More like a neverending journey.

no definitely not. well i guess its perseverance in a way but its not a goal. u could be the most unluckiest person and be happy. it shouldn't be a goal anyway. its just how you view things, really

I think there are degrees of happiness and most happy people are born that way. Some people think "Oh yeah, if I had this or that boy I'd be happier", they wouldn't be. Just like there is no goal for sadness.

Sure it can be, but it is generally found through attaining something, for example, I would be happy if when I am older (40's or 50's) if I have lived the life I want to and have achieved the goals I hope to have achieved by then, so one could say that my goal is to have a happy life through achieving my other goals. Does that make sense? I hope so.

From"The Pursuit of Happyness" It was right then that I started thinking about Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration of Independence and the part about our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And I remember thinking: How did he know to put the pursuit part in there? That maybe happiness is something that we can only pursue. And maybe we can actually never have it, no matter what. How did he know that?

Happiness is a way of life, and it starts in your own mind.

It is a state of mind and a choice.Once can choose to be happy and in a millisecond they are happy.If one was continually happy it would be boring so we have a wide range of emotions to add the spice to life.

No. Happiness is a side-effect. If you do things right you get to experience a lot of it. Don't expect it to last more than 5 minutes at a time and be pleasantly surprised when it does.

I like to think of it as more of a "Pursuit". :)

I think happiness is a decision we make.

Nah... it's a feeling. I feel it or I don't. I don't have goals like that. My goals involve doing what is right for me, and happiness often follows.

I think if you make that a goal, you will not achieve it..true happiness (to me) arises out of who you are, the life you are leading and how you perceive the world..if you are an unhappy person, I don't think you can achieve happiness just because you want it. Conversely, if you are a happy person, just because you have to face some obstacles or problems won't make you an unhappy person..it is as much how you are wired genetically as anything else..at least that's how it seems to me.

No, we can make the choice to be happy or not.

Happiness is an agreeable feeling or condition arising from good fortune or propitious happening of any kind. It is the possession of those circumstances or that state of being which is attended with enjoyment. It is associated with good luck, good fortune, prosperity, well-being, delight, health, safety, and love. Happiness is generic, and is applied to almost every kind of enjoyment except that of the animal appetites. It ia a state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. These include: bliss, joy, joyous, carefree, jubilant, exultant, cheerful, playful, amused, fun, glad, gay, gleeful, jolly, jovial, delighted, euphoric, ecstatic, thrilled, elated, enraptured, comfortable, harmonious, and triumphant. Societies, religions, and individuals have various views on the nature of happiness and how to pursue it. Only saint-like persons, who feel that they are no longer interested in the external world, think that happiness is within. For many persons, nothing can make them happy. Our minds are as different as our finger prints - no two are alike. Listening to loud music makes one happy and makes another unhappy. Hence, there can be no single definition for happiness. It is probably impossible to objectively define happiness as humans know and understand it, as internal experiences are subjective by nature. Because of this, explaining happiness as experienced by one individual is as pointless as trying to define the color green such that a completely color blind person could understand the experience of seeing green. As a state and a subject, it has been pursued and commented on extensively throughout world history. "Call no man happy till he is dead." - Aeschylus "Happiness is a positive cash flow." - Fred Adler "Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose." - Joseph Addison "True happiness arises, in the first place, from the enjoyment of one's self, and in the next, from the friendship and conversation of a few select companions." - Joseph Addison Happiness is often associated with the presence of favourable circumstances such as a supportive family life, a loving marriage, and economic stability. Kali Yuga, the age of darkness, is the time when these favourables are difficult to find. Unfavorable circumstances - such as abusive relationships, accidents, loss of employment, and conflicts - diminish the amount of happiness a person experiences. In all nations, factors such as hunger, disease, crime, corruption, and warfare can decrease happiness. However, according to several ancient and modern thinkers, happiness is influenced by the attitude and perspective taken on such circumstances. From the observation that fish must become happy by swimming, and birds must become happy by flying. Aristotle points to the unique abilities of man as the route to happiness. Of all the animals only man can sit and contemplate reality. Of all the animals only man can develop social relations to the political level. Thus the contemplative life of a monk or professor, or the political life of a military commander or politician will be the happiest according to their own psyche. The following is the self-reported positive affect (i.e. positive emotion) during the day by 909 employed women in USA: Activities and their positive effect index: Intimate relations 5.10 Socializing 4.59 Relaxing 4.42 Pray/Worship/Meditate 4.35 Eating 4.34 Exercising 4.31 Watching TV 4.19 Shopping 3.95 Preparing food 3.93 On the phone 3.92 Napping 3.87 Taking care of my children 3.86 Computer/Email/ Internet 3.81 Housework 3.73 Working 3.62 Commuting 3.45 Interaction with partners: w/ friends 4.36 w/ relatives 4.17 w/ spouse/Significant other 4.11 w/ children 4.04 w/ clients/customers 3.79 w/ co-workers 3.76 w/ boss 3.52 alone 3.41 Further, happiness is not entirely psychological in nature - it has got a biological basis too. The neurotransmitter dopamine is involved in desire and seems often related to pleasure. Pleasure can be induced artificially with drugs. Use of drugs is not some thing new, it has been used by many including Sanyasis since millenia.

It appears to be a goal for many people, but is definitely an elusive one. Happiness, like love, is a decision we make, sometimes on a minute-by-minute basis.

Not in itself, but it can be something you aim for when making your decisions and choose goals for yourself. If you know that doing one thing will bring about stress and troubles, and you choose another direction, you are also choosing happiness as a better outcome.

Its a choice.

The happiness of man is secular humanism.. a false religion.

to sorne people