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.
What 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.
Things 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.
DeleteWhat 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.
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.
Emily,
ReplyDeleteI’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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.