Why Happiness Is Healthy By Elizabeth Landau

In society there are still differences in classes such as higher class, middle class, and lower class. In sociology, we observed a film called The Pursuit Happyness, where we witnessed the struggles a father went through to succeed. Chris Gardner, who was played by Will Smith, is living in his apartment with his wife and his son. Due to their struggles, the mother walks out on and leaves Chris struggling alone with his son. In the film Chris Gardner applies for an unpaid internship for a competitive stockbroker company where out of twenty men, only one gets the job. While he is on his internship, we see the hardships of getting kicked out of his apartment to staying at a shelter home to then sleeping in a subway bathroom with his son. Viewing the movie through a sociological lens, The Pursuit of Happyness will be analyzed according to the major three sociological paradigms: structural functionalism, social conflict theory, and symbolic interactionalism.

In the article "Why Happiness is Healthy" by Elizabeth Landau, she elaborates about why people want to be happy. Landau agrees with this concept and approves Happiness' choice as a lifestyle. She explains the main reasons why you should consider happiness in your life. Then she introduces the origins of happiness and uses logos to prove scientifically how genes and environment affect the levels of your happiness. She defends herself using a naysayer using money and time, people think that money can't buy them happiness but it can satisfy them, she then proves that money doesn't make you happy but has the power to satisfy you. Lastly her last paragraph consists of her proving how machines can't replace human emotions and encloses

A person’s happiness can have an impact on others. People can get agitated because a group or individual is at peace or sons and daughter can be happy as a result of witnessing their parents being content. Delightment is capable of encouraging expansion of one’s knowledge. For instance, if one realizes their potential in achieving greatness in a certain subject, the satisfaction could lead to desiring to draw in more knowledge, knowing the greatness that individual can achieve. Someone who is depressed doesn’t have the motivation to achieve something positive. There are people that misinterpret or have a negative pleasure and peace of mind. That’s the incredible potential happiness

Defining happiness can be very difficult. Everyone has their own perspective of happiness. When speaking about your own perspective it could crash into another’s. Trying to find which one makes the most sense is complicated.

What Is Happiness? Happiness is one of life’s great goals, and with the ever increasing number of opportunities in this world, it would seem people would feel happier. However, the number of people describing themselves as happy has, in fact, decreased, according to Barry Schwartz in “The Tyranny of Choice” he writes that in America “About 14 million fewer people report being very happy today than in 1974” (Schwartz 721). This is a surprising number considering all the products that are being made are supposed to make our lives easier and, therefore happier.

In Emily Yoffe’s essay entitled “Seeking”, she explores how the World Wide Web has provoked human’s brains to constantly seek information and knowledge. Yoffe opens the essay by stating her thesis, “Sometimes it feels as if the basic drives for food, sex, and sleep have been overridden by a new need for endless nuggets of electronic information, we are so insatiably curious we gather data that could get us in trouble, or we do not need to know” (“Seeking” 572). In the beginning, of the essay she highlights the research of Psychologist James Olds, who is believed to have found the brain’s pleasure center through various studies. She then moves on to explain the findings of neuroscientist Jaak Panksepp, who tries to account the reason for humans incessant need to seek information. Yoffe draws from Panksepp’s findings, “For humans, this desire to search is not just about fulfilling our physical needs, but our abstract ones as well, and in doing so we find a drug like satisfaction” (“Seeking” 573). Yoffe then explains how Psychology professor Kent Berridge tries to understand how the brain experiences pleasure. She speaks of how in Berridge’s work he has been able to distinguish how wanting is equivalent to Panksepp’s seeking system, and the liking system is believed to be linked to the brain’s reward center (Yoffe “Seeking” 574). Yoffe also explains how in Berridge’s work he has come to find that our minds are stimulated rather than satisfied, which

Happiness. It is not tangible, measurable or even understandable. Yet, above all other things, it is what people seek the most. Individuals draw happiness from a number of different sources,presumably causing the confusion as to why happiness can not be traced back to a specific object. Still, how can you possibly meet the expectations of being happy? This article will attempt to demystify the subject of happiness.

While reading this chapter I was very intrigued and engaged in the reading due to the interesting studies and tips shared. I thought it was really cool that there were some studies done that proved being happy can actually alter relationships, our mind, and so much more. Authentic happiness stated, “ Lisa Aspinwall gathered compelling evidence that in making important real-life decisions, happier people may be smarter than unhappy people.” This fact, along with many other like it, really got me thinking about the type of person I am. I was really interested on how I can be a happier and more positive person, which is why this chapter was really easy to read. My main goal in life is to be genuinely happy and I think that the studies in this

The most universal goal every human has in common is the pursuit of happiness or “creation or construction of happiness” (Achor, 78). To be able to fulfill this wish of becoming happy, people often think the key to achieving happiness is success. In the book, The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor, he debunks this theory of success leading to happiness by illustrating the reverse theory of success. Through dozens of studies and experiments as forms of evidence, the author argues that an individual needs to achieve happiness in order to be truly successful. Achor 's argument is valid in that happiness should come before success because there is a clear advantage to being successful in an individual’s work life, personal sphere, and liveliness if they are happy first and foremost.

In the article “What Happy People Do Differently” (2013), Kashdan and Biswas-Diener, claims that true happiness is more than a mix of positive feelings but rather a sense of peace or contentedness. They establish this by saying that happiness is partly emotional and based on the idea that every individual’s feelings have a natural set point (similar to that of a thermostat) that will be returned to. This article was written in order to better educate others on the science of happiness. The authors were writing to anyone of any age as the language was very plain and simple and because the article was a very easy

In “There’s More to Life Than Being Happy,” Emily Esfahani Smith writes about the conflict between Viktor Frankl’s book, “Man’s Search for Happiness” and the culture today, which focuses on happiness in life rather than meaning. She introduces Viktor Frankl as a star medical and psychology student who survived the Holocaust in 1942. While Frankl was kept hostage in his camp, he was forced to find the good in life in order to survive. After being liberated, Frankl recorded his experience and what he learned in nine days, creating a best-seller in the United States. Smith explains that even though it has been concluded that Americans’ happiness is at an all-time high, the Center for Disease Control says that almost fifty percent of Americans have not found a purpose in life. Smith tells that bad mental health, self-esteem, and depression are less likely to be found in those who have found a pleasurable meaning in life. Happiness is associated with being a “taker”, while having a meaning life is associated with being a “giver” according to Smith. The downside to having a purpose for one’s life is the fact that he or she is usually more unhappy due to stress and worry than those who only strive for happiness, Smith explains. A study in 2011 proved that if someone has a negative circumstance occur in his or her lifetime, that event will give him or her more of a drive to find meaning in life rather than happiness. Smith concluded by linking these other sources with Frankl’s

Happiness, an elusive eight letter word with a mighty punch! Many have sought to define happiness, but found it a difficult task to do. While reading an article published in the New Yorker by Will Sorr on July 07, 2017 titled “A Better Kind of Happiness”, I was informed that happiness is more than just a word, happiness is essential to the well-being of human health. Dating back nearly two and half million years ago an ancient Greek Philosopher and scientist, Aristotle, proposed the idea of eudaemonic happiness. He stated that “happiness was not merely a feeling, or a golden promise, but a

Happiness forms the basis for smiling and everybody would want to be happy while interacting with others in the society. Every individual has what triggers their movement towards happiness. The article explains various perspectives of happiness that are realized within the society. It will discuss practice perspective, psychological perspective and scientific perspective of happiness.

A powerful quote said by pre-socratic philosopher named Democritus says “Happiness resides not in possessions, and not in gold, happiness dwells in the soul”. In other words, happiness does not come from materialism but instead from the things money can’t buy. In the article The Secret of Happiness the author David Myers writes directly to Americans about how he believes we need to obtain a new “American Dream” that emphasizes personal happiness instead of materialistic happiness. Myers also believes happiness resides in the soul and he says people that think money is the key to happiness are actually less content with themselves and he uses various ways to prove this point. With that being said materialistic happiness vs personal happiness is an important issue, and Myers made a strong use of Logos by showing surveys and studies, Ethos by showing credibility in his argument but he could have used more Pathos by using more emotion and enthusiasm in his argument.

Happiness is not a strange term to us. We usually use that word to express our feelings in every day. Additionally, more than a word, “happiness” is what we really need and always seek in life. However, finding and understanding deeply its meaning is not easy. The online dictionary, “vocabulary.com” defines, “Happiness is a sense of well-being, joy, or contentment. When people are successful, or safe, or lucky, they feel happiness.” Thus, we always wonder if we are happy or how could we be happier in our life. Happiness, therefore, becomes a goal for everybody.