Nicomachean Ethics explains that every human action results in an end in that one considers good. The highest ends, in which all humans aim for their own sake, are considered the final good. The study of the final good is part of political science, due to the fact that politics is part of securing the highest ends for human life. Happiness is the final good because one chooses happiness as a sufficient end itself. Being intelligent and having virtue are not just good themselves, but good because it is what makes man happy. The final good is happiness, but every human has their own belief of what happiness actually is. All good things are the same amount of good in a certain way. If one does something well they are considered "good". Therefore, the final good is considered an action in which one strives to reach. Throughout Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, the effort to reach the final good is something one must do.
When talking about happiness, Aristotle considers one's life as a whole, not just brief moments of it. This makes one question that humans can only be considered happy after death. The soul can be divided into a rational and irrational part. The rational part of the soul controls the impulses, so one with greater rationality is able to control his impulses better. The irrational soul has two aspects: a part that deals with nutrition and growth and has little connection with virtue, and the part with governs one's impulses. Aristotle treats happiness as an action and not as a state. Happiness is a way of life, not a specific mood. Happiness is the action of living well and possessing all the right virtues. In the article Aristotle states "activity of soul in accordance with virtue, and if there are more than one virtue, in accordance with the best and most complete" (Aristotle, 4). Being a good person is not something one just develops. It's like when one tries to ride a bike for the first time they aren't going to just know how to ride it takes time and practice.