Is Happiness a Choice?

1. Is Happiness a Choice? Nicolette Brids

2. What’s Ahead? In this power point presentation, you will be adventuring through slides filled with interview’s,factual information, links and much more all revolving around one single question: “Is Happiness a Choice.”

3. What Will You Get Out of This? At the end of this presentation, I would like the viewers of this project to realize that YOUR happiness is in your control. The emotion is what you feel, so you can pick it. It is your life and you can choose the experiences you endure and if those experiences will make you happy.

4. Why I Picked This? When we got this assignment, I was excited because I always think about this question. I have always liked to think that you can choose your emotions. I have been through a few ups and downs in my life and throughout it all I have to consider myself happy. Here’s a little about myself! (find document under PowerPoint on discussion board)

5. One last thing before we start! Another reason why I picked this topic is because one of my favorite artists. His name is MOD SUN, which means” Movement On Dream, Stand Under None.” He is not only a musician, but he has created his own genre of music called “hippy hop.” This music is all about being positive and choosing to be happy 100% of the time.

6. MOD SUN His motto is think positive thoughts 100% of the time. MOD SUN says, “I know that thinking about what you want will bring you…what you want.” It’s as simple as that. When I first read this about him a year ago. I started to follow it and listen to his music and I find myself even more happier than before.

7. MOD SUN Here’s an interview with MOD SUN if you are interested with his views. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAz9VX7mj0g

8. Let’s Get Started

9. What is Happiness? • According to the World Net Web, happiness “is a state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy.” • What this means is, happiness is a general emotion that an individual feels that can be as simple as being relaxed to extremely pumped and excited!

10. Remember! • Throughout this project I would like you to keep that definition in mind! • If the above definition is certified from the web, then I think it is safe to say that it is a general and universal emotion.

11. Happiness • I think it also safe to say that every individual has experienced these feelings at one point or another in life. • If this is what the feeling of happiness is experienced as, then let’s think about how these emotions come around!

12. What Causes Happiness? • Everyone has different things that cause happiness. After asking several of my closest friends and family, I learned some specifics. • Here are just a few: Spending time with family & friends, laughing,love, smiling, the sun, the smell of rain, seeing your loved ones smile, exploring, dogs, kittens… The list goes on!

14. Causing Happiness… • Now lets think, if such simple things can make people have this feeling of happiness, then shouldn’t we just add more of those things to our everyday lives?

15. SIMPLE

16. DING DING DING! • Here’s our first way of choosing to be happy: People need to choose more simple things that make themselves happy! • That is the first answer to this beautiful question!

17. So… • So if we choose to add more of the simple things to our lives, then we will start to live happier! So happiness is a choice! • Sometimes, unfortunately its not always that easy. Everyone has some hardships in life that makes it to be difficult. • Can you choose to be happy during these?

18. Interview! Here is an interview with my roommate, who happens to be my best friend! The interview Kate is about choosing to be happy during hard times! It can be found under this power point on the discussion board.

19. Now look at the second interview with my friend Nicole.(discussion board)

20. After looking at those two interviews it is clear that happiness is not about money, or fortune. It is about finding happiness in practically nothing even when things get rough.

21. Happiness is All Around I think it would be helpful to look at happiness around the universe to proof that you can choose to be happy no matter what.

22. Happy Index Here is a study that is conducted and it is called Happy Index. This shows 151 countries across the world. It shows which produces long, happy and sustainable lives for the people that live in them.  The information scores rank countries based on their efficiency, how many long and happy lives each produces per environmental output.

23. Here’s a Quick Link This is a link explaining what happiness is defined as in this project, so you can get a better feel of it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=sZPYI8BfnBs

24. Here is a map showing all of the happiest countries in order! Green being the happiest and red the least!

25. Facts! Here are the actual numbers and measurements from the Happy Index! Check it out! http://www.happyplanetindex.org/data/

26. After looking at the data from the Happy Index, I would like you to notice something. Many countries that we would considerer poorer are ranked happier than the United States! Why do you think that is? • It is because they are living longer, stress-free lives and being less concerned about money and success and more concerned about choosing things that they enjoy in life.

28. Philosophical View The famous philosopher Aristotle once said “We are what we do repeatedly.” If this is the case then if we are positive and happy thinkers, that would mean we are positive and happy people.

29. In conclusion • After interviews and factual information, I think we made some progress on the question is happiness a choice. It is clear that everyone goes through hard times and it can be difficult at the time to be happy. HOWEVER, from the interviews and links it is clear that you can choose things that bring happiness to you, which says you are making the choice to be happy!

30. … You have control over your life and your experiences. You can pick to put things in your life that will make you happy. Simple things like socialing, I also hope looking at the interviews and links involving the Happy Index made you realize that money does not have an affect on your happiness because these countries find happiness in nothing.

31. A few more things! Here are few songs that show you can choose to be happy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTSYx6EMK6g http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxsR3oW96U0&list=PLUUUfyKe_lP7m1XaR-EvGt12lsWFbp3ah http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9u9lSSnGOo

32. Bibliography The Data | Happy Planet Index." The Data | Happy Planet Index. NEF, 2013. Web. 26 Mar. 2013. http://www.happyplanetindex.org/data/ Feature, Tom ValeoWebMD. "How to Be Happy: 7 Steps to Becoming a Happier Person." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2013. <http://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/choosing-to-be-happy>. "BIO." Mod Sun Music. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2013. <http://modsunmusic.com/about/>. "Aristotle." (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Chris Shields, 2008. Web. 20 Apr. 2013. <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle/>. "The HoC Presents an Interview with MOD SUN." YouTube. YouTube, 22 Oct. 2012. Web. 16 Apr. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAz9VX7mj0g>. Interiviewswith: Kate Delaney, Nicole Cottam, (Brief Questions) Bill Brids, Diane Tuehey, Kelly Kenneally, Shannon Ward, Diane Savino. GOOGLE IMAGES