How to achieve happiness? Western Success vs. Eastern Enlightenment

neurocoach, PhD in Philology, expert in tastes and flavors

East and West differ not only in their location in space, but also in their worldview. People from different cultures can be in the same space and still be happy or unhappy depending on their attitude and type of thinking.

Sociological and psychological studies show that human happiness is typical and subject to mathematical description. At the same time, there are two main views on happiness.

The Western approach to happiness

This is achievementism or popular in the modern world “successful success”: get an education, make a career, create a family, be an active member of society, launch your online school. At the heart of it all is material well-being.

The Western version measures happiness by intentions, goals, and results. Hence the famous wish marathons, Wishlists, and year-end results. Realized dreams make us feel happy. People look up to each other, imitate and compete, and experience vivid emotions. They feel like they are happy.

As soon as something does not work out, goes wrong or not everything is achieved, a person stops feeling joy and satisfaction from life. There comes a satiety with the things and goods of the world. This often leads to depression and loss of the meaning of life. And really, what else is there to want when everything has been achieved? And that’s when the Eastern approach comes to the rescue.

Eastern approach to happiness

This is the complete opposite of the western version. Here everything is built not on the achievement of material goals, but on the inner state: harmony, spiritualization dan enlightenment.

In the East, happiness is a state of mind, a conversion to the inner world. Everything that is needed is already in a person. This can only be activated by being in union with oneself.

Emotions are calmed with meditations. They help dissolve destructive feelings, stop the incessant train of thought, and harmonize the state.

TheDalai Lama, in addition to this practice, recommends learning to give thanks, replacing hatred with compassion. When we sympathize and help those in need, we notice our contribution to the lives of others. This makes us feel needed and important to the world. When we thank the Universe or God for the simple goods we receive each day, we begin to appreciate what we have. That is, we realize external and internal abundance.

Formula of happiness

If you combine the Western and Eastern approach, both internal and external goals are important for complete happiness. In fact, they are part of a whole. What’s inside is outside.

We all want the same thing: love dan self-realization. But we formulate our desires differently, according to our upbringing, education and worldview.

If an unhappy Westerner adds love and self-realization, he will become happy. However, not everyone is capable of experiencing love all the time.

Most often the positive state is lost under the influence of feelings. A person begins to perceive the world subjectively. The more negative and stronger the feelings, the less he can control them. The result is a distorted assessment of reality. It seems gloomy and unpromising. Therefore, the topic of emotions dan emotional intelligence is actively promoted in modern Western society. Psychologists, psychotherapists, hypnotherapists, coaches are engaged in this work.