Header Image

The Right To Be Happy

March 27th, 2010

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Many people attribute the above quote to the US constitution when in fact it comes from the US Declaration of Independence. I am unaware of any other country that fundamentally assures its citizen’s of the right to be happy.

This assumption of a right to strive for happiness is so ingrained in US culture that Americans spent $11 billion in 2008 on self-improvement books, CDs, seminars, coaching and stress-management programs and they are doing their best to export their brand of success, motivation and happiness formulas. But have we equated happiness so much with success and ultimately money that we allow fellow humans to fail to even meet their basic needs? I think we have and I believe because of that happiness will continue to elude many of us.

The question of whether you are happy or not is not really ingrained in human psyche, is it? It appears to be the question we ask when we get comfortable when we have met our basic needs on a consistent basis. When the struggle for survival is the modus operandi, the question of happiness is irrelevant. Survival is the name of the game as with all other creatures, and in order to survive, we strive to obtain our basic needs, thereafter anything else is a bonus. Yes, a bonus, not a right.

Having said that, there is no harm, after having met basic needs, in striving to be much more, but in my opinion, you should be improving yourself as a person and doing your bit for humanity, but not at the expense of others. This is why this blog is about contentment, personal fulfillment rather than happiness.

May you find the balance.

[First published on my Talking2Myself blog on specified date]