Happiness

Happiness is defined in the Lilienfeld textbook as people's subjective sense of how satisfied they are with their life. it is one of the most powerful emotions that we feel as humans and it can affect us in many ways. There is even a study mentioned in Lilienfeld that found that nuns who used words such as joy, love, and hope in their personal journals outlived other nuns by almost ten years. These results can not necessarily imply causation but it is still a very interesting outcome. I think that optimistic emotions can positively influence our lives and help us feel more satisfied in general. I have an extremely busy schedule, as do many students here at the U, and it is hard to stay optimistic one hundred percent of the time. However, I find that when I am able to see things in a positive way it makes them less painful to experience. For example, getting up for practice at 5:45 in the morning is not necessarily a pleasing experience, but if I focus on why I am doing it and motivate myself to be excited, it turns into a very manageable task. Happiness has the power to motivate people to do great thing. This is why it is so important to have a passion for the job that you do, and enjoy work, whatever it may be. I feel happy when I get a good grade on a test or after rowing practice. For me, it is important to remember this, and have an optimistic point of view even during the other, not so happy, moments. I think this quote below is a great reminder not to get caught up in our daily tasks and goals, because happiness doesn't have to come only after we have accomplished something.