What is a Good Life

Although it may sound easy, it is a very complicating task to generalize the concept of living a good life. People from varying ethnic and social backgrounds, who have been through different experiences throughout their life, would interpret the meaning of good life the way that individual looks at it. To some, living a good life is simply living a happy life (Dalai Lama); while others may tend to argue “Happiness without meaning characterizes a relatively shallow, self-absorbed or even selfish life.” (Smith)

While it is true that maintaining healthy and quality social relationships with one’s family, friends and the community helps one to live a healthy and happier life, it does not necessarily justify ones claim of living a good life. There should be an underlying meaning to an individual’s life, which would eventually be for the greater good of the humanity, or at least his/her close ones. This meaning to life does not only help a person live a good life, it also gives reason for a person to keep on living even through the most unfortunate circumstances. From a personal perspective, giving meaning, or at least trying to relate a reasonable outcome, to my actions helped me achieve better results in any particular circumstance or event. This meaning to life even helped me achieve better academic success in my college in comparison to what I have been able to achieve in my high school. Even though I have to go through a lot more mental and physical burdens in my recent years, the urge to stay true to my ultimate goal drags me through the most miserable situations.

Happiness in life does not always have to transcend “the self” (Smith). Happiness without meaning, though it is very common in nature, does not correspond to the principal notion of living a good life. Although there are studies that found that negative events decreases your happiness but increases the meaning you have in life, it does not necessarily mean that you are living a good life. The ultimate outcome of living a good life should be happiness, but there should be an underlying reason in an individual’s life to achieve that happiness. Happiness without meaning is not a good life. Meaning without happiness is not a good life either. A good lie is a purposeful life; the purposefulness in life produces happiness.

Works Cited:

MITH, EMILY ESFAHANI. "There's More to Life Than Being Happy." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2016.

Preston, Douglas. "I Took the Dalai Lama to a Ski Resort and He Told Me the Meaning of Life." N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2016.