Allow this post to make you happy. With science.
Allow this post to make you happy. With science.
Good day, folks!
Watch this really smart dude Jason Silva, in this Big Think video, tell you about why you should strive to be happy:
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He knows his stuff, doesn't he?
But, if you're like me, it takes a moment to digest all that he was saying. Let me pull out a couple of points and try and clarify them for you.
First, a little music, to help you get in that happy frame of mind:
"By curating circumstance, we have the ability to co-author our experience."
"Curating circumstance" means to literally pick and choose the stuff in your life that will make you happy.
Personal story time! As I have mentioned in other writing, my family is very religious, and I am very gay. In this instance, those things don't mix too well, but after college, I lived at home for six years. That was pretty unhappy for everyone involved, as much as I love my family.
It was only when I decided to strike out on my own and move to the place I had been dreaming about living since I was in high school (New York City) that my happiness really started to fall in place.
"The intention to be optimistic makes me stumble upon all these things that make me feel more optimistic. ... There's always going to be the wild card."
"The intention to be optimistic" essentially means that we all need to actively try to be happy, even when it seems hard. And sometimes, it is hard.
Let's say it's a beautiful summer day, and I just got a caramel gelato cone. I'm walking down the street where I live in New York, and I trip, sending my beautiful ice cream cone tumbling onto the hot pavement below.
That would suck.
But! If I let that decide my happiness for the rest of the day, I might miss out on so many other happy things. Maybe, in my gelato-related sadness, I don't notice a friend across the street trying to get my attention. And maybe that friend just so happens to have a gallon of that same caramel gelato ready to share.
Essentially, try to smile more. You might find yourself in a happier place.
There are so many things that can ruin our mood. But there are also so many things that can make us happy as well. The trick is to concentrate on the good things while dealing with the sad. It truly is the key to happiness.