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7.6
A greater analysis of the concept of happiness
 
  In Chapter 2 of Me we identified a central desire, a central want of most humans to be happy. We also considered the meaning of the word happiness, first in its original meaning as "chance" and then later as "the state of pleasurable content of mind, which results from success or the attainment of what is considered good."  
  Our search to find a means of happiness was one of the central goals we stated in Chapter 2- a means of finding happiness, of finding balance. It may have surprised you and anyone you shared these insights with to find that the original meaning of happiness had more in common with chance.  
  While we moved on, on our search, we did not fully investigate the implications of the definition of happiness as "the state of pleasurable content of mind, which results from success or the attainment of what is considered good."  
7.6.1 Is happiness found in the physical or the mental?  
  Before you started this book, if someone asked you what makes you happy?, you would have probably answered with something that included a physical component, e.g."I like reading", or "I like mountain climbing" or "I like ice cream". If pressed further with the question why?, you would probably have provided more detail of the objects or process involved.  
  It seems certain then that the state of being happy always involves in some physical component.. or does it?  
  Let us look again at the definition of happiness we quoted above, namely: "the state of pleasurable content of mind, which results from success or the attainment of what is considered good."  
  Now let us break this statement down into a step-by step process list:  
  (1) Firstly we must have some image/concept in our mind of what we consider is good. The good is entirely subjective and dependent upon our impression and values. What we might consider is good for us, may be bad for someone else. In any case, this first step of having a pre-conceived goal/desire/value is clearly mind.  
  (2) Next is the physical journey/process whereby we set about to achieve this pre-conceived goal/desire/value. This is clearly physical.  
  (3) Then we reach the point, achieve the goal/desire/value as originally set out by mind. This is the fulfillment. This is a mind process at the end of the physical process.  
  (4) Upon reaching the goal/desire/value and reaching fulfillment as recognized by mind, we then feel a state of pleasurable content of mind. Given this occurs after the physical and after the mental fulfillment- this state we call happiness is an effect- a byproduct of the steps listed in (1), (2) (3).  
  Therefore on saying this we can confidently say that happiness is more mental than physical. Happiness is the effect of pleasure of the mind, that momentary point after we achieve our desire/goal/value, before the next journey.  
7.6.2 The fleeting nature of happiness- pleasure of the mind  
  As anyone would know given the way in which thoughts in the human mind change and flitter, as happiness is an effect , a state of pleasure in the mind, its longevity can only ever be considered momentary. As soon as the mind is distracted, that state of pleasurable content shifts. The state of happiness may change within seconds, or if few distractions are around in a few hours. Inevitably, it passes only to chance a return upon the achievement of our next pre-conceived goals/desires.  
  We now have an understanding of why happiness is so fleeting. It is by nature a fleeting thing, reliant on factors in our own minds.  
 
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