The Simple Complexity of Happiness

As many of you know, I have been in the process of writing a term paper on happiness. I need to say now, thank you to all of you who helped me out; I think the end result turned out very nice. If I could, I would just copy and paste what I have written onto my blog, but seeing as how it's 10 pages long (not counting the title pages and all that fluff) I doubt you would want to read it all (even if it is very interesting.) So I'll take some of the more interesting parts and share with you some of my favorite quotes I either found or some of my favorites that I used from some of my fabulous surveyors. (I warn you now, this post will be a little long, but the quotations are amazing and very thoughtful.)
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*(I'm adding some of my opening thoughts to get the ball rolling before I get to the good stuff.)*

I consider myself to be a genuinely happy person, so the questions concerning happiness peeked my interest. As happiness plays a natural roll in my everyday life, I have decided to expound upon this question: “Is happiness a complex concept, with many parts? If so, what are the parts? Or is it simple, like salt? If so, why is it so hard to find?” Maybe people are trying to achieve happiness themselves but do not how to achieve it because they believe it to be highly complex. For me, I believe the opposite. I believe that achieving happiness is a very simple feat. It is just a matter of fact. This may be because simple things make me happy. For example, remembering a pastime with a family member, a funny text, or something outrageous I may be thinking will make me explode in laughter, making people wonder what I am laughing at, which in turn makes me even happier. Or simply knowing that I will be riding my beautiful new road bike come the warming spring months will keep me beaming with joy like a child on Christmas morning. These are all very simple pleasures; nothing too complex.

Yes, happiness is different for people and some people may feel they can never be happy. These people may argue that they are clinically depressed and can never feel completely happy due to their diagnoses. I can see where they are coming with their argument that being happy would be hard to achieve, but there is a simple way to become happy while being in a depressed state. While being depressed, at times happiness may seem a light year away, but there are ways to attain happiness while in this state.

*(Just wanted to add this little experience with all of you as well, so I'm letting you read it instead of keeping it out. Plus it leads into the good stuff.) *

There was a time when I had to take a medication due to health issues where a symptom (unknown to me) was depression. My best friends can tell you I was not my normal self, but was someone completely different. I would usually be upset at some things so minuscule, but rather than ignoring them, I chose to make them into a big situation. Some days I’m positive I hardly even smiled or laughed...

How I got over my depressed state was fairly simple. What made me change was a realization of how I was acting. While being depressed, you know you are sad and you feel that sadness, but you do not realize how you look and act towards others. Once I realized I was acting childish and that I was affecting my loved ones in a negative way, this helped me snap out of my depressed mood. Another realization that came to me was that depression is a stronghold for negative forces. *(Here I originally wanted to speak of Satan, but we needed to make this a nonreligious paper.)* Those who themselves feel they will never be happy have a tendency to try and bring others down. Again, as I realized that depression is a total act of negative sources, I wanted to get as far from it as I could. Given, a change in my medication probably had an effect on my depressed state, the conscious decision of wanting to change made the depression go away. Once I realized this, happiness was easy to achieve. Simplicity in all things, such as finding the little treasures of life that make us happy, makes life easier and all together much more joyous.

*(Here's the start of the real good stuff. I'll try and keep it shorter.)*

Joseph Murphy, Ph.D, said, “There are people who have been depressed, dejected, and unhappy for so long that were they suddenly made happy by some wonderful, good, joyous news, they would react like the woman, who once said to me, “It’s wrong to be so happy!” They have become so accustomed to the old mental patterns that they do not feel at home being happy.” ... “Those who aren't happy choose not to be happy,” is what one of my surveyors said. These depressed people would rather go back to feeling saddened rather than choosing to feel happy. Another member of my study said something that would support this subject, they said, “Happiness is something that you have to recognize and not obtain.” Being happy is a conscious ability that we choose to make.

"...people can be happy only when people desire something other than their own happiness. Because so many people are happy, it follows that many people do desire something other than their own happiness." I totally agree with Feinberg’s statements. In the case of Jones, it seems like he is looking at the negative side of everything that could, and does, have many joyous qualities. *(Here I am speaking of a thought experiment I read for class.)* As was stated by one of the surveyors, “It’s all relative.” Another person I questioned said, “…happiness is only happiness when it is looked at in the right light.” One last point that goes with these ideas is that of Martha Washington; she states, “The greatest part of our happiness depends on our dispositions, not our circumstances.” As all of these people have said, it depends on the way we look at our situation. We can either look at something in a positive manner, or we can choose to see the negative.

...Religious leader, Thomas S. Monson, has said, “To find real happiness, we must seek for it in a focus outside ourselves. No one has learned the meaning of living until he has surrendered his ego to the service of his fellow man. Service to others is akin to duty—the fulfillment of which brings true joy.” One of the points that I liked was that we need to seek, or search, opportunities to grow. A surveyor made a valid point on this issue that I found interesting, they said, “It isn't something you find, but something that finds you.” As we seek for chances to lend service to others, we may be looking for the perfect opportunity, but in reality, it is the opportunity that finds us before we find it... “…happiness widens one’s field of attention. A happy person tends to be less self-centered and more other-centered than a sad person and frequently expands his or her attention to multiple objects.”

“Happy people attract others to them, and being with others makes people happy…To be someone’s friend is to undertake weight responsibilities and obligations that at times may limit your own freedom.” In his latter statement he says that our personal freedoms may be subjected, but to do this will bring us a greater closeness with our friends.

“…happiness [is a] positive outcome that are produced by external circumstances. For example, people become happy when positive personal meanings happen.” And to continue with this thought, someone I surveyed said, “Happiness is a feeling of accomplishment of something we have been striving for.” I couldn’t agree more with these two comments. I have witnessed what joy accomplishing goals can do to a person. Even when a small child ties their shoe for the first time, they explode with happiness and want to keep retying their laces.

“Happiness is not the result of good fortune or chance. Rather, it is achieved by the cultivation of and control over one’s inner experience so that one can have optimal experience, or flow.” We are ultimately in control of our experiences and if we choose the right experiences with the right attitudes, then we will truly be a happier person throughout our lives.

*(This next one is my favorite quote. Also, in this paper, as I had mentioned earlier, you may have noticed that I really haven't mentioned anything religious. This is because we were supposed to be writing to a wider audience other than just the people of BYU-I or the LDS community. Anyway, I had to include this because it was just too true.)*

"The happiest person is the one who constantly brings forth and practices what is best on himself or herself. Happiness and virtue compliment each other. Not only are the best the happiest, but the happiest are usually the best in the art of living life successfully. God is the highest and best in you. Express more of God’s love, light, truth, and beauty, and you will become one of the happiest persons in the world today."

*(Isn't that the best?! SO true!! I'm striving to be that type of person.)*

“[Happiness] is complex in its simplicity and yet it is simply complex.” Happiness as an emotion is very simple, but because there are so many different factors to happiness, it makes it complex. We need to remember to keep an outlook on the simple things in life; these will make us happy. Look outward and help those in need; this in turn will make us happier as well as the person we served. If we have a positive outlook, we can accomplish anything we put our minds to. Be strong, be positive, and enjoy your happiness.
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So there you have it!! A much shortened version of my paper. Sorry it was a little choppy, but that's what happens when you narrow a 10 page paper down to about 3. I hope you enjoyed it and I hope it was thought provoking. Be happy; it sure keeps me going from day to day!