1. There’s More to Life Than Being Happy

Background: This article illustrates the difference between the average Americans happy life differs from a meaningful life. Most American people who have a “happy” life have been classified as selfish people. Others classified as those with a meaningful life are the givers, their sole purpose in life is to make others happy, but do they gain happiness through that?

How I used it:  I took the differences of a giver and a taker and used them to counter argue the difference between happiness and meaningfulness. Many people do not understand the differences these two qualities can have. Being selfish in life should not be the reason a person is living a happy life. I used this article to support the fact that what a person gives in life is what they receive from life.

2. The how of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want

Background: This article shows the in’s and out’s of the meanings and mysteries of happiness. Happiness can portray in different ways through different people. The article expresses the differences in happiness and how it varies year-to-year and person-to-person.

How I used it: I used this article in my paper by showing how different people define happiness in different ways. Happiness has changed in meaning generation to generation; some may even classify happiness as a fad. I wanted to express happiness from a scientific view and this article has helped me do so.

3. New Developments in the Meaning of Life

Background: This article classifies what, if anything makes a persons life meaningful. Positions on the meaning of life can vary strongly from study to study and from person to person. Critical questions should be asked when thinking about the meaning of life.

How I used it: I incorporated this into my paper by using key points throughout the article classifying the meaning of life. Another way to word this would be how a person’s life has meaning and or why.

4. Meaningfulness and Time

Background: In this article they discuss the meaning of life in relation to time, emotions, and the situation in which things happen. All of these aspects have a large impact on the meaningfulness of different things that happen at different times.

How I used it: I added this post to help my readers understand how different aspects affect how different events in ones life are remembered and how much meaning they have. Throughout my paper I discuss how important meaning is in ones life. This article has helped me describe why some things mean what they mean as opposed to others.

5. Wealth and Happiness

Background: This article demonstrates how wealth correlates to a person’s happiness. Wealth is a large aspect of the happiness of many Americans. People depend on money in order to stay happy but this is not the way it should be. When money is involved the happiness becomes selfish and is not genuine.

How I used it: I used this article by showing how selfish people with a “happy” life could be. These are the people I have mentioned earlier, the takers. Being a taker is not the way to a happy life. Material things are only temporary and are a tell tale sign of a shallow and selfish person. This article also backs up the numerous mentions of the Real Housewives of Atlanta showing the selfishness one obtains when living a life devoted to material objects and appearance.

6. Is a Happy Life Different from a Meaningful One?

Background: There are five crucial differences between a happy life and a meaningful one. These five aspects are easily seen when looking at a person who lives a happy life opposed to a person who lives a meaningful life. The study that was conducted basically proves in multiple ways that living a meaningful like is better and more fulfilling then living a happy life. Through multiple research techniques a meaningful life is proven to have more significance.

How I used it: I used this information to show that a happy life has less value then that of a meaningful life. Those who live a happy life are takers and are never actually fully satisfied with the way their lives turned out. Those who experience a meaningful life have a deeper appreciation for life itself and the aspects that truly fill it. They do not only care about themselves pleasing themselves, but more importantly making meaningful attributions to the world that will satisfy them and make everlasting memories. These five differences shown in the study of a meaningful vs. a happy life have helped express this.

7. Why a meaningful life is more fulfilling than a happy one

Background: The idea of happiness is when a desired need is met. When this need is met our happiness levels increase. Why is such an increase coming from material objects and selfish qualities? Why do these things make people happy? Those who live happy lives are the ones who’s joy comes from outside objects they may gain or that are handed to them, no work involved, no achievement. Those who live meaningful lives are the ones who gain happiness from giving to others, giving back to the community, helping out; earning the things they yearn for.

How I used it: In relation to my paper this article has a great importance. It step by step by step goes through the reasoning’s of why a meaningful life is more fulfilling and satisfying then a happy life. I have used these facts to support claims made in other articles about meaningful lives and their great importance.

8. Do you want a meaningful or a happy life?

Background: This article goes into detail about how the meanings of a happy and a meaningful life may sometimes overlap in some people’s minds. This article also goes through five large differences between meaning and happiness. Factors such as getting what you want verses getting what you need, and also time management play a large role in portraying the differences.

How I used it: I used this as support for unanswered claims that ask whether a happy life or a meaningful life is more purposeful. These five major differences have helped those that are confused differentiate between the values of these two different lifestyles.

9. A Meaningful life is more important than a happy one

Background: The aspects that give a persons life meaning are ultimately more important then those that make a persons life happy. This article describes why a life with meaning is greater then a life just filled with artificial happiness.

How I used it: I used this to support my claim of why a meaningful life is more important then a happy one and why artificial things rarely make great memories. You can have all the objects in the world but at the end of the day you wont remember anything but what you once had, and you will have nothing substantial to show for it and no lessons learned.

10.The Pursuit of Meaningfulness in Life

Background: Meaning is connection, used for bringing two things that may be extremely separate together as one for a purpose. There is always a common goal. The reality of meaning is that it is nonphysical which sets it aside from the selfish, superficial lifestyle of materialism.

How I used it: In my paper it was very important to me that the idea of meaning was fully understood. There are many different ways someone can interpret the idea of “meaning” in someone’s life. In actuality this article helped me show that there is such a large difference between a shiny new object that makes someone “happy” and the warmth you feel inside when a goal is reached, a memory is made, and you feel like you have contributed something back to the world.