Band 7+: Write about the following topic; Happiness is considered very important in life. Why is it difficult to define? What factors are important in achieving happiness? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Indeed, happiness is vital in one’s life and recognized as an achievement for those able to declare their success. It is only hard to define happiness because every one views it differently. From my perspective happiness is a feeling of absolute fulfillment for small or big achievement of goals.

One of the many factors in achieving satisfaction is finding your purpose. One may feel unsatisfied simply because they have never found that one activity they can do without toiling and achieve an objective perfectly. For example, actors always say “this is my dream and what I was born to do.” This can also be paired with work contentment and financial security. Although one can be happy with the absence of these two factors, they contribute an estimated 80% towards one joy.

Additionally, balance is another determinant for one contentment. This can be explained as one’s ability to reap the benefits of their efforts through enjoying leisure and good health. When a person works, it is important that she/he spends most of their earnings purchasing the things that make him/her fulfilled. These vary depending on the personality of the person. For example, one person may want to pay bride pride and marry using their earnings while another will want decide to buy land and property. Both people will be happy despite the difference in desires and demand.

Lastly, the feeling of gratitude and self-compassion. One can only be happy when they allow themselves to be happy. Many people can not be happy despite of their achievements because they feel they could have done a little better. My father as an example served as personal secretary of the president of the country but was never content with his position and unhappy. He contested for leadership and got a parliamentary seat for ten years and was still unsatisfied. He sold all his property and children’s inheritance to retain the seat but lost. He was not unhappy because of his position in the country but rather at home. For all the years my father was struggling to stay in parliament, my mother was working in the United Nations office and this made him competitive.

I advise that when one finds something they love doing, they should exploit the opportunity to the maximum and achieve happiness.