True Happiness by Tessa

True Happiness by Tessa - February 2014 Scholarship Essay

"Act without expectation." Lao Tzu, a Chinese Philosopher, considers the instructions that lead to an immense sense of gratification. To act without expectation as Tzu suggests, means to provide a service sans the anticipation of any compensation. Many know volunteer work as the personification of Tzu's quote. However, do humans ever truly do anything with the expectation of nothing? Volunteer work, of course does not offer monetary compensation, however, it does offer friendships, honor, bragging rights, resume enhancers, and sometimes even refreshments. So how can we, as humans, achieve this higher level of a more pure happiness?

Let's start by looking at the facts that surround volunteerism. According to the United States Department of Labor, an estimated 64.5 million Americans volunteered for an organization in 2012. Thus, about 26.5 percent of Americans offer their time as volunteers. In June of 2013, The Huffington Post reported about a third of the population experienced true happiness. These numbers are very similar and offer evidence of a correlation. Volunteering promotes happiness long term, rather than short term and is thus, more powerful and withstanding than say, material items. The act of volunteering also convinces us that we are in control of our time, which according to Dr. Jennifer Aaker of Stanford University also contributes to happiness. Volunteering increases social connectivity, and happiness can't be achieved alone.

So, this happiness that volunteering promises can only be bolstered with a lack of expectation. How can we learn to reduce expectation of reward for our actions? Firstly, volunteering for organizations, though noble, is not the only way to volunteer. Helping a neighbor or a stranger and committing random acts of kindness offer the best way to lower any prospects of reward.

Living this way, in accordance with Tzu, acting without expectation provides a purer happiness. The lack of expectation allows us to deviate from the seemingly normal selfish traits of humanity. By reducing our expectation, we do not allow ourselves to be let down. The expectation also seems to overpower the action itself, causing the good of volunteering to be inferior to that which we hope to happen. Anxiety of an outcome can prevent the happiness that we would have otherwise received. This prevention of happiness caused by anxiety of the outcome, in turn reduces the longevity and persistence of volunteerism, an eventual cycle of unhappiness.

A mere third of the population knows true happiness. A number that is way too low given the increase in technology and well-being during the 21st century. In order to raise our nation’s level of happiness, we must live by the words of Lao Tzu. Thus, to experience true happiness, first you must act; and second, you must give up on your expectations.