I’ve just started to read what looks like it could be an interesting book, Happiness by Ed Diener and Robert Biswas-Diener. In the opening pages they talk about happiness being a journey rather than an achievement.
However what most caught my attention was a question they asked in it, which I thought was such a great way of clarifying the point that I thought I should share it with you and it might provide a good basis for a discussion. Here it is;
A hypothetical Genie appears out of the blue and offers you the chance to have every wish granted immediately you wished it. However you cannot wish for abstract things like happiness or love. Nor can you wish to work for them or to end the arrangement. It’s just a straightforward one time offer, you want a thing and get it. Gold, cars, physical beauty, anything you want.
The question is will you take the Genie up on his (or lest anyone think I’m sexist) her offer?
Or is the struggle and striving the critical ingredient for happiness?
Share your reasoning in the comments below;
Update
As I’m reading the comments it seems that many people are working on the assumption that you get one wish. Reading what I’ve written I can see this comes because I confused things by saying it was a one time offer. Let me clarify this statement.
The offer is that you get unlimited wishes. However if you take the Genie up on her (his) offer, there’s no chance of cancelling.
In other words you will get everything you wish for, immediately and can never work for anything.
Yes, I would wish for untold limits of gold, then cash it in and spread the resulting happiness that the cash could bring, giving it to those with little or no cash behind them. I’m thinking of charities that work so hard, for so little, yet make such a difference to people’s life, just as we do.
The rest would be invested to ensure many more get their share
To clarify my post..I have faced many obstacles in my past, life threatening illness, accident and also sexually abused/raped as a child, so I make my own happiness, but if I was had the wishes, I would still again for what i said above, because it would bring untold happiness to so many people, and that would spread further happiness around the world
Steve
I will take it for sure. Imagine for example if I want to go in a poor country and help the needy, I could ask the Genie for clothes, food, water, toys, money to buy all the things that they need to survive, to build the houses, schools, etc for them to live a better life. You give them a chance to start living their life, for them to be happy and that will make me really happy. I would definitely do it and I will be more than happy to take the Genie with me all over the world so we can fight starvetion and poverty. Thank you Genie!
I would wish much money,causeI really need it.I have so many problems that I can resolve them with the help of money.
I wouldn’t take it up, I’ve thought long and hard about this question after reading it and concluded that it wouldn’t be everything it appears.
I would love to be physically beautiful, but if I could change my appearance, would that not change my personality? And by being beautiful would that not make me insecure about all the other problems? Being physically beautiful in the eye of one person may not make me beautiful to another.
If I could wish for unlimited gold or money… life would eventually have less meaning… I holiday wouldn’t bring weeks of excitement and enthusiasm, Christmas would lose its meaning because the presents I could afford to buy and receive would become more important.
For me, Guarenteed health and love is enough for a successful trail to discovering the meaning of happiness. Not just falling in love and being in love, but love from family, friends and a wide circuit of support.
I do not think Genie can make me happy by giving me gold, money, beauty etc – my only wish is to live and my life with my SOULMATE and I know nobody can grant my wish! Life is full of enjoyment, happiness and laughter only when you are with him/her and nothing else matters!!
I don’t know it is hard to say if I would or not because my heart’s desire is to be with my high school sweetheart. I connected with him a little over two years ago and the struggles we have shared being long distant from each other actually have caused us to appreciate each other more. I had a lot of healing to do and have my school to finish so I can be a viable and responsible party in the relationship. Though I know we connect in every way to just wish him into my life then the learning of each other over these last two years would not of taken place and maybe if it was so instant we wouldn’t appreciate each other as much. Now, hmmmm? Money that is the one thing I would like to wish for and get, but then again the creative process suffers in ways. I probably would not take the genie up on their offer though I would at first be tempted.
I would wish for a very large apartment complex for all the homeless people in my community to live in, so they could regain some self eteem, have an address which would help them find employment. Hoping they could make a self contained community for all members living there. Learning to work together to build new lives for themselves and find some happiness within.
I am not sure whether I would take the Genie or not. I think challenges and obstacules are what make us who we are, and if we can have everything granted, then there is no point. I agree that we can help people through rough times with money, but some of the great leaders of our world, were who they were because of the financial and emotional difficulties they faced. Of course I would like to have a bit more money than I currently have, but nnot unlimited as offered by the Genie. Some of the most valuable things in our personal lives we need to fight for!
It doesn’t matter what you consider the wanted way of happiness, some consider it in materialistic this but in my opinion we should think of actuall way of happiness, because it is not sure we get happiness with lot of money but if God give us happiness throughout our life its never dependable only for materialistic things. So we should need to focus on real feelings.
Regards.
i will rather tell the genie dat actually not all that she had to offer to me can take all the grieves out of me but with litle understanding and time its gonna be over.because i will rather like to live my life to the fullest.thanks
I would surely ask for more power & more time to help in removing STRESS from this world or else I can even help her getting rid of stress if at all he / she has.
Thanks & best regards.
I think I would reject the offer from the Genie.
If you never have to work for anything you’d soon start to feel a void in your life. Often the things I value most in life have been things that I’ve had to work hard to achieve or save up for over a long period of time. However things that have come easy, even if they’re of greater monetary value, are not held so dearly to me personally.
However, you mentioned that you could have things like beauty. So if you could have confidence I would take that. Confidence to face challenges and know you will succeed is of far greater value than physical things.
Pat
Suffolk Wedding Photography
I would never take a wish where I could have everything I wished for. You would be recieving the things in life that really don’t count. Most important are love, trust and pride in your accomplishment and who you really are. If all you have is material things you really have nothing. Debbie
the only thing thats makes me happy is Jesus, maybe u all should try him u might be surprised……..