Eudaimonia Thriving Youths

“Eudaimonia” is a journey you take, not just an end state. It’s a journey that will help youth to live the best kind of life. A journey that will help them live a life in their full human potential with virtue, excellence and meaning. Technological advancement means today’s teens are facing issues that no previous generation has ever seen. The pervasiveness of digital communication has changed the way teens interact with their peers and perceive their reality. Furthermore, teens’ social media and texting habits as well as how they consume media is changing the way they communicate, date, learn, sleep, exercise, and more. All these, make young people to feel hetero-determined. Peer pressure, bullying and a potential parents’ demand to grow faster than they should create feelings of emptiness and meaningless in their lives. We have spotted that trend in our initial survey during the development of our programs. Young people aged 16-24 have testified in many cases those feelings. These findings are consistent with the scientific findings of the University of Stanford Center on Adolescence which highlight the need for young people to find their Purpose in life and develop their Character. Youth who achieve self-awareness have really high chances in finding a purpose and develop their Character. These lead to Eudaimonia, a life well-lived, embedded in meaningful values, together with a sense of engagement in that life. This is the cognitive or Aristotelian ingredient of happiness (Kringelbach and Berridge, 2009).