Question the pursuit of happiness and discover how embracing life’s full spectrum can lead to a deeper, more enduring sense of fulfilment.
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09 Dec 2025
6 Min Read
Divashri Balakrishnan (Contributing Writer), Nellie Chan (Editor)
Question the pursuit of happiness and discover how embracing life’s full spectrum can lead to a deeper, more enduring sense of fulfilment.
Do you find yourself relentlessly chasing happiness, only to watch it slip away just as you think you’ve grasped it? Like sunlight through your fingers—there for a moment, then gone.
Yet when we think about the moments that genuinely feel like happiness, they’re often far smaller than the ones we’re told to pursue. Maybe it’s that first sip of morning coffee—warm, grounding, familiar. Or the gentle presence of fresh flowers on your desk. Or the soft comfort of a clear blue sky overhead. These moments are subtle, fleeting even, yet we return to them again and again—not for their grandeur, but for how they make us feel.
Still, we rarely stop to ask what happiness truly means. Not the versions inherited from society, from family, or from ideals of success, but the one informed by our senses, memories, and lived experience. In a world that urges us to pursue happiness as if it were a finish line, perhaps the more important question is this: What is happiness, really—and should we be chasing it at all?
Before answering that, it’s worth considering how happiness has been understood over time. Philosophers have long debated whether happiness should guide our lives or whether it is better seen as a byproduct of something deeper.
Kant argued that our actions should be guided by duty rather than the pursuit of happiness—a view rooted in his deontological ethics. He believed happiness is too uncertain to serve as a reliable guide because its components—wealth, love, success—are finite and ever-changing. As he wrote, ‘happiness is such an indeterminate concept that although every human being wishes to attain it, he can never say […] what he really wishes and wills.’ While Kant did not dismiss happiness entirely, he emphasised that moral action must come first. True meaning arises from acting virtuously, and happiness, if it comes at all, is a byproduct of living according to duty.
Nietzsche critiqued the conventional pursuit of happiness as a form of complacency that limits human potential. He believed true growth comes through struggle and the courage to confront life’s challenges, rather than through comfort or ease. For Nietzsche, a meaningful life is forged in hardship and transformation. As he wrote, ‘He who has a why to live can bear almost any how,’ underscoring that purpose, not pleasure, drives human existence. Obsessing over happiness can lead to settling for mediocrity instead of striving to reach one’s full potential. Genuine fulfillment, he believed, comes from creating one’s own meaning and exercising the will to power, rather than passively chasing fleeting joy.
Sartre emphasised that humans are ‘condemned to be free,’ responsible for creating their own values, meaning, and purpose. For him, happiness was not the ultimate goal; taking responsibility for one’s choices and embracing genuine existence mattered far more. He warned against ‘bad faith’—the tendency to conform to societal expectations instead of facing freedom directly. While happiness might naturally arise from this way of living, Sartre saw it as a secondary outcome rather than a guiding principle. Focusing too intently on achieving happiness, he suggested, can limit our freedom, as we may adopt roles or ideals designed to satisfy an imagined perfect life, rather than living genuinely.
Where philosophy asks what happiness ought to be, psychology explores how it is actually experienced and expressed in daily life—revealing the ways our lives, choices, and relationships influence how we feel.
Psychologists often distinguish two broad types of happiness. Hedonic happiness focuses on pleasure and enjoyment, driven by extrinsic rewards and the desire to avoid discomfort. Its effects are fleeting, felt in indulgences such as eating a favourite meal, shopping, or watching a film. Eudaimonic happiness, on the other hand, inspired by Aristotle’s idea of flourishing through virtue, focuses on living a meaningful and fulfilling life. Fuelled by intrinsic motivation, it can be practised intentionally, even through small everyday actions, such as expressing gratitude, journaling, performing acts of kindness, or setting and achieving purposeful goals.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs offers a complementary lens. Physiological and safety needs form the base, with belonging and esteem in the middle. At the top is self-actualisation, encompassing personal growth, authenticity, purpose, and creativity. True fulfilment, Maslow suggested, comes from reaching this level, producing a deeper, enduring sense of satisfaction. Together, these psychological frameworks demonstrate that lasting happiness is not found solely in fleeting pleasure but in meaningful engagement, connection, and the pursuit of personal growth.
Even after exploring what happiness means through lived experience, philosophical thought, and psychological insight, many of us still find it elusive. In fact, the very act of chasing happiness can sometimes leave us more unfulfilled. No one can remain in a constant state of joy, yet modern life often convinces us otherwise. We are encouraged to achieve, optimise, and project an image of well-being. The more we pursue happiness, the more our attention shifts to what we lack—a sense of insufficiency quietly fed by perfectionism, comparison, and the pressure to meet ever-shifting ideals.
Social media, central to contemporary life, intensifies this effect. While it connects us, it also distorts our understanding of happiness and our ability to appreciate simple pleasures. Endless scrolling exposes us to curated images and narratives, creating unrealistic expectations of what we should have, look like, or accomplish. Algorithms exploit these insecurities, reinforcing feelings of inadequacy and making us believe we are falling short of the lives we see online. At the same time, toxic positivity—the insistence on appearing happy at all times—discourages genuine emotional expression. Natural feelings of sadness, frustration, and anger are often minimised, creating a disconnect between what we feel and what we are told we should feel. Over time, this emotional pressure can contribute to stress, anxiety, and other mental health challenges.
Minds become cluttered, hearts burdened, all in the pursuit of an idealised version of happiness we were taught to desire. The relentless chase for this externally defined, commercialised, or socially curated happiness leaves little room for noticing the small, grounding moments that truly nurture well-being.
Perhaps the question isn’t whether happiness should be chased, but how we choose to live. Instead of subscribing to a culture of comparison or relying on external measures of success, we can shift our gaze inward. True fulfilment emerges when we accept life in its entirety—the light and the dark, the highs and the lows, the ebbs and flows—and find meaning in each experience.
Discomfort, struggle, and pain are not obstacles to happiness but essential threads in its fabric. They deepen our understanding, strengthen resilience, and make the quieter, steady moments of contentment all the more vivid. By embracing the full spectrum of experience, we allow ourselves to live authentically, for to feel deeply is to feel fully human.
Happiness, then, is less a destination and more a journey—a rhythm, a pulse that emerges when we engage with life intentionally and with awareness. It reveals itself in small rituals, meaningful connections, and the mindful noticing of ordinary moments. Paradoxically, it is in letting go of the relentless pursuit of happiness that we become open to truly feeling it.
Divashri Balakrishnan is a Bachelor of Entrepreneurship (Honours) alumna of Taylor's University. An aspiring writer, she weaves abstract and unique ideas into fresh insights that spark curiosity and ignite meaningful perspectives.
