The Good Life

We all want a good life, and by attaining that, although may vary and differ in the
particulars, we do certain things to make us happy and content. We often heard the oldest
philosophical question, "What is the good life?" How should one live? What does it mean to live
well? All boils down to the concept of the good life. There go the precepts If they have a good
life, then they are a good person.

Aristotle is a famous and important antiquated philosopher who said that we all want to
be happy and value various things, but who doesn't want a good life? Right? Everyone is moving
towards the good. For example, as students, we want to have a degree and find permanent and
good-paying jobs in the future, so we study our hardest and complete our studies; and for
athletes, they want to win gold medals and be known in their fields, so they train. However, the
good life is characterized by happiness. Happiness is something that we value not as a means for
other things but the context of life's satisfaction. This means that doing well and living well,
known as Eudaimonia, is the same as being happy.

When your life is full of meaningful endeavors, you will be empowered to be the best
version of yourself. We all must strive and persevere to accomplish our goals in life that, in turn,
makes us happy and would make us live well throughout the course of our lifetime.

It was Aristotle who preceded to us the science of happiness. Happiness is defined as the
ultimate end of human action. For happiness, we pursue many things; financial stability, by
wining to certain events or harmony and peace as a reward for taking the environment. Can
people be happy? By all means, happiness depends solely on the person's choices, so if they want
to be happy, then you can be!

Happiness defines a good life, which entails that life's purpose is not just to live but to
live well. However, this kind of happiness does not come from sensate pleasures but from living
a life of virtue, a life of excellence, manifested from the personal to the global scale. Virtuous
actions require discipline and practice, which drives to happiness, but if those actions are not of
virtue, it will not result in happiness. For example, the lack of discipline in eating healthy foods
makes one unhealthy, and the lack of solicitude for the environment destroys the Earth we live
in. Therefore, disregard for virtuous actions do not and will not contribute to happiness. After all,
virtuous human actions and decisions greatly influence the individual self and the community.
Why is the community included? Because the good life does not happen with one person alone,
others have to be in it. Now, why is virtue important in the pursuance of a good life? Virtue is
important such that it is the constant practice of the good no matter how difficult the
circumstances may be. Most importantly, virtue must be embedded within us because it is the
excellence of character that empowers one to do and be good. However, it is not done with a
one-time deed but a constant and consistent series of actions.
 Happiness is encountered through the course of the entire life, which means that everyone
has the inclination to be good, but discipline must be a habit that means that a person who lives a
good life also acts rightly and develops the appropriate state of character from which to perform
those right actions. Therefore, life is best understood by looking at the end, just like the onward
advancement of science and technology, which allows us to thrive and prosper in life if we so
desire it. Nevertheless, of course, it depends on the person if he/she will be consumed with the
power it beholds or be grounded with virtue.