"Happy people get a lot of joy from receiving benefits from others while people leading meaningful lives get a lot of joy from giving to others," explained Kathleen Vohs
Some say, that NEGATIVE HAPPINESS define as -- miserable people who love to watch someone fail. Some will gossip stories about you and will put you down and will never be aware of their wrong doings and assume they are right. Some will use your words to destroy you... so determined to PUT YOU DOWN... I think that's just a few understanding about the NEGATIVE HAPPINESS.
I happened to asked few friends on what they think about NEGATIVE HAPPINESS and some don't literally understand what it means, some say -- people bunch of crap! and some say... "perhaps, one feels happiness when there is jealousy, competition and bitterness in ones heart, the feeling you get when that person fails to accomplish things or just simply failed..."
There are probably lot of opinions when you start asking about NEGATIVE HAPPINESS. You must be wondering why I'm into this. How do the happy life and the meaningful life differ? Happiness, they found, is about feeling good. Is it true that people who are happy tend to think that life is easy, when they are in good physical health, and they are able to buy the things that they need and want... WHILE not having enough money decreases how happy and meaningful you consider your life to be, it has a much greater impact on happiness. The happy life is also defined by a lack of stress or worry.
Does it means that transcends the self while happiness is all about giving the self what it wants. I do agree that sometimes, people who have high meaning in their lives are more likely to help others in need whilst some, will probably believe that not helping or being selfish is one of their key to happiness.
In contrast to the other's happiness, the most sensitive part when you help is when you are expecting something in return, OR when you intended to make yourself known as the the kind of giver and get recognitions. Here comes the part where we see the difference between animals and human beings when pursuing happiness..
There are many examples of achieving happiness: Giving a part of yourself away to others and making a sacrifice on behalf of the someone else; In other words, the whole meaning of your life is to be a "kiss ass" talent in order to pursuit your purpose. "using your highest strengths and talents to belong to and serve something you believe is larger than the self." - i've seen when people try to please other people beyond their limits when achieving happiness. (self-happiness). People whose lives have high levels of meaning often actively seek meaning out even when they know it will come at the expense of happiness, maybe because they have invested themselves in something bigger than themselves, they also worry more and have higher levels of stress and anxiety in their lives than happy people.
"Partly what we do as human beings is to take care of others and contribute to others. This makes life meaningful but it does not necessarily make us happy," My friend, Bhea from Sri Lanka shared that when i asked her too..
Meaning its not only about transcending the self, but also about transcending the present moment. While happiness is an emotion felt in the here and now, it ultimately fades away, just as all emotions do; positive affect and feelings of pleasure are fleeting. The amount of time people feeling good or bad correlates with happiness but not at all with meaning.
On the other hand, Happiness is also enduring. It connects the past to the present to the future. Sometimes, we go beyond thinking about the present moment, into the past or future. Is this a sign of the relatively meaningful but unhappy life? Do you think, happiness is not generally found in contemplating the past or future? I really believe that people who thought more about the present are happier BUT people who spent more time thinking about the future or about their BAD SUFFERINGS or STRUGGLES from the past felt more meaning in their lives but they are less happy.
Lastly, when you invest yourself thinking about the negative events happened to you, this will definitely decreases your happiness but will eventually increases the meaning you have in life. THIS combination should not be mix with your sad emotions but instead, will clearly defined your purpose.
Like what Frankl wrote... "If there is meaning in life at all, then there must be meaning in suffering."
“Happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue.” ― <a>Viktor E. Frankl</a>, <a>Man's Search for Meaning</a>
