Topic #1 – Happiness (1)

Title: Want Success? Try Happiness.

Author: Parsons, Lauren
Source:
http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.dcccd.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=50&sid=1ba75be
c-761d-4a14-b902-9923c09b944e%40pdc-v-sessmgr06
Toastmaster. Sep2018, Vol. 84 Issue 9, p22-25. 4p.
Date Published: September 1, 2018

 Most important point: Scientific research suggests that success does not lead to happiness
but that the opposite is true. Happiness has a profound effect on brain function and
significantly increases individual performance, leading to greater success.
 Summary: Gratitude, kindness, movement and recharging are four practical strategies to
keep your brain in "positive mode" and create the “happiness advantage"
Practice gratitude; you can practice gratitude at any time by focusing on the things for
which you are grateful, so your brain will focus more on positive things than on negative
ones.
Actively encourage kindness; like positivity, kindness is contagious. Through kindness,
we create an environment in which people want to be part of.
Do not forget to move; frequent movement is beneficial for both the body and the brain,
as it improves creativity, focus, and efficiency.
Recharge; to refocus, create a change of state by spending a few minutes outdoors,
standing, walking or stretching.
By fostering an attitude of gratitude, kindness, integrating movement into your day and
devoting time to your body, you will not only increase your personal, physical and
emotional well-being, but you will also improve your performance and experience greater
success.
 Agreement: I agree with the author. This article focuses more on how happiness can be
positive for your body, personal life, and professional life. How being grateful and kind,
can make a major impact into and out of your work area. Also mentions how we still
 need time for us to continue with this style of life. Exercising will keep our body and
mind healthy and take some time to rest and recharge all our energy.
 Something I learned: I learned from this article that happiness can make you successful. I
learned that it is very important to have balance in our life. Being grateful and kind to
those around us will make our environment positive, it is also important to keep our body
in good shape and take time whenever we need a break.
 Enjoyment: I did like the information in this article, I think it was very complete, but
what I did not enjoy was the way it was written, it was hard to read.

Topic #1 – Happiness (2)

Title: The Secret to Happiness.
Author: Suzanne Degges-White Ph.D.
Source: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/lifetime-connections/201703/the-secret-
happiness
Date Published: Mar 24, 2017

 Most important point: Happiness is a state of being, not a pile of stuff.

 Summary: According to the author of this article, happiness is a state of being and not all
the things we possess. When most of us think about what makes us happy, we tend to
focus on the material stuff.
The author mentions four practices that can change our lives forever: friendliness,
cheerfulness, compassion, and gratitude.
Friendliness is about offering warmth and good humor to those around you. Cheerfulness
is being able to offer a sunny disposition to the world, regardless of your inner state, it
really encourages you to feel better physically. Be Compassionate; offering compassion
to others is another charitable act that positively influences the giver. Offer gratitude.
Whatever you have in life and wherever you are, you may find some reason to be
grateful. Recognizing your own good fortune can improve your overall well-being.
 Agreement: I agree with most of the statements mentioned by the author. I believe that
life is about how we see it. We concentrate too much of our time seeking happiness that
 we forget happiness can be as simple as having a good friend, having a family that cares
about you, being healthy, among other things.
 Something I learned: What that I learned from this article was the four practices that can
change our lives; friendliness, cheerfulness, compassion, and gratitude. Also, I learned
that when you feel lonely imagining someone you love to smile at you, is just as
powerfully healing as having that person with you.
 Enjoyment: I did enjoy reading this article. It was easy to read, the author explained very
well all the information. The energy was very positive and optimistic.

Topic #1 – Happiness (3)

Title: True happiness isn’t about being happy all the time.
Author: Lowri Dowthwaite
Source: https://theconversation.com/true-happiness-isnt-about-being-happy-all-the-time-88600
Date Published: January 10, 2018 6.55am EST

 Most important point: Happiness is not a stable, unchangeable trait but something
flexible that we can work on and ultimately strive towards.
 Summary: The article is about the movement of positive psychology founded by Martin
Seligman, who describes happiness as the fact of experiencing frequent positive
emotions, such as joy, emotion, and satisfaction, combined with a positive mentality in
the present and a perspective optimistic for the future; however, experts argue that
happiness is not an invariable emotional state.
Studies indicate that psychological flexibility is the key to greater happiness and well-
being; the way we respond to the circumstances of our lives has more influence on our
happiness than the events themselves.
According to the article, there are two paths to feel happy, the hedonist and the
eudaimonic. The hedonist tries to satisfy human appetites and desires but is often short-
lived. On the other hand, eudaimonic has a long-term vision through kindness, justice,
honesty, and courage.
 Experiencing different emotions can be good for us depending on how we respond to it.
Going through moments of stress, sadness and anxiety can make us more resilient and
lead us to take action in our lives.
 Agreement: I totally agree with the author. It is impossible to be happy all the time. I
believe that in order to grow as human beings, it is also important to go through difficult
times, as they will be lessons for the future and we will feel the satisfaction of having
learned from our mistakes. Happiness is the goal of almost all human beings, and for
each of us, it has a different meaning. There is no exact answer to be happy, the key to
being happy is the way we respond to each of the situations that life is putting us on the
road.
 Something I learned: One thing I learned about the article that I found very interesting
were the two types of paths to feeling happy. I find the hedonist fascinating because they
are people who are always looking for new experiences or new ways to feel the
adrenaline that makes you feel alive. However, I feel more identified with the
eudaimonic, since I consider myself a good person, I always the right thing such as being
honest or kind not only for me but also for those around me.
 Enjoyment: I really liked this article because the author explains how even in the most
difficult times we can be happy. It was easy to read and the information he gave was very
accurate.

Topic #1 – Happiness (4)

Title: What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on happiness.
Author: Robert Waldinger
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KkKuTCFvzI
Date Published: Jan 25, 2016

 Most important point: A study of people from the time they were teenagers all the way
into old age to see what really keeps people happy.
 Summary: There was a survey of millennials asking them what their most important life
goal was, and more than 80% said that an important life goal for them was to get rich,
and another 50% of those same young adults said to become famous. The Harvard Study
 on Adult Development for 75 years tracked the lives of 724 men. Year after year, asking
them about their work, their home life, their health, without knowing how their life
stories were going to turn out. Since 1938, they tracked the lives of 2 groups of men. The
first group began in the study when they were sophomores at Harvard College. The
second group of boys was from the poorest neighborhoods of Boston. Every two years,
the research staff asks them if they can send them a questionnaire about their lives, also
they interview them, obtain their medical records, and scan their brains. But what is the
lesson? The lesson is that good relationships keep us happier and healthier. The three big
lessons are: social connections are really good for us and loneliness kills, what matters is
the quality of your close relationships and good relationships protect your brain.
Like millennials, many of these men when they were young adults, believed that fame,
wealth and high achievements were what they needed to succeed. During the last 75
years, the study has shown that the people who obtained the best results were people who
had a better relationship with their family, friends, and community.
 Agreement: I totally agree with the author. Having good relationships can be a big
difference between having a good life or having a miserable life. Being more social
makes you happier, physically healthier and you can live longer in contrast to people who
are more isolated, find themselves less happy, their health declines earlier in midlife, they
live shorter, among others. It's amazing how changing one aspect of our lives can be very
meaningful to our body and mind.
 Something I learned: Before watching the video, I did not know the impact of good
relationships in our lives. Like other young adults, I put too much attention to what I want
and, sometimes, I forget to spend time with my family and friends. In this video, I learned
a great lesson; in the very long run and towards the end of days of our lives these things
that we so call success and happiness hold no meaning.
 Enjoyment: In general, I did enjoy this video of Ted Talk, I think the speaker was very
clear, but something I did not like was that he talked too much about relationships, I
would have liked him to have extended more his subject.