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Erika De La Rosa

Professor Beadle

English 115

30 September 2018

Achieving happiness through different spaces

Happiness isn’t automatically obtainable for everybody, though it could be attainable

through different methods. Internal spaces such as our mindset or external spaces like our

environment can affect whether we are happy or not. Journalist Graham Hill emphasizes how to

better ourselves and live happier by focusing on an external space and discussing how being

materialistic can be harmful meanwhile journalist David Brooks and psychology professor Sonja

Lyubomirsky claim that one can live happier by putting emphasis on internal space and arguing

happiness depends on us and whether we view life through a positive lens. However,

Lyubomirsky contradicts her claim by highlighting how genetics play a significant role in our

happiness. Despite her counterclaim, she ultimately stresses that happiness is achievable through

internal spaces like our perspective and behavior.

Graham Hill, a journalist and entrepreneur who devotes his life to sustainability, explores

an external space in which he explains how materials can harm us. For example, Hill anecdotes

to a time where he details, “…I felt more anxious than before. My life was unnecessarily

complicated.” (Hill 309). Hill describes how his materials consumed his life to the point where

he no longer felt at peace. He evokes a sense of dejection when describing his emotions,

allowing us to better understand and visualize the internal turmoil he was experiencing as a result

of feeling suffocated by his materialistic lifestyle. This further emphasizes how external factors

such as materials can deeply affect our mentality and therefore interfere with our happiness. In
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addition, Hill utilizes research conducted by U.C.L.A to show how “…mothers’ stress hormones

spiked during the time they spent dealing with their belongings.” (Hill 310). The mother’s stress

hormones spiked because they didn’t know how to deal with their possessions. Hill implies that

we can change the space in which we live in by reducing the number of things we own therefore

we won’t feel trapped by our consumption. Graham Hill employs ethos when he explains how

affected he was due to his excessive possessions, “…my experiences show material objects have

a tendency to crowd out emotional needs…” (Hill 311-312). His desire to own all of the latest

gadgets made him experience firsthand how being materialistic can cause more harm than

satisfaction. Furthermore, Hill emphasizes that a clean environment equates to a happy mentality

because our happiness can be affected as a result of the environment we live in.

David Brooks, a journalist with a B.A. in history, utilizes historical figures to highlight

how internal spaces such as suffering can positively influence us to achieve happiness. For

example, David Brooks uses historical evidence when he states that “Franklin Roosevelt came

back more empathetic after being struck with polio.” (Brooks 284). Brooks utilizes Roosevelt’s

sickness to emphasize how Roosevelt had struggles in life but created a positive perspective from

it. His new outlook on life made him more compassionate, therefore when the United States was

struggling because of the Great Depression, Roosevelt enacted the New Deal to help relieve the

nation’s misery. He changed his internal self by learning from his misery and was eventually

successful because of the positivity it led him to. In addition, Brooks stresses how one’s actions

can make us happier by stating, “…the right response to this sort of pain… is trying to redeem

something bad by turning it into something sacred.” (Brooks 286). He is explaining how

suffering can have a positive impact if it is redeemed as a learning experience to better our lives.

Furthermore, Brooks utilizes insight from former the psychologist and concentration camp
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survivor Viktor Frankl when he references how “…prisoners in the concentration camp

rededicated themselves to living up to the hopes and expectations of their loved ones…” (Brooks

286). This shows how some of the most tortured people to ever live had a positive outlook

despite the trauma they endured. Through suffering the prisoners transformed their misery into

positivity which gave them hope. Internal factors like our struggles can have a positive impact on

our happiness but only if we transform them into something positive, for example, turning

hardships into a lesson.

Unlike previous statements made by Hill and Brooks, psychology professor Sonja

Lyubomirsky explores internal space through the connection between happiness and genetics.

Lyubomirsky uses research conducted by behavior geneticists at the University of Minnesota to

present the fact that, “…happiness is largely genetically determined.” (Lyubomirsky 188). The

research puts into perspective how much ability people actually have to dictate their happiness.

This shows we can’t suddenly decide to be happy because it’s determined before we’re born.

Moreover, the gene 5-HTTLPR, specifically the short version of it, can increase our chances of

obtaining depression (Lyubomirsky 192). Our genetics are irreversible therefore it is impossible

to completely avoid certain factors that may prevent us from obtaining complete happiness.

Despite all the efforts we may go through in order to achieve complete happiness if we carry the

5-HTTLPR gene, our happiness will be interrupted. Furthermore, Lyubomirsky employs logos

when she defines happy set points as, “…genetically determined set points are, by definition,

resistant to change, influence or control.” (Lyubomirsky 193). Lyubomirsky further stresses how

we have limited control over our happiness. Internal factors like genetics will always play a key

role in affecting whether we achieve happiness or not. Nonetheless, Lyubomirsky eventually

suggests our internal space of optimism can lead to happiness.

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Happiness can be achievable by exploring one’s internal space of behavior and attitude.

Sonja Lyubomirsky relies on logos when she refers to Aristotle’s writing by stating, “…an

expression of the soul is considered in actions.” (Lyubomirsky 184). Utilizing Aristotle as an

example stresses how the idea that our happiness lies within our perspective can be proven true

because he was a genius. Lyubomirsky is emphasizing how our attitude can determine our

happiness. A positive attitude will lead to more joy meanwhile a negative one is more likely to

create misery. She also uses experience from people she previously surveyed when she describes

how despite having endured a hard life Randy is, “…an eternal optimist claims that seeing the

silver lining in the cloud has been his key to survival…” (Lyubomirsky 181). Using Randy as an

example stresses the importance that being an optimist can benefit our happiness levels. This

further emphasizes how we can transform our external space of struggles into an internal space

that consists of happiness. To further conclude, Lyubomirsky, points out that, “…if you want to

be happy tomorrow… you can do it by choosing to change and manage your state of mind.”

(Lyubomirsky 185). Being a psychology professor Lyubomirsky is well educated on the fact that

our brain is an important tool that is used when achieving happiness. She is emphasizing how

ultimately it is up to us to decide whether to put in an effort towards our happiness.

Overall our happiness won’t always be the same because our levels of joy can be affected

by different spaces. Journalist Graham Hill explores how one’s environment can affect our joy

while journalist David Brooks and psychology professor Sonja Lyubomirsky explore factors

such as our outlook on life and hardships to emphasize how they hugely impact whether we

achieve happiness or not. The examples and arguments presented by Hill, Brooks, and

Lyubomirsky further prove that it is up to us to decide whether we want to live happy because

ultimately, we can dictate our lives to an extent.

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Works Cited Page

Brooks, David. What Suffering Does. Pursuing happiness, Edited by Matthew Parfitt and Dawn

Skorczewski, Bedford St. Martin's, 2016, pp.284-287

Hill, Graham. Living with Less. A Lot Less. Pursuing Happiness, edited by Matthew Parfitt and

Dawn Skorczewski, Bedford St. Martin's, 2016, pp.308-313

Lyubomirsky, Sonja. How Happy Are You and Why?. Pursuing Happiness, edited by Matthew

Parfitt and Dawn Skorczewski, Bedford St. Martin's, 2016, pp.308-313