Madison Lapinski
Professor Mary Seel
March 20, 2018
ENG 111
Happiness
Happiness is being happy, feeling pleasure or being content. This is something that people experience different levels of throughout their life. As society changes it is no longer socially acceptable to be unhappy or at least discuss with the public. People put on masks to cover their emotions. This has caused people to increase their efforts on trying to figure out what leads to happiness rather than what happiness is. Over the years researchers have created and executed multiple experiments, surveys, and observations to try and figure out the answer. Philosophers have written books, universities and colleges are offering classes. But the big question is, what leads to …show more content…
“gratifications, which oddly, may not involve positive emotions at all, but rather the blunting of them… doing something that engages or enhances our strengths is a gratification” (Senior 428). You focus so much on that particular thing that you can not think of anything else because it takes all of your attention and focus, it’s an escape. Not only are you becoming better at something, but it also makes you happier in life. You also feel better about yourself as an individual because you realize that you can actually do it rather than feel defeated. “Positive emotions are increased and the pleasant life is promoted by exercises that increase gratitude, that increase savoring that builds optimism and that challenges discouraging beliefs about the past” (Seligman, Parks, and Steen 419). Increasing gratitude is the beginning of a chain reaction to little things that overall will drastically increase your happiness over time. By increasing optimism, you no longer notice only the negative sides of things and allows you to believe in yourself more than ever because you won’t have pessimistic thoughts about …show more content…
“Can Money Buy You Happiness?” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 10 Nov. 2014, www.wsj.com/articles/can-money-buy-happiness-heres-what-science-has-to-say-1415569538.
Brooks, Arthur C. “Opinion | A Formula for Happiness.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 14 Dec. 2013, www.nytimes.com/2013/12/15/opinion/sunday/a-formula-for-happiness.html?_r=0.
Dunn, Elizabeth W, et al. “If Money Doesn't Make You Happy, Then You Probably Aren't Spending It Right.” Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum, .12th ed., Pearson, 2013, pp. 437–447.
Seligman, Martin E.P, et al. “A Balanced Psychology And A Full Life.” Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum, 12th ed., Pearson, 2013, pp. 417–421.
Senior, Jennifer. “Some Dark Thoughts On Happiness.” Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum, 12th ed., Pearson, 2013, pp.
Professor Mary Seel
March 20, 2018
ENG 111
Happiness
Happiness is being happy, feeling pleasure or being content. This is something that people experience different levels of throughout their life. As society changes it is no longer socially acceptable to be unhappy or at least discuss with the public. People put on masks to cover their emotions. This has caused people to increase their efforts on trying to figure out what leads to happiness rather than what happiness is. Over the years researchers have created and executed multiple experiments, surveys, and observations to try and figure out the answer. Philosophers have written books, universities and colleges are offering classes. But the big question is, what leads to …show more content…
“gratifications, which oddly, may not involve positive emotions at all, but rather the blunting of them… doing something that engages or enhances our strengths is a gratification” (Senior 428). You focus so much on that particular thing that you can not think of anything else because it takes all of your attention and focus, it’s an escape. Not only are you becoming better at something, but it also makes you happier in life. You also feel better about yourself as an individual because you realize that you can actually do it rather than feel defeated. “Positive emotions are increased and the pleasant life is promoted by exercises that increase gratitude, that increase savoring that builds optimism and that challenges discouraging beliefs about the past” (Seligman, Parks, and Steen 419). Increasing gratitude is the beginning of a chain reaction to little things that overall will drastically increase your happiness over time. By increasing optimism, you no longer notice only the negative sides of things and allows you to believe in yourself more than ever because you won’t have pessimistic thoughts about …show more content…
“Can Money Buy You Happiness?” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 10 Nov. 2014, www.wsj.com/articles/can-money-buy-happiness-heres-what-science-has-to-say-1415569538.
Brooks, Arthur C. “Opinion | A Formula for Happiness.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 14 Dec. 2013, www.nytimes.com/2013/12/15/opinion/sunday/a-formula-for-happiness.html?_r=0.
Dunn, Elizabeth W, et al. “If Money Doesn't Make You Happy, Then You Probably Aren't Spending It Right.” Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum, .12th ed., Pearson, 2013, pp. 437–447.
Seligman, Martin E.P, et al. “A Balanced Psychology And A Full Life.” Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum, 12th ed., Pearson, 2013, pp. 417–421.
Senior, Jennifer. “Some Dark Thoughts On Happiness.” Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum, 12th ed., Pearson, 2013, pp.