`` How Happy Are You And Why - 1247 Words

In her article â€Å"How Happy Are You and Why?,† Sonja Lyubomirsky argues that people have control over their own happiness. Lyubomirsky supports her claims with her interviews with happy people and scientific studies. Her purpose is to consider steps that people can take in order to become happier. She establishes an informal relationship with her audience of unhappy people. Lyubomirsky focuses on social psychology and the â€Å"development of ‘sustainable’ happiness† (179). She brings the idea of genetics into happiness and different aspects of happiness. She determines that there are three factors to happiness, and she also has a Subjective Happiness Scale to measure happiness. According to Lyubomirsky, the three aspects of happiness are†¦show more content†¦Lyubomirsky defines happiness as the â€Å"experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that one’s life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile† ( 184). She challenges the myths that people can find happiness by changing their circumstances and that people either are â€Å"born happy or unhappy† (186). Happiness is not something that can be found or something that not everyone can have. People make their own happiness, despite the difficulties they may face. Happiness comes by â€Å"choosing to change and manage your state of mind† (185). Lyubomirsky gives cases of people who are happy even though they suffer from losses and setbacks. These are the people whose circumstances should make them unhappy, but their intentional actions bring them joy. She also gives cases of people who have not suffered any major losses but are still unhappy because they may see events negatively and feel helpless before them. Lyubomirsky asserts that â€Å"changes in our circumstances, no matter how positive and stunning, actually have little bearing on our well-being† (186). Even though a person’s circumstances may be p ositive, those circumstances do not make them happy. Lyubomirsky uses a Subjective Happiness Scale to measure happiness, which takes the average of numerical answers to four questions. She argues that in order to become happier, â€Å"you need to determine your present personal happiness level, which will provide your first estimate of your happinessShow MoreRelatedDeath of a Salesman1452 Words   |  6 Pagesfamiliar with New England and they don’t need him in New York. 6. Identify Biff and Happy. They are Willy’s sons. Biff is two years older than Happy. Biff has been unsuccessful. He wants to be successful, but he likes working outside on the farm. Biff is well-built but now lacks confidence. Happy is tall, strong and oozes sexuality. He is positive but hides his sense of loss behind his confidence. Happy seems to like to hide his problems. 7. In the first scene with Linda, Willy contradictedRead MoreHappy Endings By Margaret Atwood1228 Words   |  5 PagesAtwood’s, â€Å"Happy Endings,† the author writes about the nature of life. Throughout the short story, Atwood describes ‘happy endings’ through six different scenarios, which are all based around the characters, John and Mary. At the end of each scenario, the ending is all the same â€Å"John and Mary die. John and Mary die. John and Mary die† (Atwood, 1984). Within the six different scenarios, Atwood describes how life is not what we expect to be, how it can end in the upmost perfect happy ending or how it couldRead More500 Word Essay on a Kind Thing I Did for Someone630 Words   |  3 Pagescouples being allowed to marry is brought up there’s almost always an argument started. It’s viewed by many as wrong and many think it should remain illegal, but why? If two people are happy, no matter the gender, why should anything stop them from marrying? 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