Money Does Not Guarantee Happiness free essay sample

Possessing an enormous sum of money and fortune has become one of many people’s main goals and ultimate purpose in life, especially the younger generations, regardless their nationality. Many are convinced throughout their lives that happiness can be bought with the existence money. But does possessing a large fortune and being loaded really bring happiness to one’s life? To answer this question, one should know the meaning of the words ‘happiness’ and ‘money’. As quoted by the legendary Mahatma Ghandi, â€Å"Happiness is what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony†. A famous philosopher named Aristotle also quoted, â€Å"Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence. † The word ‘happiness’ itself is very hard to define as it has a different meaning in different context. Different people have different interpretations of what happiness means to them. In general, ‘happiness’ is success in life. We will write a custom essay sample on Money Does Not Guarantee Happiness or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Success in life cannot always be measured in material wise. It is achieved when one is satisfied with the achievements made, feeling at ease with his current life and enjoying life to the fullest. Most people dont spend much time wondering what money is. Their major concern is how much money they have, and how to get more. Money isnt just pieces of paper. It is a type of medium of exchange in transactions. Some people argue that without wealth you cannot be happy. Money can’t buy happiness directly as money alone does not guarantee happiness. In this written assignment, there will be some arguments supporting the statement ‘Money does not guarantee happiness’ and further clarifications on the statement. Arguments Lately there have been numerous articles written in the newspapers and magazines relating to the way how the rich and powerful live their lives. At first, it was a shock the whole world when articles are written about them taking drugs, being rehabilitated and some even took their own lives away. But nowadays, these types of news don’t really bother anyone anymore as it is a cliche already. It is now crystal clear that having thick wallets and many digits in their bank accounts does not guarantee one’s happiness in life. These could be seen when entertainers such as the beautiful and talented Lindsay Lohan was caught taking drugs. There are a few setbacks having a huge pile of money. These setbacks are the reasons why money does not guarantee happiness even if it could lead to happiness. Money cannot buy you everything Money turns people into materialistic creatures. Life consists of many important things that cannot be bought. For instance, you can purchase the best medicines and treatments, yet you cannot buy health. In this era of civilization, money can buy you fame and also a life. But there’s one thing in life that does not have a price tag to it and that is happiness. Happiness is not something that can be bought, but it is something that comes from within our heart and soul. Money does bring certain amount of happiness but the type of happiness won’t last. Money can’t buy happiness, but it will go a long way in helping you find happiness. As Easterlin puts it: â€Å"The problem is we dont realize that our material wants increase with the amount of money we make. †. Money brings â€Å"happiness† only up to a certain level that will end once it is over used. Money can never buy you love, family, and true friends which are the keys to happiness. Money can lead to more stress Stress is the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure. It isn’t a disease. But if stress is intense and goes on for some time, it can lead to mental and physical ill health. Money and reputation always seem to dangle just outside of our reach, encouraging us to lean farther and farther over the edge, to study longer and longer, to work harder and harder. Life satisfaction is affected by salary and income, but only to a certain degree. The huge pay check you receive from your job may not buy you much happiness. Of course with your big income, you could buy a huge house and also a few classy vehicles. Having a large sum of money provide us some sense of security. And security is very desirable. People with money dont of course need to worry about their bill payments, but they often have significant sums of money invested and frequently needs to look out for their fortune and the rise and fall of the world stock markets and money value. Having a lot of money makes you more stressed out because you become worried about ow to manage, preserve, and grow the money. This is because once you have something you are afraid of losing it, but if you don’t have anything at all, there is no fear of losing it. To earn more money, people have to work very hard to finance their family. People nowadays end up doing jobs they despise, just for the sake of the thick pay check, working unbelievable hours and doing something they have no interest in. Higher salary equals to more responsibilities and more working hours per day. If responsibility and demands become too much, they can lead to work-related stress. The more responsibility you bare, the more stressful you are. These type of people were so busy living their lives in pursuit of something larger than themselves that they had no time to wonder, Am I happy? Money decreases the pleasures in life Usually a rich person will cut off most of his personal relationships as most of his time is spend to seek for money till he forgets to spend some quality time with others. Rich people also tend to splurge on lavish and extravagant items till they often forget how to enjoy the simple things in life. When you consume a luxury every day, it’s not a luxury any more. A super caramel triple-shot cappuccino with whipped cream and sprinkles is a luxury when you drink it once a month, making a little ritual out of it, sitting at your favourite table in the coffee shop and drinking in tiny sips with your eyes closed. If you do it every morning on your way to work, it’s just caffeine and calories. When a pleasure becomes ordinary, one tends to seek more and more sensation, something more and more luxurious till it gives the same payoff and satisfaction. People who earn more money dont spend their time enjoying themselves, they spend their time at work, in activities likely to cause them more stress and tension. This may be because of the focusing illusion. When people think about earning more money they probably imagine they would use the money on recreational activities. In fact, to earn the money, they have to spend more time at work, and commuting to and from work. Money invites pretentious group of people to come closer Owning a truck-load of money comes with a large of package. We often hear that lottery millionaires saying everyone suddenly love them once they hit the jackpot but in reality, those people only love their money. Spreading the word about one’s fortune could carry some negative consequences in relation to the people in the social network with the individual. Namely, if people love your money and not yourself, the closeness between you cant be genuine. Money can certainly not buy you friends or trust or relationships. Money creates a mirage of relationship with others that only leaves you dissatisfied because you didn’t have the interactions before you had the money. Rich people will never know for sure who their true friends are, and theyll always wonder. They might also have to spend the rest of their lives watching out for the huge numbers of pretenders who are just aiming for their money. Money makes you compare yourself with others The second reason why more money does not bring more happiness is the problem of rivalry. Since most everyone will likely find a relative, friend or an acquaintance making more money than them, they will certainly take it as a challenge and will do whatever it takes to earn more money than that individual. A great fortune means nothing if nobody knows about it. A research study made by Glenn Firebaugh, a sociologist at Pennsylvania State University in University Park and Laura Tach, a sociology graduate student at Harvard University supports this argument. Many think having a high position on the occupation ladder which obviously earns you bigger income, gains you more respect and will increase your level of happiness. Nowadays all adults are seemed to be bombarded with questions on what their careers are and the reason why these types of questions are often asked is because people are constantly comparing themselves with each other. When a child is born, parents tend to train their children that they have to become someone big and successful. Parents will try to scare their children by pointing out that some poor people who don’t have money are dying from hunger, some have no home to live. From that a fear, arise a conclusion in their minds that they will end up that way if they don’t have a lot of money. ? ? Conclusion As a whole, it is now proven that money does not guarantee one’s happiness. Despite money contributing to one’s happiness, money cannot buy pure and long term happiness. Acquiring money and status makes we feel satisfied with life. We convince ourselves that satisfaction equals to happiness. Unfortunately it doesnt. Even though rich people appear to have everything, they are left feeling that something is missing, but are unable to identify what that thing is. Obviously, money can fill up your belly and keep you dry when it rains, but money can certainly not fill up the emptiness in your heart. Being a truly happy person comes from within oneself as no amount of materialism and money in the world can grant you that feeling. Money can’t buy true happiness because happiness comes from within you, not from anyone or from anything else. Also, money can’t buy happiness because life really isn’t about who has the fastest car, the most money, the fanciest house, or other material things. Money does and can buy happiness but only for a short term of time, so it does not count as pure happiness. In short, money only gives one an illusion of security and satisfaction, and most of the time people tend to interpret this as happiness, but it isnt. Money can’t buy happiness directly but it is certainly one of the factors contributing to one’s happiness thus money alone does not guarantee happiness.

The meaning of the great Gatsby essays

The meaning of the great Gatsby essays What is the great Gatsby really about? This is a question that has many solutions, depending in the view of the reader. This novel contains various characters that differ in their life style and perspective. Due to this reason, many points of views are conveyed by this novel that one might accept as the themes. One of the themes that can occur in the readers mind is vision. The authors imagination is primarily visual; he shows interest in the looking going on through out the novel. Another theme projected in this novel is time. the novel displays a search for happiness by looking into the past. Finally, the last theme that will be discussed is the dreams. All of these themes hold a certain level of authority throughout the novel. the dreams take priority over both, vision and time. The vision discussed throughout the novel is not by any means what this novel is really about. It is rather a natural gesture expressed by several characters by using the gift of sight. Many times in the novel vision lead to misconception, one example is when Mytrle saw Jordan in the passenger seat next to Tom and had mistaken her for his wife. Incidents similar to this one occur throughout the play which contribute to the setting but do not describe the meaning of the novel. Actually the great Gatsby is a reflection of many dreams. Gatsby for example does not admire reality; as a result he changed his original identity. He also shapes the world in a way to satisfy his own desire, throws big parties to gain the sense of liveliness and chases an ideal happiness. In other words he chases a dream. Gatsby himself admits that he had paid the price of chasing a single dream for too long. However, the cause of his fall is not having the wrong dream; he falls because his dream is too n arrowly focused. Furthermore, Nick himself happens to be the character in the novel most obsessed with dreamin...

E-Business (For Information Technology class) Essay

E-Business (For Information Technology class) - Essay Example The bank's mission is to provide value added services to its customers in an efficient, timely, robust and reliable manner. It strives to become the bank of choice for its customers around the country. In order to achieve its mission objectives the bank needs to implement information technology bases systems to upgrade its current manual system which is tardy, slow, non-responsive and unreliable. This report is developed with a view to establish a framework for strategic IT direction for the bank. In addition, the rationale, extent, and timelines for implementing the information systems and technology within the bank have been identified and discussed. The purpose of the report is to establish a strategic plan for IT for the bank, to apprise higher management with the benefits and the value addition that IT provides to the business, the contemporary approaches to implementing IT based systems in financial industry and to provide recommendations customized to ABC Bank's operations. The report begins with an introduction of E-Business, describing the key areas and applications that this term covers; it then provides an insight into the latest IT trends in businesses; specifically banks around the globe. It is then followed up with the current issues and strategies that the businesses are adopting and dealing with in order to provide state of the art services to stakeholders. Suitable e-business systems are identified for the bank and recommendations are provided for IT managers to develop, acquire and implement e-business solutions. A tentative timeline for each strategic proposed solution is also provided. 3. BACKGROUND E-Business or Electronic Business, a termed introduced by Lou Gerstner (CEO of IBM), is defined as a business process that relies on automated information systems to function (Wikipedia.org, 2007). E-business is not just e-commerce, a technique for establishing and maintaining relationships with customers and suppliers online and over the internet; rather an e-business system spans over the entire value chain of the organization. It integrates the internal and external processes of the business. E-business applications can be generally divided into three categories namely (Wikipedia.org, 2007): Internal business systems (customer relationship management, enterprise resource planning, document management system, and human resource management); Enterprise communication and collaboration (VoIP - Voice Over IP, content management system, email, voice mail, web conferencing); and Electronic commerce (online marketing, internet shop, open catalog, supply chain management) The use of e-business techniques and applications allow the organizations, an ability to track resources, log expenses and revenues for proper

Performance Appraisals and Reviews Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Performance Appraisals and Reviews - Term Paper Example The workers are aware of what is expected of them and hence work towards fulfilling their expectations. Since annual appraisal are involving and time consuming for managers, they arrange to carry out surveys or reviews on a regular basis in order to simplify the annual appraisal process (Arthur, 2008).All members of the organization are subject to appraisal if the organization has to achieve its vision and mission and improved performance. Communication is vital in carrying out performance appraisal. The management discusses with the employees regarding their performance and areas that require assistance and also involve them in designing appraisal forms. Conducting annual salary reviews which coincide with performance appraisals have been criticized by many scholars but Chapman (2011) argues that using annual performance appraisal as the basis for salary review enables the firm to plan its finances for the next budget year. When carrying out performance appraisal, the managers shoul d ensure that the mode of appraisal is in line with the employment laws which prohibit all kinds of employment discrimination. For the employees to trust and accept the results the method used should be consistent; ‘same employee classifications should be evaluated based on the same criteria’ (Arthur, 2008). ... Procedure for Carrying out Performance Appraisal Proper planning and execution of staff appraisal ensures effectiveness, reliability and validity of the results. It also ensures acceptability by the appraisees hence commitment to achieve the set objectives. Involving staff in every step of the process is vital to ensure a feeling of ownership and commitment. The appraiser and appraisee prepare all the materials required for the appraisal such as past appraisal documents and achievement records. The appraisal form is designed by HR department or through collaboration with those being appraised and with the approval by management. Understanding the appraisal form by the appraiser and appraisee is vital in simplifying the process (Bohlander & Snell, 2010). The items to be discussed are sequenced and encompass all aspects of staff development. Self-assessment forms are given in advance for staff to appraise themselves by filling the forms. The next step is to clarify the purpose of the a ppraisal and the method to be used. The appraisee is informed on the date of appraisal and the venue and given ample time to prepare his/her own records. The venue should be carefully chosen in a private and quiet atmosphere for discussion. The layout of the room and sitting arrangement affects the behavior of the person being appraised. It is thus advisable to set the room in a relaxed atmosphere to reduce tension. Bacal (2003) argues that the managers should choose appropriate sitting position such as at a round table for more informal discussion and relaxed atmosphere. The introduction stage is vital in determining failure or success of the process. If the appraiser begins by criticizing the appraisee, he/she may feel uncomfortable and may lose interest

The Half Brothers Essay Example for Free

The Half Brothers Essay The two short stories The Half Brothers and News of the Engagement differ in terms of tone and emotional feeling between a mother and son and the authors portray this in different ways, however they both use the theme of widows and marriage. News of the Engagement differs from The Half Brothers in many ways. The author in News of the Engagement uses a completely different tone to the other short story. Its tone is slightly humorous and self-mocking. The mother states, Thats Mrs Dawsons new servant, but she neednt think Im going to lend her my best, because Im not. I shouldnt if I were you I supported her. This shows a short of kind and loving bond between the mother and son, at the same time with a sense of happiness about them. There is also a sense of intimacy and shared experience between them. The relationship between the mother and son in News of the Engagement is also very open and nothing is kept from each other. The son discusses, She knew all my friends by name. This shows that they never kept anything from each other. However it also shows that the mother was protective, as she knew of everybody that her son mixed with, inferring that as a mother she felt it was important that she protected her son. The relationship between the mother and son from the outside seems perfect and faultless. However it really is not like that. Even though the mother and son think that they know everything about each other they really do not. The son notes, I was all that my mother had. This shows that the son felt that all his mother had was him and that she had no other feeling for anybody else, but really she did. He did not believe that she would be able to love somebody ever again, because of what she had been through in the past, but he forgot that she was also a human who could have feelings for other people as well. It shows that he is self-centred and unconcerned with his mothers feelings. The son declares, I liked Mr Nixon, but I was not too well pleased by this information, for I wanted to talk confidentially to my mother. This is a great example of the son being completely self-centred. The thought that his mum may have had something to tell him important did not even cross his mind. The love between the mother and son is very clear in News of the Engagement. The son states, I said nothing about my own engagement that night. I had never thought of my mother as a woman with a future. I had never realised that she was desirable, and that a man might desire her and that her lonely existence in that house was not all that she had the right to demand from life. This shows that even though the son is selfish and self-centred and did not believe, up until now, that his mother had a life to live, he still does not mention anything about his engagement. This is because he would rather let his mother be the woman of the moment, instead of him spoiling it with his news. This shows the great love he has for his mother. The tone of The Half Brothers is completely different to the one of News of the Engagement. It is very sad, regretful, remorseful and confessional. The little sister dies very early in the story, which basically sets the tone for the rest of the story. The relationship between the mother and the son was one of true love. The son does not really know his mother, because she died so early in his life but it is clear that there is a very loving feeling between them. We know that the love between the son and the mother is so great, because he gives up his life so that he can see her. This also shows the strong bond between the mother and son and their his willingness to do anything in his power to see his mother. One night Gregorys half brother does not return from an errand of his fathers and Gregory goes out onto the moors to find him. He does so and gives up his own life in order to save his half brother. All this was done out of love for his mother and brother. Gregory was thought to be the idiot in his family and his mother was the only person who loved him. This is something that brought him and his mother even closer, because he was not liked by anybody else apart from his mother and Adam the shepherd, however Adam the shepherd was not someone he could turn to in a serious crisis. When his mother died his love grew even more towards his mother. Overall I feel that the two short stories have some similarities in the way the author writes about the theme of mothers and sons, but there are also many differences between them both. In News of the Engagement the author portrays the theme of mother and sons with a slight sense of humour and in The Half Brothers the author portrays the theme of mothers and sons on a sad and more serious note. The tones of the two stories are also very different, because News of the Engagement has a lighthearted tone, whereas The Half Brothers has a sombre melancholy and remorseful tone. They both show the tremendous love between the mothers and sons, which is something that can be recognised between nearly every mother and son. In both of the short stories the mothers are widows and get married again. However in News of the Engagement the mother marries a man out of free will and in The Half Brothers the mother is forced into marriage, because of her poor financial situation. This would have affected the sons in different ways. The son in News of the Engagement was brought up by his mother and the son in The Half Brothers was brought up by his father. Overall the two short stories do deal with the theme of mothers and sons, but mainly in very different ways.

Electronic Resources for Nineteenth Century Studies :: Electronics Education Essays

Electronic Resources for Nineteenth Century Studies Electronic resources in nineteenth century studies (and the humanities generally) might best be described at the moment in terms of promise and peril. I say "at the moment" because, as we all know, any statement about electronic texts that is true today may be false tomorrow. I say "promise' because, as we also know, electronic media are promising wonders that could only have been dreamed of five years ago: searchable databases of an almost inexhaustible size and variety, immediate access to colleagues and scholars around the world; webs of content, context, and hyper linked materials that connect to an almost dizzying array of information; multimedia wonders of text, image, and audio files for classroom and scholarly use. I say "peril," because as we are increasingly coming to understand, these technological wonders arrive only with several crucial caveats: Internet addresses can be here today and gone tomorrow, CD ROMs and complex Web sites are astonishingly time consuming and cost ly to produce, proprietary interests are starting to use finance as a means of controlling access to information, and hardware is developing so quickly that the septium or octium chip can only be a matter of months in the future (unless all of our desktops are replaced by Java driven hollow boxes). We have reached an important moment in scholarly and pedagogical history when these developments should neither be embraced uncritically nor ignored. I would like to take this opportunity to review a number of current electronic resources in the humanities, with nods toward other hypertexts, as a means of assessing not only the ways that these new technologies may alter our work in the coming years but also the way they may already be altering our understanding of what information is, where it comes from, and how it is transmitted. While students and scholars can currently say, "look, I have instant access to material that would have taken me months to gather in the past," they are also forced to ask two important related questions: "how accurate is this information?" and "who are the authors of this material if it was gathered or drafted by a committee, edited by other individuals, coded and linked by still others, published by a complex consortia of interests, and then subject to ongoing and immediate modifications (in the case of Web resources at least)?" Academic research and teaching will undoubtedly alter in unimaginable way s as a result of emerging technologies.

Lights and Sounds Museum Essay

When I first heard of the Lights and Sounds Museum, I thought I was just going to watch an ordinary show about the making of Intramuros. But when I entered a big room, standing, and with lights all turned off, I felt I was up for something more exciting that day. The Lights and Sounds Museum wasn’t just a museum, it was an experience center! A diorama of one of the battles fought between the Filipinos and the Spaniards. The museum was divided into different rooms. Each one of them is depicting some of the highlights of the Philippine history. It has dioramas- moving replicas of people and objects placed in scenes that tell the remarkable stories of the Philippines’ past. Statues of the different Filipino heroes were placed inside the Lights and Sounds Museum. Each scene is to be â€Å"experienced† one by one. It is dramatically narrated by a voice over with some background music. The lights are also in place to direct the attention of the audience to the main characters. A tour facilitator is also present to lead the audience from one room to another. We were brought to Europe inside the Lights and Sounds Museum and experienced the life of Jose Rizal and his fellow Filipinos when they were there. The life of Jose Rizal was one of the highlights in the Lights and Sound Museum. It was an instant trip to Europe when we were brought by the tour facilitator to Jose Rizal’s life in Spain and Germany. The publishing of La Solidaridad. We were able to â€Å"experience† the national hero’s life through the images being depicted in the dioramas. The dioramas were not anymore at their best conditions today but I still enjoyed the entire show, nonetheless. The different characters from Noli Me Tangere. There was even a room showcasing the characters of Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. It was nice to go back once again to the novels written by Jose Rizal. This time, with life-size dioramas and dramatic narrations. The friars warned the Filipinos about reading Rizal’s novels. The Lights and Sounds Museum was a project of the former Tourism Secretary, Richard Gordon. The aim of the museum is to retell the history of the Philippines to local and foreign visitors in an interactive and fun setting. The building of Intramuros. Another highlight of the show is the story of how Intramuros, the Walled City, was built. This topic wasn’t discussed that much during my classes in history in high school and college. The Filipinos weren’t allowed to enter inside Intramuros- except the slaves. Because of the Lights and Sounds Museum, I have learned that ordinary Filipinos- except the special guests and the slaves- weren’t allowed to enter the walls of Intramuros back then. It was exclusive to the Spaniards- the government officials, the friars and their guests. It was also said that the Spaniards made it a very happy place. Spaniards held feasts inside it every now and then, leaving the Filipinos outside hungry and oppressed. A diorama of Jose Rizal when he was imprisoned in Fort Santiago. Lights and Sounds Museum is located at Sta. Lucia cor. Victoria Sts. The tour requires a minimum fee of PhP 1,000 per tour. The first show starts at 10:00 AM and the last show at 6:00 PM. For reservations or inquiries, you may contact (02) 524 2827.