Everybody wants to live a good life. Alongside getting to that destination, a good life has different interpretations and conceptions. A life that may seem so ordinary and boring could be someone else’s fantasy and dream. According to me, living a good life entails balanced lifestyle with accomplished dreams and goals that benefit them together with their loved ones. For example, I believe a good life is getting a good education, stable relationships, health, and work. Plato and Aristotle developed ideas on the best ways to improve their societies during their period. I also believe that good life entails a person’s willingness to improve the community they live. The word “good” is an indication of moral endorsement in the way of life.
My understanding of good life involves the duty aspect of deontology which has enabled me to put my name to my values. However, it is important to note that my values are heavily based on Christian experiences. I believe that rules are there to be adhered to and not to be broken as it has commonly been said. I understand that people’s life entails set of rules and responsibilities, typical of a deontologist. Ethically, I believe that every person’s duty is powerfully set by God, for instance, the need to live a righteous life which is pleasing the creator. Therefore, my conception of good life is heavily based on the Christian teaching on morals. For example, I believe that despite the need for material wealth to accomplish good living, it should not be gotten from wrongdoings and hurting other people’s destiny.
However, my conception of good life can be challenged that living a good life is not about material possessions or sensations that are induced into a life artificially. One may argue that a good life is about compassion and leaving a legacy of the results of an individual’s deeds.
I grew up knowing that achievement is waking up every each morning to realize that my actions, behavior, character, or words have impacted the life of another person. Growing up in a religious family, I was taught to establish my beliefs around God’s teaching. In church, at school, back at home, every mentor shaped my faith in religious teachings that I used to determine good living. My vision of good living has since changed, not for worst but for the better. I have grown to encounter real-life experiences that have enabled me to enhance my belief of good living. I believe that my understanding of good life has undergone and will still experience some change going forward.
I know that with time I will have even better and stronger understanding and conception of good living. Majority of the changes that have occurred concerning my conception of good life are as a result of life experiences. When I was young my understanding of good life that it is about impacting others too, was driven by fear of the consequences of not influencing people positively as my duty. Today, I am inspired by concretized approaches of viewing good life. For example, I have come to realize that impacting other people starts from building your foundation to stabilize your ideas first personally.
I also now know that a good life is relative. A child in the poor and less-advanced area in some place could just be dreaming to have a life that another person considers boring and unsatisfactory. Probably, one may see living well as having a safe neighborhood, education, clean water, food, and a hopeful tomorrow. These things are readily available for other people who still believe they do not live well. Furthermore, many people find themselves complaining about issues such as not wearing trendy fashion or not going for a picnic.
A good life is all about balancing the lifestyle. Every person’s lifestyle entails all he or she does, for instance, education life, work, social life, and personal life. Balancing life to achieve a good life involves doing all these activities while also accommodating other people. If a combination of all those experiences leaves a person feeling bad about themselves, then he or she requires certain changes to accomplish good living. However, if a person can accommodate all the activities and finds no faults and gets some time to engage in other activities, he or she will be not only happy but also the other people surrounding them. The consequence of not having a good life may include depression and stress, but living a satisfactory life helps an individual to escape the repercussions.
Therefore, a good life means achieving a balance of lifestyle, succeeding in goals and being stable. It is important to note that peace comes when a person is contented. We just need to appreciate whatever we have then it would be easy to have a good life. Despite philosophers such as Plato, Nietzsche, Socrates, and Aristotle having a different conception of good life, and their opinions support my notion. For example, Socrates claimed that without examination of life there is no worth in it (Lenssen, p. 193). The philosopher was concerned about happiness as the foundation of good living.
Work Cited
Lenssen, Mark. "Questions That Matter: An Invitation to Philosophy." Teaching Philosophy 8.2 (1985): 185-188.
