Living a Great Life — A Choice, Not a Necessity

It’s an age-old question: what do you want most in life? The majority of people would say they want to be happy. Although you can’t control your genetic makeup, there are still things you can do each day to foster your own happiness. Living in a place where you belong, connected to people you love, doing fulfilling work, and pursuing it all with a sense of purpose are known to bring about happiness.

My philosophy for living a satisfying life consists of surrounding myself with people I want to be with — people of high quality. I’m extremely lucky to have an amazing family, who have always supported me throughout my entire life. I’m also really fortunate to have a really close group of friends at school. We really enjoy each other’s company, and we help each other out when we need to. We truly see each other for who we are on the inside.

Although friends and family are great, I find it important to balance my life between social encounters and a process known as “flow”, or activities which help me experience being in the zone (getting lost in what I’m doing). Cycling, art, and running are just a few of the things which put me in “flow” mode. In the documentary “Happy”, a free spirit from Brazil talks about how he finds his flow through surfing. Similarly to riding my bike, riding the waves allows him be present and keeps him from worrying about the small stuff.

Lastly, I believe we must actively focus on becoming a happier person. We should keep in mind the things that we are grateful for, and appreciate what we already have rather than fixating on what we don’t have.

While all these aspects have and will continue to allow me to live a great life, living the good life can mean something different for everyone. Though there is a general understanding as to what it takes to live a rich life for most human beings in the modern world, it is not necessary for everyone to follow these “check-boxes”. It is a man’s choice to decide what he wants to do with his life. In fact, one must not impose onto others their ideology on how to live a great life. People will automatically adjust the way they spend their time based on what satiates them. One should make informed decisions as to what he does (ex. must know the consequences of taking drugs) but society should not interfere with his course of action. A man has the right to harm himself if he wishes to, and it would be morally wrong to take that freedom away from him.