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Gabriel Ramos
Dr. Aimee Krall-Lanoue
English Composition 1100
16 September 2014
The Good Life
The good life can be defined in many different ways all relating back to each other. The
definitions can all be relatable due to the fact that the good life is defined by everyone in a
different way, all trying to reach the same goal of living the good life. No matter what the
circumstances people are going through there are still ways that they could be living the good life
in their point of view. The good life can be defined as being productive, having good friends,
culture, family and taking advantage of every opportunity.
The first definition comes from an article by Jim Rohn, a motivational speaker, who
explains that the good life comes from six main parts, the first one being productivity.
Productivity is when a person takes advantage of all the opportunities and makes the most out of
it. In order to have a good life people need to be productive and not let life pass them by. The
game of life is not rest. We must rest, but only long enough to gather strength to get back to
productivity, (Rohn 1). This can all be taken as going day by day making the best of what was
given to you during the day, all the experiences and people you met and then going to bed ready
to start the next day rejuvenated. This definition by Rohn can relate to the graph from
Psychology Today that states the 21.3 percent of users define the good life as experiences of
pleasure. People would only be able to experience this pleasure by being productive.

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The next step to defining the good life is having good friends and family surrounding
you. American Psychology Association questions that what would responsible parents most
want to bestow on their children? meaning that parents want the best for their child and would
try to teach them the right doings into becoming a responsible adult, to eventually live the good
life. Although family should be there for everything, having friends is essential to live the good
life. According to Rohn Friendship is probably the greatest support the system in the world.
Dont deny yourself the time to develop this support system. Its extraordinary in its benefit,
(Rohn 1). The support system received would be people who are trying to live the good life also
and arent trying to bring a person down in a negative way. Friendship is essential to living the
good life, if you dont have time to spend with friends then you wouldnt be able to share your
experiences with people and live life to the fullest. Friends are there to help each other out and
just be there for one another. APA states that 28.5 percent of people define the good life as
contribution to others, so helping other people which could be friends and family helping each
other out.
In order to live the the good life you need to keep your culture alive, because that is
what makes someone unique. Your language, your music, the ceremonies, the traditions, the
dress. All of that is so vitally important that you must keep, (Rohn 1). Changing a person or
trying to act a different way that someone was brought up upon can in a way ruin someones
happiness. Psychology Today, number one way people define the good life is developing
personal strength, which can be taken in a way to develop or enhance someones view point of
their own culture. Culture is what makes someone who they are and how they live life.
Uniqueness of all of us that when blended together brings vitality, energy, power, influence,
uniqueness, and rightness to the world, (Rohn 1). A person cannot go through this world alone

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and expect to live the Good Life, people need someone to share their similarities with one
another.
The Good Life can be defined as taking the opportunity of everything around, making
the most of circumstances. Live a vital life. . .If you live well, you will earn well, it will show in
your face, it will show in the texture in our voice, there will be something unique and magical
about you if you live well, (Rohm 2). Dont doubt or judge the situation, instead go into it with
an open mind looking to make the most of it in order to live the good life. People who seek
self-improvement may be more likely to experience pleasure happiness from purposeful
activities, as opposed to people who seek pleasure directly, (Psychology Today). Let the good
experiences just happene and not try to force something good to happen.
Lack of negative and unpleasant experiences could be defined as the good life. How
could someone be living the good life while going through unpleasant experiences in life. In
Psychology Today, 11.8 percent of people defined lack of negative and unpleasant experiences
as living the good life. Although 11.8 is not high percentage, 21.3 percent answered
experiences of pleasure as living the good life which could be taken the same way as not
going through negative experiences. It would only make sense to live the good life, a person
would want to stay out of unpleasant experiences.
None of these definitions include material things but people can define the good life as
having a high income. A high income would take the worries that many low income families go
through. Individuals who belong to upper income groups report somewhat higher subjective
well-being that people with lower income, (Easterlin 1974; Diener and Oishi 2000). Having a
higher income would bring less problems with money or financial needs that many families go

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through. Income inequality at times of high social mobility can be a source of satisfaction, as
individuals tend to hope that their own income may rise as well in the future,(Lelkes 10) If,
individuals increase their income from low to high it would bring happiness to someone. Having
higher income does not relate to having greater material things and happiness the two do not go
hand in hand. Having materials objects does not bring happiness or a good life.
As displayed the good life can be defined in many different ways all relating back to each
other. All the sources in a way were able to relate back to each other in defining the good life.
The good life was defined as, needing productivity, good friends, culture, family and taking
advantage of every opportunity. The good life is something is anyone is able to obtain as long
as they keep an open mind on their situation.

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Works Cited
"How Do People Define the." "Good Life"? N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2014.
"The Road To Resilience." Http://www.apa.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2014.
"What Constitutes A Good Life?" Jim Rohn Articles - What Constitutes A Good Life? N.p., n.d. Web.
25 Sept. 2014