The Importance of Happiness in Super-Aging
Are you
happy or unhappy? If you are not happy, then why not?
Why is
happiness important? It plays a pivotal part in the art
of living well? The mind plays a critical role in shaping your
personality, which is responsible for your happiness or unhappiness. In other
words, your personality is all your own thinking, just as Descartes,
the famous French philosopher, once said: “I think; therefore I am.”
Erik Erikson, the famous
psychologist, also stated that the evolution of our personality is affected by
different life stages of changes and experiences we have gone through,
resulting in who and what we have now become. Understanding those life stages
may help us understand how we have become happy or unhappy.
Trust and Mistrust
In this first stage, from birth to age one, we may
experience and develop trust or mistrust that affects how we
feel about the benevolence of the world around us.
In the toddler stage, we begin to develop our
self-trust, which leads to independence. With self-trust, we begin to
learn how to walk. In this stage, however, we may also develop self-doubt that
leads to shame later in life. This may be the underlying cause of failing to
take risks in later life, missing some golden opportunities to improve our
lives, and thus making us feel unhappy and unfulfilled.
Creativity and Guilt
In preschool years, we begin to exercise our minds to acquire
initiative and express creativity. The capability to express freely our
initiative and creativity helps us develop the playful and positive side of our
nature. Under restraint, on the other hand, we may develop guilt, lack of
self-confidence, and inability to get close to others.
Industry and Inferiority
From age five to eleven, we experience fulfillment in
accomplishment or disappointment in failure. This is often a result of
acquiring our society’s work ethics. We begin to believe in our abilities and
feel motivated to work hard. On the other hand, if we become lazy, we develop
poor work habits that may adversely affect our careers later in life.
Identity and Diffusion
In adolescent, we begin to explore ourselves, finding out who
we are and what we want out of life. We may channel our energy into a field we
love, and derive pleasure from seeing what we have accomplished. This growth in
our sense of self determines whether or not we have an “identity crisis.”
Intimacy and Withdrawal
In early adulthood, we develop intimacy, which is a quality
of an individual, and not the couple. The ability to develop and maintain a
long-term relationship is an asset. However, many of us may experience
difficulty in achieving closeness with others, or even maintaining a
long-lasting relationship, resulting in inner loneliness that causes us to
doubt even our own remarkable accomplishments in life.
Compassion and Selfishness
In middle age, we become more connected to future
generations, as evidenced by being parents, mentors, and supervisors. However,
we may also become self-focusing, alienating ourselves from the next
generation, and thus creating the “generation gap.”
Ego and Despair
In old age, by letting go of the ego, we accept both our
successes and failures, and thus have a healthy perspective on life. However,
we may also look back at our own past experiences and the world in general with
disdain and regret, and thus we become despaired and unhappy.
Remember,
nothing is set in stone. Even if you have formed your own personality over the
years, you can still change it to make you become a better and happier person
if you have the wisdom and the know-how.
Be A Better And Happier You
With Tao Wisdom is a 132-page book based on the profound human
wisdom expressed in “Tao Te Ching” written by Lao Tzu, an ancient
sage from China
The Happiness Wisdom: Human happiness or unhappiness is no more than a perception
of the human mind, based on an individual's own life experiences. You think,
and your perceptions then become your "realities"; with profound
wisdom, you can change how your mind processes your perceptions. Change your
mind to change your realities, and live your life as if everything is a
miracle! Your life journey is uniquely yours.
Make your own happiness recipe from the happiness ingredients of ancient
wisdom, conventional wisdom, and spiritual wisdom. Continue your life journey
with your own happiness recipe.
Stephen
Lau
Copyright©
by Stephen Lau
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