Over
the years of my working with students, one of the lifetime goals most mentioned
is "happiness." I'm not sure if we know what happiness is or when we
have accomplished this goal. I read a book on the topic, Authentic Happiness, by Martin Seligman.
He is a psychologist who actually teaches college courses on this topic. The
following are some excerpts from his text. Please read these excerpts, think
about them and add your comments.
Excerpts from Authentic Happiness by Martin Seligman:
Real happiness comes from identifying, cultivating and using your personal strengths in work, love, play and parenting. Seligman contrasts happiness with hedonism. He says that a hedonist "wants as many good moments and as few bad moments as possible in life." He states that hedonism is a shortcut to happiness that leaves us feeling empty. For example, we often assume that more material possessions will make us happy. However, the more material possessions we have, the greater the expectations and we no longer appreciate what we have.
Seligman suggests some ideas to increase happiness. 1. Realize that the past does not determine your future. The future is open to possibilities. 2. Be grateful for the good events of the past and place less emphasis on the bad events. 3. Build positive emotions through forgiving and forgetting. 4. Work on increasing optimism and hope for the future. 5. Find out what activities make you happy and engage in them. Spread these activities out over time so that you will not get tired of them. 6. Take the time to savor the happy times. 7. Take time to enjoy the present moment. 8. Build more flow into your life. Flow is the state of gratification we feel when totally absorbed in an activity that matches our strengths.
Write your comments on these ideas. What does happiness mean to you?
Share some of your intention statements for the future. You can make two posts of 100 words each or one post of 200 words.
Your postings have been inspiring and awesome. Best wishes for the future!
Excerpts from Authentic Happiness by Martin Seligman:
Real happiness comes from identifying, cultivating and using your personal strengths in work, love, play and parenting. Seligman contrasts happiness with hedonism. He says that a hedonist "wants as many good moments and as few bad moments as possible in life." He states that hedonism is a shortcut to happiness that leaves us feeling empty. For example, we often assume that more material possessions will make us happy. However, the more material possessions we have, the greater the expectations and we no longer appreciate what we have.
Seligman suggests some ideas to increase happiness. 1. Realize that the past does not determine your future. The future is open to possibilities. 2. Be grateful for the good events of the past and place less emphasis on the bad events. 3. Build positive emotions through forgiving and forgetting. 4. Work on increasing optimism and hope for the future. 5. Find out what activities make you happy and engage in them. Spread these activities out over time so that you will not get tired of them. 6. Take the time to savor the happy times. 7. Take time to enjoy the present moment. 8. Build more flow into your life. Flow is the state of gratification we feel when totally absorbed in an activity that matches our strengths.
Write your comments on these ideas. What does happiness mean to you?
Share some of your intention statements for the future. You can make two posts of 100 words each or one post of 200 words.
Your postings have been inspiring and awesome. Best wishes for the future!
Happiness to me is the ability to find the good in any situation. It is the process of no longer allowing anyone to have any hold on your emotions. It is the ability to look at every morning as a new day and a fresh start. Happiness to me is the way I feel when my family gets together to celebrate a holiday or just have a BBQ to catch up. It is a smile that lights up the room and makes everyone look twice. Happiness is being at total peace with the world and your life in general. Happiness is different to each person. It can be finding the person that you believe you are meant to be with or a goal that you have finally achieved. My happiness is knowing that I will be getting my Associate's Degree and moving onto university. It is knowing that part of my goals will be achieved and starting to work on the next challenge in life.
ReplyDeleteThis is so beautifully written that you should post it somewhere you can see it frequently just to keep on track.
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ReplyDeleteI always believe in these words happiness is about what you give, is not about what you have. I am really happy when I could help someone who needs help. No matter what value things we have because they all change with continuing life, and appear new things. The important thing is to have satisfaction in what we have and appreciate it. In order to know the secrets to happiness, we have to practice some activities that become a habit. We should express gratitude, and appreciate what we have. Our family is a great gift that we have, and they deserve our appreciation. It’s good to look at the bright side of the life. I think we should not focus on our problems and thinking of why we are unhappy, and start to yell saying stop to ourselves. Doing something kind for others increases our own personal happiness and gives us satisfaction. Savor the future by anticipating and visualizing positive events or outcomes in the future. Goals provide structure and meaning to our lives and improve self-esteem. Engaging in physical activity provides many opportunities for increasing happiness.
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas on happiness. Keep these ideas posted so you can look at them and keep on track.
DeleteI believe that happiness is when you consciously are aware of something that makes you and not the material things. The things that make you happy are things like spending time with family and friends doing activities that all of you guys enjoy like going bowling, going to the beach, going to the movies. I think that one thing that everyone can learn to do is slow down and learn to enjoy the present instead of planning out our weekends so that we have to be constantly going from one thing to the other trying to get so many things done. Maybe some of us learn to do this as we get older but it feels as though you can never have a day without worrying about whether or not you need to do something. Quite often we include a couple of things that we enjoy into our day so maybe it doesn't seem as stressful. One thing that I am definitely learning is that your past does not determine your future but it is you and how hard you want to try and change your life for the better. I think that this may be the reason why some people don't have the motivation because they feel as though their history will make it to where they can't get a job or change their lives for the better. Though I believe that anybody that has a positive attitude and thinks that they can do it will be able to accomplish anything that they want to.
ReplyDeleteGreat thoughts on happiness. Keep these ideas posted and review them to keep on track.
DeleteHappiness to me is being at peace. I feel like im truly happy when my family is all together and everyone is getting along and just enjoying life together. I also feel like when you can go through life with your loved ones and be there for one another then that what happiness is. I also feel happy when everything is in order in my home at school, at work, at church when everything around me is just flowing smoothly and im getting things done and not leaving anyone or anything out i feel like that is also a place of happiness for. I've never liked to be consumed by martial things, yes that can add a little joy to life and make things a little easier at times but i dont feel happiness can be found in those things because those things dont have feelings and material things dont grow a relationship with you like people can, those things can also be wiped away you in a blink of an eye and then your left alone. Lastly i feel like happiness can be a state of mind, if you stay positive and always look on the bright side then you will find yourself in a better place and be to find joy in everything and i believe that that is also a way of happiness.
ReplyDeleteI agree that family is a big part of happiness. I also like your comment about staying positive.
DeleteHappiness to me is being at peace. I feel like im truly happy when my family is all together and everyone is getting along and just enjoying life together. I also feel like when you can go through life with your loved ones and be there for one another then that what happiness is. I also feel happy when everything is in order in my home at school, at work, at church when everything around me is just flowing smoothly and im getting things done and not leaving anyone or anything out i feel like that is also a place of happiness for. I've never liked to be consumed by martial things, yes that can add a little joy to life and make things a little easier at times but i dont feel happiness can be found in those things because those things dont have feelings and material things dont grow a relationship with you like people can, those things can also be wiped away you in a blink of an eye and then your left alone. Lastly i feel like happiness can be a state of mind, if you stay positive and always look on the bright side then you will find yourself in a better place and be to find joy in everything and i believe that that is also a way of happiness.
ReplyDeleteHappiness for me is being able to look at where I am in life and being satisfied but also still chanting more success. I also look find joy in the title things in life such as enjoying a car ride or a walk around the neighbor hood. Because that's what it takes for me to be happy with where I am in life. Sometimes I find myself getting over whelmed with school, work, and my relationship I can't help but feel a little stressed and therefore not happy, but when this happens I try to enjoy the little things in life and dwell on I the pressure I am under. Also life is very good to me at some points too. Life's like a roller coaster, there's a lot of ups, downs and plateaus so you might as well just sit back and enjoy the ride because you only get to do this life thing once. Happiness means to me but at the same time being sad makes you feel alive and it also takes a person to reach a real low point in there lives to really appreciate true happiness. Happiness doesn't have to be a grand gesture or buying a lot of materialistic things that society convinces you need to be happy, its about living each day and trying to improve you self and also just being grateful for what you have already done for yourself. I appreciate the words of Seligman because although we say some of those ideas to ourselves everyday its good to read that people go through the same thing as each other everyday, the struggle to be happy.
ReplyDeleteI like your analogy that life is like a roller coaster with ups and downs. I also like your comment about being grateful for what you have.
DeleteIn my opinion, happiness is usually comes when you are surrounded by the people who love you and who you also care about. I agree with the Seligman's views of happiness too. Whenever I think about the past, it makes me a little sad, but thinking towards the future and all the possibilities for me will always make me happier. There are also moments of realization when I think of everything that I have and see how lucky I am to be in place where I am now. The people and places that always make me happier is just being around the people I feel closest to. A normal and simple conversation makes me happy, and sometimes enjoying something I love makes me happy, like listening to music or getting absorbed in a good book. Most of the time its the little things that will make us happy, we just need to be realize them more. Some activities we love to do will make us happy, maybe someone loves going bike riding or rock climbing. The things that makes us happy are the things that makes us relax and forget everything we are worried about, like a stress reliever. Happiness is the one thing we all want, and yet we all have it, we just usually don't notice it.
ReplyDeleteI like your comments about stopping to enjoy life. Most of us are happy and just need to notice it.
DeleteHappiness for me is, safety, stability and peace of mind, it is impossible to get happiness, unless the presence of respect and understanding, openness and love that was between family or friends, can not be achieved all these things, but if we wanted it. As well as positive thinking creates a happiness that was in our lives or in our study or in our work, as can be positive for my thoughts to help me to succeed in college through my ability to choose the material that I can I teach and excel in and be confident of my abilities to complete the article, and to be optimistic where, because of optimism and positive choice to achieve confidence in your abilities and will continue on the path of success and therefore feel happiness, success leads to more success and that success needs to be defended in an effort to achieve your goals, you will become enthusiastic and active along the way, everything starts with ideas you choose. As for the professional life, it is best to focus your mind on the work and the system will be successful and happy and will continue to work with all the well-deserved respect. Generally that every one of us can not do without happiness, but he must know how he can get it.
ReplyDeleteI like your comment that happiness is safety, stability and peace of mind. We all need to appreciate these things.
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ReplyDeleteHappiness to me is to find the positive side in everything I do in life. For example school is hard and could sometimes overwhelm any one. In my personal experience some classes are more stressful that other but what matters is how we deal with them. I try to tackle one thing at a time to succeed in any type of situation. On the positive side it is important to find something that motivates you in anything you do. On the other hand another subject that makes me happy is learning from the past and accepting mistakes to never fall again. Previous mistakes from the past help us look at it and say everything happiness for a reason and we should only fall once. And lastly my personal favorite is my family the love that we give each other is unconditional. We will always be there to support each other in any situation. Love is a strong word, but where there’s love there’s happiness.
ReplyDeleteI like your comments about love and happiness and the importance of finding the positive. Good job!
DeleteIn my opinion happiness to me is that you can overcome anything that is given to you in life whether it is good, bad or even sad. From my experience I am very thankful and happy that my life is going the way I want them to for myself and family. Especially the support that my husband has for me to succeed in life as a wife, mother and a student. Being a military spouse was really hard for the first three years of our marriage, him always leaving out to sea and me at home with the kids. I knew it was hard for him to leave us but I always told him that no matter where your at we are with you. Even when he was out in the middle of the ocean he always made sure that I was happy and that everything is going to be ok. I think us supporting each other helped us to be stronger and patient with each other to be happy as one. When he left that was our biggest test of our love, relationship and trust for each other. Right then and there I knew we were meant for each other. The best thing of our relationship is that when he came it is like he never left. He was always able to make me smile when things got rough and just made me feel happy inside. We have been married now for 9 years and all I can say is that I am the happiest woman alive. Our family is full of love and the support that we have for each other that is happiness for me. Staying positive in any situation makes my life a lot easier for my family. Happiness is the key to live a long wonderful life.
ReplyDeleteYour relationship with your husband is a beautiful story. Treasure it always.
DeleteHappiness means a lot of to me. It means my family, my friends, and myself.Being happy of what ever I have and be smiling every single day. Also, happiness is the key to success and live better because If I'm sad I can't live. Also, make people around me laugh. it makes me happy. Happiness comes from our heart not from any thing els. Take care of family it makes me happy and make my life full of happiness. Also, happiness is a gift sent from our God to live our life. Happiness is closing my eyes, taking a deep breath and getting tears in my eyes because I just love life.Also, waking up and see my family around me, have breakfast together is a most beautiful thing in this world to make me happy and thanks God for this important thing. Sometimes I don't think positively and I lost my happiness, but after a while I try to think again and find the answer on my mind. Happiness means eat, drink live my life every day, do what ever I want, and don't give up, but keep going. Also,happiness is a thing that we can't buy it with money, but it comes at any moment that we can't expect it. We feel it in our heart and it is a wonderful feel so far. Happiness is helping someone who needs help and do the best we can. Also, love ourselves it makes us happy. We should never think about what we lost, but think about what we have because maybe it is more important than something we lost it. Also, the sky is raining, it consider happiness for me. I thanks God everyday because I can eat, sleep, study , and see my family everyday, it is really a small things, but for me it consider the important and amazing things that I have it in this world.
ReplyDeleteI like your comments about happiness is every day and to keep trying. Good job!
DeleteHappiness means a lot to me. It means having the breath of life and been healthy. I enjoy spending time with family, friends and attending social events. There is medical findings that prove people who is happy live longer compared to someone who is not happy most of the time. At times when you find yourself stress go for a run or a walk to he park listen to the birds and the flowing of the stream. The ability to attend college and get good grades would make anyone happy. Happiness is being able to help the less fortunate and doing community service which will have a positive impact. In life you may hit a road block but that is not the time to stop trying you got to press on to accomplish the ultimate goal which will bring happiness. I am also happy to be able work and provide for my family. Taking part in recreational activities such as fishing, camping and hiking also bring happiness. The birth of a child, job promotion and purchasing a new home also bring happiness. Always remember before you make someone happy you yourself have to be happy. To be happy also improve a person quality of life .
ReplyDeleteI like your comments about happiness being connected to good health and family plus appreciating each day.
DeleteHappiness to me is something beautiful and when you can smile through the good and tough times also. When bad things happen right away you need to realize that its officially in the past and that you should not be overthinking or stressing about it. It is better to right away or as fast as you can just put the situation behind you put a smile on your face and live life happily because life is short and we all deserve to enjoy every second of it. Things in our past that happen to us build character and some people go through more situations than others but those situations increase your mental, emotional and even at times physical strength so be grateful for them because they can shape you into the strong independent person you become later in life. Happiness takes courage at times to be able to put things aside and help not just yourself but also others who ask of it or depend on it. Helping others such as the less fortunate is always a great deed that makes you very happy and feel a self accomplishment in helping someone else. Make sure that no matter what happens in your life that you need to know that its your only life, life is to short to be moping around town so keep your chin up and never let that smile turn upside down! :)
ReplyDeleteyou are right but it's easy to say from my experience it's really hard to do what ever you said
DeleteI like your comments about smiling through both the good and bad times and that bad times are in the past. Good job!
DeleteWhat does it mean to be happy? What is it that makes us feel that certain feeling that none of us can really put our finger on?
ReplyDeletePutting a smile on someone’s face, having the expensive house, the expensive car and the expensive lifestyle. These are all examples of when a person may feel a happy. They are all diverse, just like the individual’s in the world. Happiness is acquired through countless stimuli, whether they are material or emotional. One cannot give a general definition for happiness, due to the fact that each person has their own perception of what happiness is. I see happiness as my family and my achievements.
My family is a huge element of my happiness. A couple of examples include having Sunday lunch with my family. Everyone basically, comes together after church and we sit down and eat lunch together and then spend the rest of the day talking and just enjoying each other’s company. Also, going out with my sister and cousin on the weekends is always brings happiness into my life. My family plays part in my happiness, and I feel truly blessed to have such a big and supporting family. Education is very important to me which helps the person and the society in which the persons live.
I enjoyed reading about your comments about happiness and family as well as the importance of education. Good job!
DeleteHappiness can be defined as a variety of things to different individual with different beliefs such as everything working out, being surrounded by loved ones, being successful or even receiving materialistic possessions. However for me right now, I feel the best definition I can give is to be able to look where you currently are in life and be able to think positively about how you made it there and how you can work towards a better tomorrow. I feel that this definition works well since it is almost as if you have made peace with the past and are looking towards the future with a more positive attitude. I also feel that what I am saying is pretty close to Seligman’s beliefs. For example “realize the pat does not determine the future” and “the future is open to possibilities” is coming to terms with your past and not letting it hold you back from a brighter future. I believe by coming to terms with one’s past and not necessary letting everything go entirely but instead accepting that it has happened and no longer dwelling on it. For instance years after my stroke I spent years dwelling on it but once I came to terms with it and decided I wouldn’t let it determine my future I began to feel happier overall and began working harder towards the next steps for my future.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your comments about appreciating where you currently are in life and how you got there. Glad you are not letting the stroke get you down even though this is difficult.
DeleteWhat does happiness mean to you?
ReplyDeleteHappiness. Ah, that ever-elusive state of mind that's characterized by contentment, joy, satisfaction and pleasure. The United States holds the ideal in such high regard that “the pursuit of happiness” is seen as an inalienable human right, right alongside life and liberty in the Declaration of Independence. No matter one's creed, origin or social standing, we are all taught that striving to be happy is a hugely important aspect of life. All of this being true, how does one actually obtain happiness? There seems to be no foolproof formula and the code of how to be happy and stay happy hasn’t yet been deciphered. We all know that one person, the one who's always joyous despite whatever curve balls life might throw, and we also all know that other person who is miserable, despite having all he or she could want in life (at face value). This might be because happiness is large.
Interesting comment about the "pursuit of happiness" as an inalienable right. Hope you figure this out for yourself.
DeleteHappiness to me means simply being happy in whatever you do and not settling for anybody or anything. As Seligman says realizing your past doesn't determine your future means you can be whatever you want to be regardless of your past and you can be happy even though you may have once been sad. Being optimistic can change your view of many things to a positive light. Being happy is a choice.
ReplyDeleteI like your comment about positive thinking and that happiness is a choice.
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ReplyDeleteMany people believe that happiness is having fun at a party, the excitement of new experiences, or the delights of a fine meal. These are all wonderful experiences to be cherished and cultivated but they are not happiness. Happiness to me is being with my family and friends, happiness to me is watching my kids growing up and getting the education that they’re supposed to be getting and trying new things in life. Happiness to me is being with my family and teach my kids new things, do everything I need to make them happy, I would do everything just to see them growing with good friends and watch over them. What’s going to make me really sad is that they don’t do what I expect them to do and they just go with bad friends and all that, sometimes when we watch so much over our kids they think it’s annoying and they think that we don’t want the best for them , but later in life they understand that we wanted the best for them and when they did good they made us happy, they wish that they did what we told them but this is how life goes, we want to go back to the past to correct it but we can’t.
ReplyDeleteI can relate to your comments about happiness for our children. We all want this for our children, but don't have complete control over this. As a grandmother, I can say that with the proper guidance and care, children usually turn out OK.
DeleteHappiness is the key for success. We all deserve to be happy and hard work can make us happy. Happiness is important for people to stay positive and to remain their hard work to achieve their goals. Happiness is when I see my family and friends doing well in their paths in life. Happiness is when I achieve my goals day after day. Happiness is when I see myself getting closer to get my degree after all that hard work. Happiness is when we see the people we love happy. A lot of times many of us think of quitting and giving up due to the hard tasks we have to take in order to fulfill a dream but yet we have to think of the reward which is the result of our hard work, this is happiness itself! Happiness is when you work for something so hard and you start achieving that thing and you know how hard it was for you to get there. We always have to remain positive and work hard and never give up and always pick yourself up when you fall down and remember, a smile could lead you to happiness, and happiness is the key to success in all kind of fields in life.
ReplyDeleteGreat comments on happiness especially working hard to achieve your goals in life and never giving up. Good job!
DeleteI think happiness is when you get surrounded by people who care about you and love you and they’d do anything just to make you happy. I agree with the Seligman's views of happiness. Whenever I think about the past, it makes me a little sad, but thinking about the future and all the things and all things I can do in life and the family I have makes me happy. Whenever I realize that I have a family and kids and also a good work I feel happy because all those things are what I made and it was me who brought myself to this level. The people and places that always make me happier is just being around the people I feel closest to. Simple things could make me happy too , and sometimes enjoying something I love makes me happy, Some activities we love to do will make us happy such as taking my kids and wife for dinner or going to some theme park together with them. Being with people you love makes you happy because you’re sharing all those good and beautiful moments with them, even sometimes you just don’t want those moments to end.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your comments about the importance of family life and making life what you want it to be. Good job!
DeleteWhat does happiness means to me?
ReplyDeleteHappiness seems to be one of those mystical things you either feel or you don't. It's almost religious in that sense. In my opinion a main component of happiness is gratitude. If you’re not grateful for the things you have (both material and not), then you won’t be happy with more either. Take stock of the good in your life and learn to recognize negative thinking patterns before they spiral out of control. When you are feeling down, get in the habit of actively focusing on how many wonderful things for which you have to be grateful. Ultimately, I have found that happiness is choice, and learning to choose happiness allows you to become the best possible version of yourself. In my own personal experience, I have found that to truly be happy you must first learn to love yourself. It’s so important to love yourself exactly as you are and embrace every part of you, including your flaws. This is not to say that working toward self-improvement is not important–quite the opposite. The act of working on yourself and bettering yourself alone can provide happiness.
I enjoyed reading your comments about the importance of gratitude for happiness and also loving yourself. Good job!
DeleteHappiness is simply just feeling good about someone or something. Being around people I love is my definition of happiness. Family and friends make me extremely happy. There is never a dull moment when I am with them and I know that when I am with them, I never want the moment to end. I love my family because they are my blood. We look alike, have the same personality and we just enjoy each other. The way I feel about them is the definition of happiness. My friends on the other hand make me extremely happy as well. I am so thankful for them. I love being around them because they never cease to amaze me. I see them about 3-5 days a week. I would go one day without seeing them and miss them. It can even be 5 hours, I am constantly missing them. I know in my heart that is true happiness and love. Being with the people I love is my definition of happiness.
ReplyDeleteI agree that a big component of happiness is being with those you love. Good job!
DeleteHappiness to me is being satisfied with your life. It can be anything, as long as it makes you happy. What makes me happy is having friends and family that support me. You need people to pick you up when your feeling down. What also makes me happy is having the opportunity to graduate college and having a successful career. Living life makes me happy. I like to go outside and play sports with my friends. I like to have positive people around me to make me feel happy. I also think positive when something negative happens in my life. When I feel sad, I look at the positives and learn from my past mistakes. The best things to do to feel happy is surround yourself with good people and have fun with them. I like to do activities because its fun and it puts me in a good mood. When I feel stressed in college, I look at the positives knowing that I will get through and continue my journey to happiness.
ReplyDeleteThese are great guidelines for increasing happiness in your life. Good job!
DeleteTo me happiness is enjoying what you are doing and knowing that not only does it benefit you but also it benefits others. For me personally seeing other people happy makes me happy so my goal in life is to find a career that accomplishes that. I think that happiness is different for everyone and it is often not easy to find something that makes you happy. People always worry that they will never find what makes them happy but that is the good part, it doesn’t come easy so when it does it very rewarding.
ReplyDeleteA career helping others seems like a good fit for you. Good job!
DeleteIn my personal opinion, I believe happiness is when you are completely at peace with yourself. Where you have lived through trial and error, learning from your mistakes and discovering who you are as person and what you truly want out of life. After you have figured that out and understand what your goals and passion are then, the real reward is taking the steps to accomplish your goals and fulfill your dreams. Living a life that is pure to yourself and not trying to please someone else. However, always showing gratification and kindness to others who are willing to lend a hand or support when you are in need. Be not afraid to accept help from others and then pay it forward to the next person in need. Always know that there will be rough times, but learning to forgive and forget these times in the key to your happiness. You must be strong enough to endure the hard times that will prepare you for the better days ahead in your future. Lastly, I would say to take every opportunity you can to grow, travel, do something new, or overcome a fear. There is so much in the world to see, do not limit your possibilities, if you get a chance take it because that opportunity may never present itself again and there is nothing worse then living with “what if”.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your healthy and happy attitude toward life. Good job!
DeleteThis chapter was really helpful in breaking down into laymen terms how to think positively and how much of an impact it is proven to have on peoples lives. It made me really take a step back an evaluate where I am in my life, and how much I have ahead of myself, and how much I have to accomplish. Knowing how much of an impact my own thoughts have on determining whether or not I will accomplish my goals is actually very comforting and reassuring. I am now more confident that I can conquer any challenge thrown my way in life, by utilizing my brain and my thoughts to get past it. The brain and the power of thought is truly a magical thing and I feel like once people really learn how to be more in sync with it, the more exuberance for life they have. I intend to be more grateful for the little things that make me smile in my day to day life. I intend to be more positive and optimistic not only in the work place but in the classroom as well. I know that with a positive mindset and a healthy body, I can live a long, fulfilling and meaningful life.
ReplyDeleteYou have the keys to success here: a healthy body and a positive mindset will help to accomplish your goals.
DeleteIs your glass half-empty or half-full? How you answer this age-old question about positive thinking may reflect your outlook on life, your attitude toward yourself, and whether you're optimistic or pessimistic and it may even affect your health.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, some studies show that personality traits like optimism and pessimism can affect many areas of your health and well-being. The positive thinking that typically comes with optimism is a key part of effective stress management. And effective stress management is associated with many health benefits. If you tend to be pessimistic, don't despair, you can learn positive thinking skills.
Positive thinking doesn't mean that you keep your head in the sand and ignore life's less pleasant situations. Positive thinking just means that you approach unpleasantness in a more positive and productive way. You think the best is going to happen, not the worst.
Positive thinking often starts with self-talk. Self-talk is the endless stream of unspoken thoughts that run through your head. These automatic thoughts can be positive or negative. Some of your self-talk comes from logic and reason. Other self-talk may arise from misconceptions that you create because of lack of information.
Good ideas for maintaining happiness. I like your comments about optimism.
DeleteIs your glass half-empty or half-full? How you answer this age-old question about positive thinking may reflect your outlook on life, your attitude toward yourself, and whether you're optimistic or pessimistic and it may even affect your health.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, some studies show that personality traits like optimism and pessimism can affect many areas of your health and well-being. The positive thinking that typically comes with optimism is a key part of effective stress management. And effective stress management is associated with many health benefits. If you tend to be pessimistic, don't despair, you can learn positive thinking skills.
Positive thinking doesn't mean that you keep your head in the sand and ignore life's less pleasant situations. Positive thinking just means that you approach unpleasantness in a more positive and productive way. You think the best is going to happen, not the worst.
Positive thinking often starts with self-talk. Self-talk is the endless stream of unspoken thoughts that run through your head. These automatic thoughts can be positive or negative. Some of your self-talk comes from logic and reason. Other self-talk may arise from misconceptions that you create because of lack of information.
1. Acts of kindness
ReplyDeleteActs of kindness are always a win-win opportunity. You not only make someone else a little happier, but you also make yourself a little happier too.
2. Savor life's joys
This is really important because a lot of the time you won't know how much things contribute to your happiness until their gone. Appreciate them while they're here.
3. I also agree with Martin's idea to put work into your personal life like parenting and marriage. You can't put no effort in and expect others to make you happy.
4. Commit to accomplishing you goals
You make goals for yourself because you obviously really want those things. However, if you fail to follow through you're not only upset you didn't get what you wanted, but also because you could have but didn't put in enough effort.
I think I agree Martin more just because I'm a firm believer in choice over chance. I think you need to work for the things that bring you happiness. I agree with the other writer as well, but I think those provide more short term happiness.
I like your comments about choice over chance and they show that you are taking a positive control over your life. Good job!
DeleteI like your comments about choice over chance and they show that you are taking a positive control over your life. Good job!
DeleteHappiness means everything to me, when I say happiness, I mean my family, my daughters, myself and my life. Without happiness, there is no meaning for anyone's life. If we don't appreciate happiness, we will live in black days.
ReplyDeleteWhen I wake up in the morning, feeling healthy, ready to go to school, I feel happy. When I help people, I feel happy
Happiness means the world to me, happiness means trusting myself and life today as there is no tomorrow. Every day we live is an extra day for us, extra happiness, extra hope. If we avoid and skip every single sad and bad day, we will enjoy our life, If we are believing that our past will not make our future, we will know how to enjoy our life and feel how nice to be happy, when we forget that every step we make and achieve will get us to the meaning of happiness because it will make us proud of ourselves, proud that we did something important and add something to our life that will make a new future and a new beginning. I have learned a lot from this life and I know that after any bad day there is a hope waiting for me to open up its door.
Happiness means a lot to me, Happiness means that the world is still a good place to live when we feel happy, the world can't fit us. I feel the happiness whenever I see myself, my daughter and my family are blessed and happy. If I know that the future will be better, I will enjoy every single moment of my life. Happiness can't be expressed in words or even books because it comes from our lives, our actions, and our words. When you love, forgive who did something bad to you, you live the happiness, when you give your hand to the people indeed, you feel the happiness, when you see a smile on the faces you met, you know that you made that smile. life is too short not to spend each day without a smile or a laugh. Happiness is everything to me because I live, breath, and talk about happiness. It is something that brings joy to the world. Happiness is also something that everyone needs to cherish and smile about. My important happiness is my family and seeing them smiling is the best thing I will always like to see because when I see them happy, the world becomes happy
ReplyDeleteI think letting the past be the past is one of the major keys of his ideas. Dwelling on past issues causes so much unnecessary stress. There is literally nothing you can do but look ahead. Everyone has things they regret doing and things they wish they could change but we cant always. Once you learn to forgive and learn from your mistakes youll become a much wiser person. Make sure to focus on positive past experiences once you start thinking about the negative ones. Your past does not define you, all you can ever do is learn from it to help make better decisions in the future.
ReplyDeleteAlways take time to enjoy the present moment. going along with my last post, you cant linger on things in the past. You need to focus on right now and the people you have and all the positive things you have going on. However: it is also important not to get too far ahead of yourself. You cant let something in your future affect how youre living right now. focus on all the good things you have going on and do your best to keep yourself happy as well as successful. I believe this is a major key for a happy and healthy life especially when it comes to your mental health. Once you really start to live in the moment i think you genuinely become a much happier person.
ReplyDeleteAlways take time to enjoy the present moment. going along with my last post, you cant linger on things in the past. You need to focus on right now and the people you have and all the positive things you have going on. However: it is also important not to get too far ahead of yourself. You cant let something in your future affect how youre living right now. focus on all the good things you have going on and do your best to keep yourself happy as well as successful. I believe this is a major key for a happy and healthy life especially when it comes to your mental health. Once you really start to live in the moment i think you genuinely become a much happier person.
ReplyDeleteI think letting the past be the past is one of the major keys of his ideas. Dwelling on past issues causes so much unnecessary stress. There is literally nothing you can do but look ahead. Everyone has things they regret doing and things they wish they could change but we cant always. Once you learn to forgive and learn from your mistakes youll become a much wiser person. Make sure to focus on positive past experiences once you start thinking about the negative ones. Your past does not define you, all you can ever do is learn from it to help make better decisions in the future.
ReplyDeleteNice comments to end this course! There is much current discussion on learning to enjoy the present moment. It is called mindfulness.
ReplyDelete