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Week 12 [12-18.06.2017] Why are we happy?

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Dan Gilbert, author of "Stumbling on Happiness," questions the view that we are unhappy if we do not get what we want. Our "psychological immune system" allows us to feel happy even when things do not work out as planned.



What do you think about that? What makes you happy?

Comments

Unknown said…
I'm gonna go with "happiness is a choice". Because why not? Different things make different people happy. Everybodys got their preference. And as in this tedtalk a synthetic happiness is often an unconscious choice. Didn't get what you wanted? Oh well, thing I did get is not as bad, actually it's great. A choice.
A quote by a tv-show hero:
"When I'm being sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead". A choice.
17 June 2017 at 21:07
Unknown said…
I agree with Dan Gilbert, in my opinion happines depends on our attitude, I mean when we think positively good things happen to us or we can bear better when something bad happens to us. It all depends on our thinking. Depressive approach never helped anyone.
18 June 2017 at 11:36
Anonymous said…
Everyone is different and happy because of different reasons. Sometimes it may be a cup of chocolate, sometimes mother's hug and in other case new pair of shoes. What I'm trying to say is that things making us happy are created during our whole life. By making values, by our education, people we are talking with and so on.
The really important thing is keep in trying to find something witch makes us happy all the time. Even we are trying to reach something and it is going to be a long way, we have to find something positive all the time in order not to getting dispirited on our way.
18 June 2017 at 11:55
Unknown said…
Some time ago I understood that happiness it is something inside us, not outside. I clearly understood for myself things which Dan Gilbert is talking about in his presentation. Happiness is a choice. However, it isn't an easy choice. It takes mind work, a lot of work to start look at things differently, to start enjoying the life as it is. For me, the key is in looking for something good in every situation and to get as much as I can from it. Of course, it isn't always possible, there are a lot of moments in our lives which are truly unhappy and unpleasant. The only solution in those kind of situation is to be strong and decide to move forward and do everything you can to change the situation you are in. Every person should choose happiness as the way of living and after that every goal can be achieved.
18 June 2017 at 14:40
Unknown said…
I am agree with Dan. Also I would like to add, that you start to understand that happiness is a choice mostly after something bad happens, like in Dan's examples, or even worse. Usually people begin to appreciate their life after their decease or some accident. When you know what it is to lose your life, or to lose your beloved person, you try to celebrate each moment of your life. You are just happy to wake up every day, to breath, to be with your family. Of course, if you are lucky not to face such situation, you can also be stressed by any other problem. But the main thing - being unhappy couldn't help you to solve the problem, your attitude really matters. Sometimes when I have a really bad day and terrible mood I just ask myself - will it really matter in two weeks or two months. Usually the answer is "no". So just grab yourself and smile. Because most problems are really nothing.
I know one person, he is very successful and quite lucky. But his life goal is to become better, smarter, richer and so own. Nice goal, right? But his problem, that doesn't allow him to be happy - he always wants more, he is never satisfied and depressed. Many people in his situation would be happy, but he is not. Been successful doesn't make you happy, until you decide to be happy.
18 June 2017 at 15:45
Kateryna Skachek said…
I agree and disagree at the same time. Is happiness a choice during a time of loss and/or tragedy? If it was a choice in those times, who would choose it?
Furthermore, a choice can only be said to be truly "choosable" if the person in question is aware that their is a choice to be made and what all the options are.
Therefore, a person with a chemical imbalance or clinical depression or loss might not be aware that happiness is a choice available. In that case, can we still say that happiness is a choice?
However, I think that the saying "happiness is a choice" still holds true somewhat. Because even though the emotions themselves are not choices, they are caused by how you view or react or think of certain things. And those views, reactions, and thoughts can be directly influenced by you.
18 June 2017 at 16:27
Unknown said…
Our happiness is really dependent on everything: school, work, family etc.
It also depends on our character. Are we looking at the world positively.
Unfortunately, as they say life is not a fairytale, and it is not always possible to be happy
18 June 2017 at 16:43
Unknown said…
I entirely agree that our character has a lot of to do with our personal happiness, which depends on our attitude to life, thus getting what we want. It's comical to some point that we often feel better with sth we actually have than with sth we missed or wasn't supposed to get. Or we just claim it in front of people while personally we're not so sure. That's human mind indeed ;)
18 June 2017 at 18:10
Łukasz Stawiany said…
I can really agree with "happiness is a choice" of course if we don't have about people with some serious health problem etc. then it's much harder to just be happy. But when we are talking about normal average people, being happy is really more dependent on our character, way that we are living, our dreams and needs. If we can manage with our wants and needs properly we can be happy all the time, but it's easy to say, hard to do.
18 June 2017 at 21:27
Łukasz Domeradzki said…
Happiness is a choice - you can easily find overwealthy people that are unhappy, while people that barely can keep up living are in true happiness.

We choose if we're happy with what we have or not. It always worked like that - one guy will be happy that he's not starving while other one will be unhappy because he can't afford 200k USD ferrari.
18 June 2017 at 21:33
Unknown said…
I agree with Dan. Attitude is the most important thing but without my friends and family I won't be happy. In my case they are "key" to the happiness.
18 June 2017 at 21:47
Mieczysław Szumilak said…
We fill happy when dopamine is produced in our brain. It could be very addicting. There was an experiment on rats, where they placed electrodes in their brains, that stimulated dopamine production. There was two switches, by using first one they got food and water, by using the second one it stimulated the brain. Rats used only the second switch, and were starving until they died.
18 June 2017 at 22:02
Wojtek Kania said…
I think it makes my happy when I meet with my firends. I can talk with them, I can exchange opinions. It makes my happy when I eat with them, when I ride a bikes with them. I think friends is most importanant thing to be happy.
18 June 2017 at 23:15
Ihor Ahnianikov said…
In my opinion happiness is a feeling that occurs only if you have a contrast in your life. For example if you born in a rich family you will not appreciate toys in the same way as a kid from a poor family, you just get used to getting almost every toy you want and happiness doesn't occur.

If someone known a Bob Ross, a painting show host from the USA, he has a good quote about it: “Gotta have opposites, light and dark and dark and light, in painting. It’s like in life. Gotta have a little sadness once in awhile so you know when the good times come. I'm waiting on the good times now.” So appreciating little things and constant improvement of life makes a person happy.
18 June 2017 at 23:28
Łukasz Grzybowski said…
Everybody has different values in life and things that they consider important and one's these are achieved and present in one's life then that's what makes a person happy. For me happines is my girlfriend, friends and interestes.
18 June 2017 at 23:36
Shashkov Oleksii said…
I think what makes you happy is not possible to list any physical thing like a new car and so on. So I think that if we look at the Maslow pyramid we can understand that "happiness" is determined at the level which you have already received , for example, you can't be happy that you recognize if you quite a long time hungry. But if I had to pick just 1 thing , I probably would have chosen family.
18 June 2017 at 23:37
Bartosz Łyżwa said…
It's hard question what makes me happy. I think I'm happy everyday if there is nothing to worry me. There are many things which make me happy, like: sports, meeting with my friends and many, many more. Of course I'm not feeling so good everytime and like everyone I have some problems but in my opinion, there is no any problem which can't be solved :)
18 June 2017 at 23:56
Maciej Główka said…
I strongly believe happiness is a choice. We choose how we live. Everybody knows or at least heard about a person who experienced something terrible and is still very positive, full of live and even stronger. Bad things happen to all of us and it is our choice how we deal with them. We can choose to isolate ourselves by showing how miserable we are or we can learn from it and grow stronger. The ability to enjoy simple things is a great gift. Those tiny moments create our life and our general feeling of happiness. It is a hard task which I try to put into practice every day.
19 June 2017 at 00:46
Unknown said…
I believe that if we are happy depends on us - when you don't want yourself to be happy, you definitely won't be. You have to give yourself a chance to be happy.
19 June 2017 at 09:06
Krzysztof Lichota said…
Well I agree with you Bartek. You are really happy all the time.

Same as you I feel happy when I meet my friends or do some other activity that I enjoy.

Happiness may be a choice, but not always...
22 June 2017 at 01:01
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