Why is happiness important?

By: Michael DeBartolo

Why study happiness?

While happiness is highly desirable and important to a meaningful emotional life, it also creates a better society.

I personally decided to study happiness, however, because I was consistently questioning if I was truly happy and if not now, when?

Ask yourself...

Six ways to increase your overall happiness

“The purpose of our lives is to be happy” – Dalai Lama

1. Shift Your Perspective

Instead of finding happiness in large ways, like a promotion at work or getting an A on a test, appreciate small, everyday things, like the weather or seeing an old friend.

Also, you can perceive something happening as positive or negative. Remember the age-old saying, you can see the glass as half empty or half full.

Why Shift Your Perspective?

Because our expectations and how we perceive things control the amount of happiness we discover and create.

2. Concentrate on the present, not yesterday

or tomorrow. Yesterday is the past and you cannot

change it.

Tomorrow exists in your mind as only potential possibilities.

If you worry too much about yesterday or tomorrow, you are likely to miss happiness in front of you.

3. Want less, not more

By lowering your expectations (going back to 1), you are more likely to be satisfied.

For example, instead of longing for that A in a difficult course, lower your expectations to maybe a B or C, which can be achieved more easily.

“It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness. – Charles Spurgeon

4. Be Appreciative The easiest way to turn a negative

situation into a positive one (going back to 1) is to appreciate everyday life.

Some things to be appreciative of are: the weather, your health, your friends and family, a good TV-show, movie, or song.

5. Do what YOU like

While this seems clear, human nature is to always please others, which can be very tiring and deplete our overall happiness.

And don’t say there isn’t time, because even if it’s only fifteen minutes once a day, or week, or month, you will increase your overall happiness!

“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.” – Dalai Lama

6. Stop comparing yourself to others

While this is pretty self-explanatory, it is important to understand the loss of happiness it can cause in the long run.

The Benefits of Happiness

Happiness doesn’t just benefit individuals, but families, communities, and society as a whole.

The other benefits of happiness

include: In the workplace: higher income,

increased quality of work, and greater productivity.

In relationships: longer and more fulfilling friendships, marriages, and

In health: increased mental and physical health, less stress, greater self-confidence, and longer lives.

My Case Study

For my project, I selected five questions to ask two groups of people.

Group one was made up of friends and family, and the second group was anonymous volunteers on Sakai.

Each group consisted of nine individuals.

The results varied as I expected, but I’ll let you decide why for now.

1. If I could live my life over, I would change almost

nothing: Sakai: True: 3, False: 6

Friends & Family: True: 7, False: 2

2. I am content with my life:

Sakai: True: 7, False: 2

Friends & Family: True: 8, False: 1

3. The conditions of my life (not referring to

money/material things but to relationships and

health) are...Sakai: Friends & Family:

Excellent: 0 Excellent: 3

Above Average: 6 Above Average: 5

Average: 2 Average: 1

Below Average: 1 Below Average: 0

Poor: 0 Poor: 0

4. In general, my life is close to my

ideal: Sakai: True: 5, False: 4

Friends & Family: True: 7, False 2

5. Finally, the age-old question concerning

happiness, can money buy happiness:

Sakai: True: 1, False: 8

Friends & Family: True 0, False 9

A little more about money &

happiness…Over the last few decades individuals salaries and wealth have increased, but people’s happiness has not, according to Elizabeth Dunn, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia.

Money & Happiness Continued

Dunn contributed this how people spend their money.

“People often pour their increased wealth into pursuits that provide little in the way of lasting happiness.”

Examples of this include buying flat screen TVs, cell phones, designer clothing, and luxury cars. Research shows while you receive gratification initially, it quickly disappears.

Money, Happiness, & Giving

Giving, however, has shown to have long-term benefits.

Studies have proven buying yourself something doesn’t increase happiness, but spending money on others does.

My Opinion After completing all of my research, I came to the conclusion we have no one else to blame for our unhappiness, but ourselves. The reason I say this is because we must “find” our own happiness whether it means wanting less, instead of more, changing our perspective, or one of the other six important steps to happiness. I also now believe we all have degrees of happiness in our lives, whether we choose to acknowledge it or not. Therefore, happiness is not something we should wait for, but something we must discover and value. Finally, I can now say for sure, money CANNOT buy happiness, but can increase it through giving back.

My Opinion Continued

For my case study, I came to the conclusion…

For question 1, fewer people anonymously admitted to changing nothing in their lives if they could relive it.

For question 2, regardless of being questioned anonymously or not, people shared similar choices.

For question 3, when asked anonymously, less people admitted to their life conditions being excellent or very good.

For question 4, fewer people were content with their lives when asked anonymously.

For question 5, when not asked anonymously, not one person admitted money can buy happiness.

Something to Remember...

“Don’t wait around for other people to be happy for you. Any happiness you get you've got to make yourself.” – Alice Walker

Works Cited Lyubomirsky, Sonja. The How of Happiness: A New Approach

to Getting the Life You Want. New York: Penguin, 2008. Print.

Minirth, Frank B., and Paul D. Meier. Happiness Is a Choice: New Ways to Enhance Joy and Meaning in Your Life. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2013. Print.

Tam, Marilyn. The Happiness Choice: The Five Decisions That Will Take You from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2013. Print.

Weil, Elizabeth. "Happiness Inc." New York Times. N.p., 19 Apr. 2013. Web. 20 Apr. 2013.

Wright, Steve, Dr. "Life Satisfaction." Web log post. Meaningandhappiness.com. N.p., 14 Sept. 2008. Web. Mar.-Apr. 2011.