The Pursuit Of Happyness

“It was right then that I started thinking about Thomas Jefferson on the Declaration of Independence and the part about our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And I remember thinking how did he know to put the pursuit part in there?” -Will Smith
The first time I watched the pursuit of happyness I did not fully understand what was being said through the title. It was later that God allowed me to see things more clearly. I knew I must start a blog in discussion of the pursuit of happiness. My blog will continue to follow the steps needed to pursue happiness righteously. I began to understand that it is a part of our natural instinct to pursue happiness. The same way we seek to experience physical pleasure and avoid physical pain, we seek emotional pleasure (happiness), and attempt to avoid emotional pain. Our happiness is simply part of human nature. Abraham Maslow, ‘believes when a person is physically comfortable and no longer driven by fear of starving or freezing to death, emotional pleasure becomes a primary pursuit.” You see, happiness becomes the underlying motivator in most of our decisions. However, our pursuit of happiness gets distorted and takes us into the wrong direction at times. It is easy for us to discern between physical sensations of pleasure and pain, emotions are not always as direct. Our minds are layered with beliefs that complicate our sense of enjoyment and pursuit of happiness.
For example, think about shopping for clothes. Unless we are buying a uniform or a necessary item, we generally buy clothes that we believe will enhance our appearance. When we believe that we look attractive, we feel happier. How we look is just a means to improve how we feel emotionally. We make purchases because we feel good, or assume we will feel good with that purchase. The assumed impact on emotions is the principle motivator behind our decisions.