In a course that covers so much you have to pick and choose what the main points will be that you take away. One thing that has always been super important to me is having a family and kids. This course brought to me a lot of key points that will help me once I have my own children. The different emotions that babies feel as they grow up was very interesting to me. It was surprising yet relieving the find out that babies do not feel fear till after 3 months. I think that it's important that babies still feel protected at that age. I also would love for my children to be bilingual being able to speak both Laotian (my mothers native tongue) and English. Babies abilities to respond to people talking to them no matter what language is being spoken to them is not only impressive but helpful in this case!
Other interesting facts about children include the time in which they are able to recognize themselves. I will try the dot test on my child and see at what age they are able to see themselves in a mirror. I also think it's super important to understand that by the age of 4 children learn to lie. With that information you spare yourself from being shocked by the things your child says.
Check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IkoPUAijXs. It gives a real insight on to how children from different countries still develop these same attributes around the same time and have the same emotions around the same time!
Yes, you did read that title correctly. According to Jonathan Haidt in The Happiness Hypothesis one can actually calculate their happiness. How? Simply put: H=S+C+V. But, what does that really mean? Happiness equals set point + conditions of life + voluntary activities. Haidt breaks it down into our biological set point as one of the characteristics that determines happiness. You are born with a set of genes that help determine how happy you are and how you bounce back from bad situations. Haidt describes how people with a larger left frontal lobe are more likely to become happier after a sad situation than those without. Not only does ones biological sets determine their happiness but so does their life conditions. That is if you are living in a situation with a lot of death around you, if you are poor, or if you live in a high crime area this can all help or hurt your happiness. That along with your voluntary actions equal your happiness in total. Your voluntary actions mean what you choose to do daily. In the book, Haidt speaks about how those who volunteer, especially the older they are, the happier they are. So taking all of this into consideration you can't blame yourself if you're not always happy or if you don't have the ability to become happy like others do- that is determined by your biology. What you do have a choice over is the rest of the equation the conditions in which you set yourself and the voluntary actions you choose. Happiness is all about what you make it individually. No formula will be the same for two people. Haidt really brings this idea and so many more to life in his book. I have read his book in full and suggest for others to do. It helps you reflect on your life and the subconsciousness and unconscious choices you make everyday that help determine your happiness. 