Before we begin this weeks blog, I would like to thank you for your honest and heartfelt discussion last week. Talking about sex is never easy. I appreciated your willingness to create a great discussion inside and outside of the classroom. I look forward to more of these discussions as we continue to grow together. Please know your comments and discussions are what make this class. You all have so much to bring and share. It is YOU that makes this class what it is. Lets keep it up and step it up even more!
Your partner in learning,
~M
Now this weeks blog....
HAPPY takes us on a journey from the swamps of Louisiana to the slums of Kolkata in search of what really makes people happy. Combining real life stories of people from around the world and powerful interviews with the leading scientists in happiness research, HAPPY explores the secrets behind our most valued emotion. What makes you happy? What do you THINK makes you happy but really causes more pain than anything? Provide us with you list of what makes you happy from class. What makes Monica happy:
My children's smiles and laughter
My family (wonderful partner, parents, children and friends)
Giving to others in any way I can
Teaching at CSS
The little things in life (first snow falls, sitting by the fire playing games with my family, coloring books, crafting, cooking, playing in the rain, playing "I" spy, making something all better for my children)
Having plenty of food, shelter, and safety
Please read:
http://www.sustainablescale.org/attractivesolutions/understandinghumanhappinessandwellbeing.aspx
Discuss how this article compliments the documentary.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhat makes me happy:
ReplyDelete- family
- friends
- girlfriend
- dog
- hockey
- being at my cabin on the lake
- fishing
- just being in the outdoors in general
- when my mom sneds me stuff from home in the mail
- living in a nice home with plenty of food
- weddings
- vacations and roadtrips
- christmas and brithdays
All of these things make me really happy and they could cause me the most pain. What I mean is that if i ever lost or asn't able to do some of these things I would be absolutely crushed. If I wasn't able to see my friends, family, dog or be able to go to my cabin, or live in my home it would cause me tons of pain inside. These things mean the world to me and I want to be able to be with them forever.
The graph which shows the average Income for a person and there happiness percentage is very interesting. It is believed the more money you make the happier you are, yet this is not for every case. I know many people who make close to nothing and they are stil happier than ever. Money is not everything, people need to look for other things to be happy about.
Eric, I really found it interesting when you talked about what makes you happy could also cause the most pain. I hadn't really thought of it like that but it is true. It would be hard to loose something that meant a lot to me and made me happy. I also liked how money isn't everything and wee need to look for other things to make us happy.
DeleteEric i like what you put about about your cabin. I can really relate to this because I'm on the lake all summer long and I'd be crushed if i couldn't do this anymore. Plus I love to fish so that would also be taken away. Losing anything that makes you happy can hurt a lot and is never a fun thing to go through.
DeleteThings that make Jenny happy:
ReplyDeleteBeing with people I love
Getting good grades
Baby animals
Giving what I can to those who need it
Spending time in nature
These things are what make me the happiest. Whenever I do something off the list a big smile spreads across my face.
The article complimented the documentary by reinforcing the idea that money or financial success is not a component of happiness in people’s lives. This contradicts what most people think will bring them happiness, mainly in U.S. that pertains to the “American Dream”. People often assume that if you live in poverty or don’t have a good career that you are unhappy with your life. I think the difference is the standards that people set for themselves. If a person who sets them sky high, which isn’t always a bad thing, may end up being unhappy with results that end up being subpar. On the other hand, those that set them reasonably may be happier. This idea can be seen in students that are only happy with As and those that are okay with getting Bs.
I like your part about the American Dream and how life might actually be opposite of that. People come to America for a better life and to be happier but they might actually have been happier where they were before because what really matters are the little things in life. Its not the money and the fame and the wealth. Its everything else.
DeleteJenny, I really like that giving what you can to those in need is something that makes you happy. That is reall good because that is how to build a strong world community. Thinking of others and not just yourself is very unselfish of you and that makes me happy that that is something you enjoy to do!
DeleteI really like the part about the American dream from the article and your own thoughts. I believe when you say you think the difference is the standards that people set for themselves. This is so true in many cases. I have seen people set fairly low goals and struggle to achieve them when they have the tools to step up in life and do amazing things if they applied themselves.
DeleteJenny,
DeleteAll of those things you say that make you happy, are the things I would have predicted for you. The fact that giving makes you happy is great, and a rare thing. I think you are just over all a great person, who is happy no matter what. I totally agree with you on the whole money factor, it doesn't truely make you happy!
What makes me happy:
ReplyDelete-God
-my family
-my friends
-my boyfriend
-dogs (before May 29th, my dog Nugget would have been it. Now, just any dog wagging their tail is good enough)
-food
-sleep
-getting a good grade on an exam I studied my butt off for!
-watching sporting events (mainly hockey, football and baseball)
-holidays (especially Christmas, I love buying presents for my loved ones!)
-everything else I forgot because I know there's more!
The things I have listed mean the world to me. I unfortunately know the pain of losing something from the list. 3 days before graduation, my dog Nugget who I had picked out when I was 4, passed away. Losing someone close to you is one of the hardest things for a human being to experience and I don't wish it on anyone because the pain never goes away. There's a saying that "time can heal anything". Well, I agree and I disagree. Yes, time has helped. It has been 6 months already and it seems just like yesterday that I lost him. Has my heart healed? Hell no. But life goes on and a person needs to chose to live their life or to be stuck in the past. But all time has done for me helped me take my mind off of it for a while. A dog is a man's best friend and that isn't something easy to lose. Cherish everything you have because it could be gone forever tomorrow.
The part about the article that I found the most interesting is how happiness is kind of backwards to what you would expect. I always believed growing up that the more money I had, the better off I would be and the happier I would be. Now that i'm older,I'm learning that isnt necessarily correct. The happiest people in life are the ones who surround themselves with things and people they love. Not money. A new sportscar does the exact same thing as a 1998 beat up old pickup truck. It gets you from where you need to be to where you need to go. The picture shows a chart of the average income to happiness ratio is getting higher and rising at extreme rates. More and more people are learning that you don't need money to be happy. This relates to this week because it shows that sometimes the less you have, the better and happier you are.
Megan,
DeleteYour thoughts on how money seemed like it would buy happiness seems to one that everyone shares these days. What I don’t understand is how this all happened? Why does money seem to buy happiness? Is it because of the American Dream? Is it because it buys material things that are supposed to make us happier like the media tells us? Is it the media’s fault? There are so many things that contribute to this idea that we haven’t really put much thought into. I think that if we thought about why money buys happiness and who controls that idea then we can realize that “happiness” is also sold through consuming, according to what the media projects. From there we can understand that happiness does not come from material or financial wealth; it comes from love of all kinds.
1. My dogs
ReplyDelete2. Other happy people
3. COFFEE!
4. My family (mom, dad, brother, sister, grandparents)
5. My religion
6. Music
Since being away from what my “normal” life before college, I am able to see what truly makes me happy. I have to say when I wrote this in class I had a lot, when I say a lot I mean it, of coffee. But hey it makes me happy!
I think the section in the article about the “Personal Cost of Materialism” was very intriguing. It talked about how in a study when people place “a high value on financial wealth and material goods, regardless of income levels, is associated with higher levels of anxiety, depression, and low life satisfaction”. This reminds me of the video we watched in class on Tuesday, when they were talking about life in Japan. How some many of the citizens there were striving for success and yet they all looked miserable. The man who was working on his birthday, he was more concerned about making money than spending it with family, friends and girlfriend. It seems that if people strive for wealth, once they get a little they just want more. They do not know when to stop and enjoy what they have and should be thankful for.
Emily,
DeleteI’m happy to see that being away and at college has really showed you what makes you happy! (Lots of coffee!) I have definitely become more aware of what I like, as well as what I don’t. I think being away from our “normal” lives really shows us what it is that we enjoy and what we would really rather live without. I liked that you talked about the people from Japan in the video. They were so stuck on making a living that they weren’t actually living. They were unable to spend time with their friends and family, and actually do things they enjoy. It’s almost as if they were working to work- a rut so many people get stuck in. It’s important to work, but it’s also important to spend time with your friends and family. There has to be a good balance for happiness.
What makes me happy.
ReplyDeleteGod
Family
Outdoors
snow
my brothers
girlfriend
skiing
biking
making people smile
One thing that makes me happy, but is hard and sometimes causes pain is training. I ski and Bike race very competitively and put a lot of time and effort into it. It makes me happy to do but sometimes the training is not fun and is hard. When you don't get the results you are hoping for that also make it hard to enjoy. It is hard to stay satisfied with it too because I'm always pushing myself for the next goal and accomplishment. It would also bring a lot of pain to the things that make me happy if I lost a loved one.
This article compliments the documentary by saying money doesn't buy happiness. They both showed the same graph showing average income and happiness in America. I find it interesting how hard Japan works and how much their GDP has gone up. But they have been more depressed and working themselves to death, and they aren't any happier. I always thought that money would make me happy. I think thought if i have a family and doing something I enjoy, it is going to makes me happy, and will help me enjoy life to the fullest.
Jake,
DeleteI know exactly how you feel, I have gone through all of the same things with hockey, baseball, and football. I put "success" on my list of things that makes me happy. When you are successful in sports, it is really fun! But it is the hard times that make me angry, and it takes more effort to reach your next goal. But when you go through the tough times and eventually make your results, victory is just ht much sweeter. As the documentary stated, "There is no such thing as pleasure without pain"
A few things that make me happy:
ReplyDelete1. Being able to sleep in
2. Days off of work/ school
3. Spending time with friends
4. Road trips/ going up north
5. The whole month of December (my birthday, Christmas, just the season..)
6. Being close with my family
I thought being pretty far away from home for college would make me really happy. I thought I would be able to do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted to (within reason) and not have to worry about getting in trouble with my parents. However, I quickly learned that being so far from home isn’t all fun and games. I have to make every decision for myself, which can be a good thing at times, but can also put a lot of pressure on an already stressed out college student. I enjoy being more independent and accomplishing things for my own future by myself, but what I thought would be a very happy experience has had its downsides.
The article and the Happy documentary both had a common theme. They discussed the idea that happiness is not based on material things like a lot of people seem to think. Instead, countries with a lower per capita income have proven to be happier in general than countries with a higher per capita income. The article and the documentary both proposed that support from family and friends, and genuinely enjoying the little things in life can provide a lot more happiness than a large paycheck. The graph in the article presented just this. The level of income increased, but the level of happiness remained stable. This shows that money cannot buy happiness.
Jacqueline,
DeleteI like your list of what makes you happy; they are very important things that can make you happy in life. I think that we both agree that family and friends are pretty high up on the list of what makes us happy. Family and friends definately bring great joy to life.
I also like how you made the connection between the article and the documentary, specifically how the support of family and friends can provide more happiness than a high salary. I think that family and friends provide put more "life" into life and makes you feel appreciated and loved. This is something that money can definitely NOT buy.
Some things that make me happy:
ReplyDelete1. My family and friends
2. my pets
3. The Christmas Season
4. Getting a good grade on a test that I studied really hard for.
5.Sleep
6. helping other people and seeing how grateful they are.
7. Vacations/ roadtrips
I think that my family, friends, and pets all can make you happy but can also cause a lot of pain. If someone you know or a pet passes away this can lead to a lot of pain and it never really goes away. You may just put it at the bottom of your emotional list but it always lingers nonetheless. Or even if you are just not getting along with a family member or friend and this can be quite disheartening because you really care about them but they are angry with you. This can really give you a lot of pain.
This website compliments the documentary that we watched in many ways. It emphasizes that material wealth does not necessarily make someone "more happier" than someone who does not. There is a certain limit where material wealth can make someone content but it eventually plateaus off, and beyond that there is not a significant difference between wealth or the amount of things you own and our overall happiness. The article also made a connection between materialism and overall pyschological well-being of a human and it concludes that materialism can be potentially dangerous if gotten out of hand. This is another example of how more "stuff" doest not necessarily increase your happiness level.
Emily,
DeleteI totally forgot about how much Christmas makes me happy, thank you for saying that! Christmas music brightens my day! It is truly uncomforting that what can bring joys to our lives can also shatter our hearts. This makes it difficult to want to get close to people and things in fear that it/they may cause us so much pain. I like how you said that material wealth eventually plateaus off. That is a very fitting word for this discussion. And it is very much the truth. Money can only buy us happiness until appoint and then the pursuit for the money takes over any happiness we desire. The goal changed from wanting to be happy to making money.
Things that make Kris Happy:
ReplyDelete1. my aunt and uncle
2. my little sister, she is my world
3. other family members
4. sports, football and wrestling especially
5. friends
6. life, waking up every morning is something to celebrate about
7. those moments that seem meaningless, until you smile when you think about them
The list above are what I'm grateful to have in my life. Sometimes life can be come difficult to deal with, the things that make you happy are what get you through the day. Unfortunately I love my other family member excluding my aunt, uncle, and little sister, but they cause me much turmoil, because of their lack of faith. Even though my love for them is strong, my thought process tells me to keep them as far away emotionally as possible. I know this, but I can't even let those thoughts keep me down, LIFE GOES ON AND NEVER STOPS, be emotional for the time you need to be, but remember tomorrow always come.
Things that make me happy:
ReplyDeleteFamily (including my dog)
Friends
Learning
Reading
My cabin
Food
Exercising
Although there are several more things that make me happy, these are just the main ones. I love my family and they have supported me throughout my whole life. I am extremely grateful and happy to have the family I do. I just like learning about different subjects. Learning makes me happy just on the basis that I feel like I am bettering myself. I like broadening my scope of the world and changing the way I view things as I gain new knowledge. Reading in the past has been an on and off pastime, but I realized that I really do enjoy it and it makes me happy. I have had a lot of great memories at my cabin and it has been in my life ever since I was a kid. It makes me happy to just think about all the great times I have had.
I found this article to be extremely interesting as well as the documentary. Materialism plays a common role in both the documentary and this article. We believe that the possessions we have as people and as a society will make us happier, but we are wrong. As people we buy things with the hope that we will become happier, but in reality we shouldn’t be focusing on the possessions we have; we should be focusing on our personal growth through whatever means you find appropriate within the law of course. Similarly, in a society such as the United States we shouldn’t focus solely on a sustainable economy; we should be focusing on social and ecological problems. Both the documentary and the movie also produce the idea that our economic status is not the most important aspect of our lives. Money does have importance, but if that was always our main focus we wouldn’t be very happy. Instead, we should focus on our family, friends, community outreach, volunteering, and other activities that better yourself and that better the well being of others. How does living in a democracy impact materialism? Is buying something that want, but you necessarily need always a bad thing?
What makes me happy?
ReplyDelete- My family
- My mom’s smile, hug, kisses
- Eating
- Hanging out with friends or even new people
- Helping out
- praying
- My first snow fall
- Watching movies or series (English , French)
- Travelling
All of this makes me happy but some of it makes me happier like my mom’s smile, or praying and what makes me happy can also cause a lot of pain if I don’t get it or miss it like home and family. It’s mostly the important thing in life that makes me happy and for me the important thing is family. I found the documentary very interesting since I can relate some of it to my country. In the rural area of my country most of the people don’t have anything. The cant even have a decent meal and yet they still happy. They’re happy because they live together in small community and they help each other.
What makes me happy?
ReplyDeleteBeing with my friends, my family, just thinking about life, playing some games, roleplaying, relaxing, and seeing my animals.
Te reason that people of the lower economic level are happier is in most cases that i've seen at least, the lower class seems more aware of their money and that what they have may not be a whole lot, but it's the best they can get and these people seem quite content with that.
What makes me happy:
ReplyDeletefamily
friends
music
my dog
sunshine
holidays
vacations
The article compliments the video because they both made a point that there is more to happiness than having a lot of money. Happiness is not something you can buy in a store. It comes through relationships with people and doing things you enjoy.
John, i totally agree with what you said about money can't buy happiness, it definately does come through relationships with family and friends. i think that with money, it is an extrinsic factor that makes people happy for a short period of time (until it runs out) but with relationships, they last for hopefully ever therefore real happiness can last forever
Deletejohn,
DeleteI agree with you and Josh money and happiness are on the opposite sides of the tangible scale, but I do believe that in some circumstances that money can help you achieve happiness easier. Happiness is achieved through ourselves and our close net of people.
What makes Logan Happy:
ReplyDeleteFamily
Friends
Music
My animals
Baseball
Movies
Road trips
The article compliments the video because they both make a point to say that money is not a true source of happiness because the most happy people in the world can be found to have next to no income as well as a huge income from their jobs. I believe the documentary does an excellent job on explaining why people are so happy and the main reason is because they have things that mean a lot to them and they stick close to these reasons in their everyday life.
But I would say that for some people that money is a source of happiness because imagine if someone has nothing like no friend, no family, no money and lets say he win a lottery now he is happy because he has a sense of financial security with bring him some kind of happiness because he has nothing at first. Happiness depends on the situation you are in and each person has it's own way of becoming happy.
DeleteWhat makes me happy?
ReplyDeleteFamily
Friends
My dog
My girlfriend
Fridays
hunting
fishing
4 wheeling
sports
I think that anything that makes you happy can also cause pain if it is taken away from you. Like losing a loved one or a pet. This causes more pain than anything else in the world. just losing a pet really makes you hurt but when it's a loved one I really don't think anything is worse than that.
I believe that the article really goes with the documentary. I liked how it talked about money and how people think that you need money to be happy and lead a good life. I know now that this isn't true and that people with less money have proven to be happier than people with a lot of it. to be happy you need to be by the people that you love and that love you. That is the true source of happiness.
Things that make me happy:
ReplyDelete- Family (mom, dad, brother, sister)
- Sports (baseball, hockey, football)
- Healthiness
- Success
- my job (Midland Hills Country Club)
The thing that stuck with me the most throughout the documentary and while reading the article is that there are intrinsic and extrinsic goals. Most of society looks to progress in the extrinsic goals because that is what media tells hem to do. Magazines, tv shows, etc, all portray humans in the high class. They influence every viewer to try and become the characters/people in the media. This would require everyone to pursue extrinsic goals. But of course, the intrinsic goals are the ones that are more reasonable. The intrinsic goals include personal growth, relationships, and community feeling. These goals kind of fly under the radar, but really they should be over the radar and expressed in the media a lot more. As I grow older, I start to watch more adult shows and I see advertisements that are pushing more for efforts that are intrinsic. Last night I was watching TV and there a lot on about efforts to restore the east coast. It was based off of the popular show Jersey Shore, and the efforts were put under a clever name of "Restore the Shore", where they were looking for donations to help rebuild what was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. This is a progression in the intrinsic goal category as it fits under community feeling. I think the media must keep doing things like this.
What Makes Me Happy:
ReplyDeleteFamily & Friends
Music
Drawing
Writing
Success
The video tuesday opened my mind to what people all over the world made them happy. A lot of people said that friends and family were the most important, while most said that money would make them happy. I honestly thought that money was a top factor of peoples happiness. The video and article showed me otherwise. As long as one has friends, family, home, or even a hobby, one could be truly happy with there life. Money might get you fancy clothes, big houses and fast and luxurious cars, but would you truly be happy with materialistic possessions? Me? Not at all.
Luke,
DeleteMoney does seem to be something that a lot of people think will make them happy. I think money has it's place within happiness, but it shouldn't be looked upon as the key to our happiness. The things we do in our lives and the people we care about is what truly should make us happy.
Personally I would have to agree with you. Materialistic possessions will only bring us short term happiness if that is what we rely on to make us happy. I don't fell as though buying things is the problem, but like it said in the documentary and the article people who rely on possessions for happiness end up creating an "acquisition treadmill" of sorts.
What makes me happy:
ReplyDelete1) Making my parents and family proud.
2) Success
3) Seeing other people who are close to me succeed.
4) Music
5) My dog
The video that we watched the in the past lesson on happiness really opened my eyes to what makes different people incredibly happy. However, the occurring factor showed us that to help being happy, you really need to have family and friends supporting you with every decision. These just need to include people who believe in your ambitions and help you to succeed. It also showed that a lot of intrinsic factors help being happy and external factors only help you to be happy for a short period of time. For example, the factor of money could originally create a huge sense of happiness however soon after could create a sense of depression if all is gone. In the end, money can't buy you real happiness.
Josh,
DeleteI totally agree with you on the fact that the factor that makes people the happiest is having people around them. Having close, healthy relationships with other people is the number one key to have to happiness. Whether it is family, friends, lovers, or sometimes even pets; people need that interaction and support to live happy lives. I know that I could not survive with out my family, and I definately couldn't be happy without them. Also my interactions with other people are extremely important too; friends and my boyfriend are the other components of my life that keep me going.
What makes me happy:
ReplyDelete1. My wonderful family which consists of not only my mom, dad, brother, and sister, but also my cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents.
2. Enjoying the outdoors for whatever season it is... hunting, fishing, swimming, fourwheeling, sledding, skiing and so on.
3. My amazing boyfriend :)
4. Sports: watching games, and playing them
5. Doing well in school, getting good grades
6. Delicous Food: eating and cooking/baking it
Everyone of the things that make me happy are involved in my everyday life. I am super close with my whole family, I really love spending time with them and making time out of my busy life to have fun with them and also spending as much time with my boyfriend as possible. Food, sports, and enjoying activities outsides all are also amazing parts of my life.
I found it pretty crazy that money doesn't buy happiness, and it's actually been proven with research and studies. But after I thought about it, I actually knew that all along, I just didn't realize it. I never grew up having very much money, we just had enough to live our lives without worry. I never ever remember my family not being happy, and money had nothing to do with it. What was extremely shocking to me was the fact that having money can actually have the opposite effect that most people think. A lot of people that are wealthy suffer from depression and other things like that.
What makes me happy:
ReplyDelete1. My loving family, they are so supportive its amazing, and they are always there for me. I seriously think I have the best family ever!
2. My friends, always make me happy, and are always there for me.
3. Food, I seriously love eating a lot!!
4. Sports always make me happy, any kind of sport.
5. Christmas time really gets me excited, I love everything about christmas!!
The video showed me how everyone has something different in what makes them happy! It really proved that money doesnt buy happiness. I like how it did that because everyone thinks all they need money to have a happy life. I can definatly say I have thought that way before. I like the point about how you are only happy for a little bit and then you need more. I think this is how everyone is, its just our nature. But they find that people who are content and greedy, are happier. I want to live a happy life!!