Psy 270 Week 2 Denmark Happiness Questions

What is your version of the "good life" using three aspects of life and is it the same as the person next to you? Everyone has their own idea of the "ideal life" and no two people have the same exact idea. Some may have the idea of money, clothes, and cars while another may have the idea of family, no death, and a big house. The two individuals have two completely different points of view, interests, likes, dislikes, and aspirations. My version of the "good life" is nothing like the other examples but it is okay because it is supposed to be different. Personally my "ideal life" include having enough money to sustain and be comfortable, having a successful career, and having a lifetime supply of puppies and dogs. There are reasons behind why I have chosen these specific aspects of a possible life and they will be explained in the paragraphs to follow.

In “Happiness 101,” Harvard professor Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar presents his ideas pertaining to the achievability of happiness. He begins by discussing how individuals must give themselves permission to be human, so that they can feel the negative feelings before they reach the positive feelings. If negative feelings are held back without release, then they only intensify eventually blocking out the positive feelings. Ben-Shahar continues his presentation to the topic of managing stress on the micro, mezza, and macro levels. These levels include the ideas of meditation, sleep, taking time off, vacations, and the “three deep breaths.” Simplifying agendas and practicing quality over quantity has a positive effect on stress levels as well. At the conclusion of his presentation, Ben-Shahar discusses the positive effect of practicing gratitude on health, happiness, and well-being. After listening to Tal Ben-Shahar’s presentation, I completely agree with every point that Ben-Shahar uses over the topics of giving permission to be human, stress management, and practicing gratitude covered throughout his presentation over happiness.

Of the many techniques people use to reduce stress, yoga is among one of the more popular. Although some may believe that effects of yoga are merely physical, there is research that suggests that yoga has direct impacts on one’s mental state. According to Forbes, in addition to the benefits on the heart and blood flow, yoga helps release dopamine and gaba and serotonin (Walton, 2012). All of these are known to create feeling of happiness in a person (K. W. Brown, personal communication, Sept. 7). For this lab, I decided I would try yoga for myself to test the results.

Whether it is wholesome or tough love, the bond of a mother and daughter can never be broken. “The Joy Luck Club” is the epitome of this notion. The anthology contains a series of sixteen vignettes, four of which belonging to one of each of the four members of The Joy Luck Club. These vignettes cover the perspectives of mothers who immigrated to America from China, along with the flip side point of view, taken over by each of their daughters. In the anthology, Tan reflects on her past life and incorporates it into the book, exploring cultural, relationship, and internal conflicts.

If you would like to live a happy and more so, successful life, it is vital that you learn to express gratitude wherever you go. In order to reach where you would like to be in life, everyone should concentrate on their goals and objectives. Through expressing gratitude, people can learn to show good deeds, and hence be able to receive the same goodness, in return. (Radwan, Msc.) Gratitude refers to the act of being thankful, noticing simple pleasures, counting every little blessing, and acknowledging every good done unto you. In other terms, it can be described as living life as if everything happening in it is a miracle, and being able to continuously acknowledge every much you receive. On the other hand, when people decide to concentrate a lot of energy on bad things in life, it will make them remain in the state of conflict. But by developing gratitude, it will allow someone to focus on positivity and the good things in life. It must be understood that this will allow an individual to always remain optimistic, and with enthusiasm much success can be achieved.

In Adam Grant’s essay entitled “Does Trying to Be Happy Make Us Unhappy” , in the first sentence the author claims that in the pursuit of happiness that many try to achieve, that path tends to have the inverse effect and actually make one unhappy. The author does this with the use of studies that directly correlate with a story of an individual by the name of Tom, and his struggles in life due to him focusing on trying to be happy, and that making him unhappy in due. The author starts with this to draw in readers to understand what it is that the essay will be discussing in future paragraphs.

In order to direct one’s thinking they need negative emotions. The article “Happiness: Enough Already” declares that, “Studies show that when you are in a negative mood,” says Diener, “you become more analytical, more critical and more innovative” (Begley 456). Which proves that the happier one is the more absent minded they are; whereas when one is negative one is more likely to think before doing. According to “Don’t Worry, Be Gloomy” it states, “When we’re overly cheerful, we tend to neglect important threats and dangers” (David 124). There is something called being “too happy” meaning one experiences extreme levels of happiness and when one has these extreme levels that person tends to take riskier actions that would harm themselves or others. As the article continues it states, “Our so-called negative emotions encourage slower, more systematic cognitive processing” (David 124). Meaning that one would acknowledge and recall the more important details instead of following the interpretations and judgments of a situation from others. Therefore, the negative emotions actually help people get through their situations or life in general.

External environments directly influence an individual’s stress level and their capacity to cope. Upon entering a public location, such as the DMV, I find myself annoyed, impatient, and stressed. By performing your meditation experience in public, you presented how efficiently controlling your own stress can affect your mindset. Rather than resting annoyed, you unearthed the beauty in a stressful situation. Through talking and postulating tips to the anxious girl, waiting to take her driver’s test, you possibly reduced her stress furthermore. This displays a growth in character and the start of mindful living.

Finding a way to relax is difficult within this stress induced world. Life gets in the way and then suddenly, it’s like you’re suffocating with the struggle of everyday life and the responsibilities you’re expected to fill. What I have found works best to relieve the pressure, is to take a break and let a peaceful moment like breathing in the subtle waves at Jordan Lake, wash your mind into a blank slate. The lake is one of the best places for an overwhelmed mind and a heavy heart. It’s as if the wind caressing your face brushes away the worry and the heartache. The warm sand engulfs your feet like comforting hug. The sun is always smiling down at you and the world just slowly starts to melt away one peaceful wave at a time.

I started to question about happiness in America after I saw a pattern in high school that students are often confused or stressed. I started out with the question, “why is it hard to be happy when being happy shouldn’t be that hard?” To answer these questions, I found Sophie Chan’s 2011 study, “Hong Kong Chinese community leaders’ perspectives on family health, happiness and harmony: a qualitative study.” This study would help answer questions on my audience’s curiosity about other countries happiness compared to the United States. Then I started to think that there were also other issues that friction with happiness in America and

This type of meditation has been proven effective at reducing stress, bringing down blood pressure numbers and much more. The class was taught by certified teachers who shared with our residents how they can benefit from transcendental meditation. The practice of this type of meditation has been highly researched by the National

Nowadays life of people has become quite stressful. To reduce stress people are getting addicted to things like alcohol, tobacco and drugs. People are searching numerous ways to reduce stress. The best way to reduce stress is through meditation and yoga. Meditation and yoga is the complete package through which you can make your life fit, healthy and stress-free. Yoga and meditation when practiced together strengthen the body and mind connection, improving overall fitness and well-being. Both yoga and meditation, when done regularly, has proven to be highly beneficial. Though the practices of yoga and meditation have their roots in ancient cultures, both have become modern day movements.

Relaxation has never been easy, but it has been proven to occur when one’s mental processes and muscles have been relaxed. It is a very safe method and can be practiced through many different techniques. It has remained side by side to help with areas of therapy and has been very beneficial to countless of people worldwide.

Before taking the class, and before really understanding the benefits of mindfulness, I must admit, I did not really take mindfulness exercises seriously. I tried a few exercises, led by a phone application, but I constantly wondered what these exercises were supposed to achieve. I always thought to myself, “I know what happens around me, being mindful is great, but specific exercises for this seemed exaggerated.”

In today’s environment, many people are suffering with the stress and anxiety of day to day living and are finding themselves unable to cope with life’s little emergencies. Prescription drugs are on the rise due to the increasing need for people to deal with their stress and anxiety. However, many people are searching for ways to be less stressed and live a happy and healthy life without drugs. If stress and anxiety are getting the best of you, then think about grabbing a mat and giving yoga and meditation a spin. With that in mind, this paper will take a look at the benefits of yoga and meditation to create a more peaceful and healthy lifestyle.