What is happiness?

"Happiness turns out to be an activity of the soul in accordance with virtue." — Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle.

To explain the Stoic view of happiness, I would love to start with a hypothetical situation: You are a Banker, and what you most like is partying. You know your boss won't find out if you steal 20k... and after that, you spend the whole money partying. Are you going to be happy?

Some will say yes. And some will say no. What is the difference between the virtues and your core values? If you don't care at all that the "how?" is morally incorrect, to have some fun... then you will be happy in this situation. But if you do care about the "how" without caring about the output, you will probably feel guilty and unhappy with this situation.

Virtues and Values Matter for Happiness

Yes. I recommend checking out the article The Most Essential Moral Virtues Enhance Happiness for a deep, accurate perspective on why this happens. But my explanation, after researching and trying to deeply understand this topic, is that actions that follow virtue are the root of happiness. Because if your actions are aligned with your virtues, core values, or what you basically stand up for, you will find yourself happy and able to smile.

Pleasure vs. Happiness

But here is the actual truth: those 20k that the banker spends and those affairs that these people had, it's not happiness, it is pleasure. And pleasure can be an enemy of happiness.

Happiness is aligning your actions with what is ethically right, moving forward in your life without hurting other people on purpose, and always standing up for what is actually right.

Happiness is not something you feel in a moment or in a day; it's a way of living.

Conclusion

Do NOT confuse pleasure with happiness. You will be happy as long as you realize you are just a human, you have good days and bad days, and that you always try to do the right thing.

Thanks for reading. Follow for more.

Ignacio Guerrero - Always Impact