Why is it so Hard to Be Happy??? Fatima Juarez Mr. Diaz 20 April 2011 (Kanazawa 1)

 People cant or don’t do what they want to do in life and with themselves.  Not a lot of people have the freedom to be happy.  Depending on the person and situation, depression gets the best of us. People seem to think that if the situation is a disaster that they should be in misery with the problem, be happy there are others out there that have it a thousands time worse than you.  Cant learn to love and forgive people.  People always look back to the bad moments in life you could never change.  People forget to love themselves before they love some one else.  People care too much about what society thinks about them and that stops them from doing what they really want to. Live life for yourself and not for other people, be happy you only live once so don’t let anyone stop you. (Juarez pg. from the heart)

 The article from the “Psychology of Being Happy and Increasing Happiness in Life” has said that Science has found new research about what makes people happy (Chotai 1).  A lot of us really don’t know as much about our happiness as we think we do (Chotai 1).  “One of the most convincing studies on happiness has been done by the Czech psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Dr. Csikszentmihalyi interviewed hundreds of successful people ranging from athletes, painters, writers, business people, scientists and religious leaders, and found that they all shared a similar experience when describing the time they were most happy and productive. He calls that experience ‘Flow’” (chotai 1).

 In the article of “Psychology of Being Happy and Increasing Happiness in Life”, it says that there are eight different stages that people usually go through in a casual day (Chotai 1).  Apathy, Boredom, Worry, Relaxation, Anxiety, Control, Arousal and Flow  What state you are in depends on the situations you are dealing with that day and depression is the most common daily stage which is apathy, for example just watching television at home.  Reaching “Flow” is when you face challenges higher than the usual but too much challenge can cause anxiety, boredom or stress (Chotai 1).  There are two other forms of happiness. The first one is the happiness of getting what you want and the second is the happiness of your own failure (Choatai 1).  People often predict wrong on what their own happiness when they don’t get what they want which is synthesized happiness. Synthesized happiness is almost like real happiness and it makes up for it (Chotai 1).

 There are three different types of lifestyles to the “Happy Life” : 1. The Pleasant Life- Pleasurable experiences Finding pleasure in all things and having a lot of relationships (Chotai 1). 2. The Good Life- When a person isolates their interest and strengths to become used to their life and make the best of it People who live this way could be very timid or quiet but they are still happy with their life’s (Chotai 1). 3. The Meaningful Life- People spend most of their lifetime caring for others Helping the less fortunate (Chotai 1) A combination of the three different types of lifestyles leads people to be the most secure and happy in their life's (Chotai 1).

 In the article from USA Today it says that the happiest people surround themselves with family and friends, don’t try to keep up with “The Joneses” living next door, don’t overwhelm themselves everyday and forgive easy (Elias 1).  Happy people are rarely alone, they achieve personal growth and intimacy, judge themselves with their own eyes, and don’t put down other people or go against them (Elias 1). ( happy-main_main.htm( happy-main_main.htm 1). Some people try to be happy with vanity which are called materialist.  Materialist soon realize that spending thousands of dollars on useless things doesn’t bring them happiness (Elias 1).  Other ways to reach happiness is looking at the bright side of every awful situation. Being healthy is a great part of happiness, people take their health for granted knowing that there are people dying of diseases (Elias 1).  Getting satisfaction is another form of happiness, being content with what you do or get. Gratitude has a lot to do with satisfaction, take notice of what we should be greatful for (Elias 1).  “Savor the small pleasures in life” (Elias1).  Forgiveness is a big trait of happiness, instead of having regret and hate you could forgive and be happy.

 An interview with Crystal Nava shows how she is happy and that proves that not everyone is neccesarly unhappy.  Are you happy with your life? Why?  “Yes, because I think that I have everything that I ever wanted. I have everything I desire but I understand that I’m not always going to have everything so I’m just happy with what I have. I am happy to have a family, aslong as you have your family, a home and everything in order to survive the you should be happy” (Nava 1).  What Makes You Happy Crystal?  “The fact that I have both of my parents that love me. Happy that my parents wanted to have me. Happy to have a home because it would to sad to be a foster child without a real home” (Nava 1).  What upsets you? Do you ever get sad? Why?  “What makes me sad is seeing negativity in the world like problems or terrorist. World problems that I see on the news make me sad. I am a caring person and what makes me sad is seeing people suffer” (Nava 1).

 A Look at the Hard Truths about Nature. Web. 10 December  Chotai, Anand. "You Can Make your Own Happiness." Psychology of Being Happy and Increasing Happiness in Life. Suite 101, 14 December Web. 21 Apr  Elias, Marilyn. "Psychologist Now Know What Makes People Happy." USA Today. USA Today, 10 December Web. 21 Apr  Nava, Crystal. Personal Interview by Fatima Juarez. 13 April