you really have to know is that I've been enraptured in an emotional fluctuation all week ranging from suicidal propensities to sudden peaks of immense joy. It has been a long and hard battle against confusion and anguish, but I'm glad that I've managed to overcome with strength from God and endless prayer from my loved ones. While I found myself more emotionally stable today, I'm not going to slip into an affluence of comfort just yet. There is plenty to be done in mending my mind and soul, and there is absolutely no way that I should remain lackadaisical in this crucial period of time.

On a lighter note, the past two days have been rather productive. I've finally received my History mid-term score and I have to say, the outcome is worth rejoicing over. While a 13/15 may not sound like much to the avid partaker of history, it is a number sufficient in providing me a sense of satisfaction. It was the highest score my History lecturer dispensed anyway, given that our section did relatively well in comparison to the previous section. I was a little crestfallen though when I discovered my best friend received a similar score, but all in all I'm pretty satisfied with what I've achieved. After all, I'd only drafted my essay a week prior to the test while he had been working on his in a matter of weeks. Moreover, I've been paying more attention to my Math this week and I'm beginning to witness change in my mathematical ability. Honestly, I won't be able to tell just yet, but I'm confident my quiz scores will reinforce the notion of my improvement.

Other than academic matters, I've been pretty psyched about having friends from church on campus. I'm still taken aback by the fact that I finally bumped into Aaron four months after I've been enrolled in university. I've always known he was a culinary arts student on campus but I never did see him as he was still on his semester break. However, I finally got to say hello yesterday at the food court while I was having lunch with Sam (who's also a friend from church) and a few other business students. Furthermore, I didn't have to sit alone at the library again today since Sam was there to accompany me as well (that's one point for being less socially awkward on campus!). On a different note, there are more familiar faces as well from high school on campus, so that's an added bonus as well to my week :)

All in all, it has been rather refreshing to see some familiar faces in a new environment. As for my fellow ADP course mates, I think it's pretty safe to say that I've come out of my shell of indifference and am adjourning into a more people-centric paradigm as time goes by. Today's excursion to SS15 for food with the MATH171 trio was pretty interesting under the circumstances and I even bumped into my high school classmates from INTI and Sunway respectively. Also, the History debate will soon prove itself a worthy discourse and my recent admission into the photography club may serve as a game changer. Nevertheless, things are certainly looking up now, albeit progressively as I live by faith.

Conclusion :
Expectations aren't necessarily inversely proportional to happiness. This theory only functions if  we expect less of something and attain more of it eventually. However, if that does not occur, happiness will remain at a decline and life will become stagnate. If we do not strive to fulfill higher expectations, how do we improve our quality of life? Furthermore, is happiness merely defined by the fulfillment of one specific criteria, be it material or emotional? Happiness is defined by satisfaction, by being grateful for what one has and not by the attainment of what one does not have and continuously harps about having.

In succinct terms, we define what happiness is. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but no one should have the right to impose it upon others.

So perhaps that wasn't a credible scientific conclusion. However, as I mentioned, NO ONE should be allowed to impose their opinions of the notion of happiness upon others, for it may nullify the pursuit of one's happiness by parting them from their convictions. Everyone should be allowed to think for themselves what is truly fulfilling in life and if it is found to be incorrect, they should also be allowed to return to their initial position and begin the same process in its entirety.

But the question is, is the hypothesis accepted?

You decide.

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