Positivity

Positive thinking can result in a great positive impact on one’s life. Positive thinking can lead to motivation, can lead to persistence and success.


Being positively motivated results in you working harder. If you keep your mind positive in school and youre reaching for that A+, there is a great chance that you will excel in your subjects more. Keeping your mind positive keeps stress down and in result will help you focus because you want to do your best. In doing your best there is a greater chance that  you will succeed.

Success can come from positive thinking. For example take working. If one is a journalist and does not keep their mind positive while working and falls upon a road block they would just give up. When you in a positive mental state you wont give up, you will become persistant in what you do which can also lead to greater success.

Positive thinking can also have a good amount of impact on one’s love life. If a man gives up after his first rejection and is too afraid to ask a woman out because he is afraid of getting the same answer every time than he is bound to live a lonely life. If a man is rejected and is persistant in finding a woman and being his best he will find a way and a woman. In result he will have a greater chance better love life.  


Those we're just a few topics that positivity can have a good impact on. With a positive mentality ones positive out look on life can have a positive impact in any aspect of their life. It pushes people not to give up and it helps people reach to their goals. Which is why keeping a positive outlook is great.

Draft of Final

Prescribed anti-depressants have become an unnecessary artificial road to happiness. Anti-depressants are chemically induced pills that alter the different functions in your mind. While people believe that antidepressants will bring them happiness it actually can do the opposite. There are multiple reasons why antidepressants should not be used. Such as, advertisements background checks, side effects and other ways of treating depression.

Antidepressant advertisement and companies are not fully reliable. They put business before the health of their customers. “Today, the American patient is inexorably being transformed into his own pharmacist. The trend is most apparent in the pages of magazines, with their weirdly text-heavy ads.” They are advertising and pushing people upon the thought of messing with the function of their minds. They are reeling people in and making it easier for people to purchase these chemicals. One of the ways they get people is through surveys and “self-diagnostic chart[s]” that list certain side effects of depression which many people can identify with. “…Talking Back to Prozac, by Peter Breggin, argues that antidepressant drugs are merely the latest form of middle-class stimulants and that claims for the drug’s effectiveness are based on shallow research. (Critser)” Prescribing antidepressants are not easy to prescribe everyone going through depression has their own different individual chemical imbalances making it hard to find an exact pill to match to the chemical problem. “Based on shallow research”, meaning the companies that are distributing these pills lack of the full extent of knowledge that they should have while handling these life altering pills. “..if you talk to the treatment-resistant, you see the suffering. You realize you have to experiment”.


Anti-depressants should not be used because they have many negative side effects. Individuals who are recently depressed jump at any risk to become happy not knowing the risks they are actually taking. "Short-term studies have shown that children using antidepressants have an increased risk of suicidal thinking and behavior in the first few months of treatment"(Chao). In this case these children are taking these pills to regulate their problem of depression but as an effect the depression is actually shown to advance into a suicidal state for a period of time instead of reducing. Some of these pills are called Zoloft, Prazac, and Praxil. In adults “high blood pressure”, “sexual dysfunction“, chance of having a seizure, “possibility of priapism” which is a painful erection, stomach ache side effects” and etc. are certain side effects when taking antidepressants. If you realize many of these side effects result in the opposite of the goal the customers are trying to reach. Sexual dysfunction, stomache aches and seizures surely do not lead to happiness.

Many believe that taking a pill is the only way to reach happiness though there are other alternatives to dealing with depression. “ I wonder,...if my depression is “unbearable” without medication only because I know that this medication exists.(Critser)” This quote shows how many do not know wheather they can bear with dealing with depression naturally because they are taught that they can purchase a pill that can take it all away. One of the alternatives to treating depression is therapy. “[T]he average number of insurer-paid visits to talk to therapists fell dramatically while drug-therapy numbers soared; By the late Eighties, of nearly 16 million patients who visited doctors for depression, 70 percent ended up in drug therapy (Critser)” Another alternative is to surround one’s self with family, friends and people that love them. What better way is there to become happy than to be surrounded by people who you enjoy, love you and make you happy. If a child seems depressed they should be spoken to by a parent or someone they communicate with well to find the route of that depression. Once they figure out the cause the parent should try to avoid or help others doing that act that brings that increased sadness and support their child. Another way is excersizing. Excersizing builds up and releases endorphins which results in the improvement of moods and make people feel better. An additional alternative is listening to music. Music good or bad both have certain effects on the mind. One can try to surround themselves with positive music building up their way of thinking.

The idea of depression is used by companies to make money. They twist and mistreat people by manipulating them by using this idea of happiness and using them for experiments. These experiments can be dangerous and can put someones chemical mental makeup and physical bodies is jeapardy.They can lead to major physical problems such as your sex life that will effect your overall mood and add to your depression. It is not well known that there are alternatives out there due to the constant advertisement of the antidepressants, but there is indeed many alternatives that people are able to try out. These alternatives have positive effects and are healthy to both mind and body.

Outside source Drugs

Prescribed anti-depressants have become an unnecessary artificial road to happiness. They are chemically induced pills that alter different functions in your mind. There are multiple reasons and many types of people that use antidepressants that should not. There are also many natural ways to go about dealing with depression that prove that antidepressants are unnecessary.



http://www.athealth.com/consumer/disorders/antidepressants.html

Gratefulness

The Thanksgiving holiday is coming up and this is usually the time where I mostly think about what I’m thankful and grateful for.  There are many things in life that I am grateful for. Some things that I am grateful for, are for having my parents and my family in my life. I am grateful for God, my best friends, and the Wong family. In addition I am grateful for color and nature.

Parents and family members are a huge influence in my life. I am grateful that I have had my family to guide me through my struggles. That I’ve been able to go to my parents for advice. For having family including my parents to push me to do better and be a better person. I’m thankful that they have all been there providing and helping me out. They have been there through every aspect in my life that I’ve ever needed them in. From a car ride to school to relationship problems to feeding me to educational problems.

Having people that love you and just knowing that you will always have someone there, is such a great feeling. That is why I am grateful for having God, my best friends Aaron Caroline and Christine  and the Wong family in my life. I am grateful for a God that has always been there for me to speak to, to hold me up when I’ve felt like I was falling into a bottomless pit, who has been there to guide and love me every moment of my life. I am grateful for having Aaron Christine and Caroline in my life because they have always been there for me. They have always just been a phone call away, there when I needed to cry, when I needed a hug, to make me laugh, being there just to be there and there when I have needed prayer. They have all promised that they will always be there and they have proven it to me through out all the year that we have known each other. I’m grateful that they have been in my life to the extent that we do look at each other like true family. I am grateful for having the Wong family in my life because they are just the sweetest family. The Wong family includes Becky Joe Chris Jen Mr. and Mrs. Wong. Becky who I’ve known for about the longest she is just so easy to talk and relate to. I have had some of the best times with her not even speaking. We have sang together, walked together and it has always been a pleasure to be around her. Than there is Joseph who is just so full of love, he is an understanding friend who I can confide in. There is Chris who’s humor always lightens my day. Jen who I see as in wise. She is great at giving advice and extremely slow to anger. Than there is Mr. Wong who I see as the strong backbone of the family. In addition, Mrs. Wong who I see as the sweetest loving accepting person who also is an extremely strong, supporting individual in her family and a great example in my life.

  There is color in nature and with out those two I believe life would just be bland. I am grateful for color because I believe without color, life would be boring and depressing. Color is what brings life into this world. I am grateful for nature because that is where I can run to for peace and adventure. I just love the beauty and the feeling of it. I feel truly blessed for having these both in my life.

There are so many things that I am grateful for but the few things that rank highly on my list are my parents family, friends color and nature. Without these things I believe that life would not be as fulfilled as it is, and without some of these it would be so hard to keep on living. Which is why I am grateful for them all.

Increasing Positive Affect in Relationships

The science of happiness can help interracial relationships overcome their unique challenges. Within those interracial relationships there are many obstacles such as the difference in upbringing, culture, interests, family, stereotypes and discrimination. There are also many ways using happiness’ science that can help improve these obstacles.


Cultivating a happy interracial relationship is difficult in the fact that upbringing and culture is at many times extremely different. I have been dating a person of a different race for the past few months. He is Chinese Italian and Hungarian and I am Colombian and Haitian. I grew up a dancer, it was part of my family culture to perform and withhold the tradition of dancing. Dancing was all my Colombian family did when we saw each other or got together. My boyfriend on the other hand had been brought up in a household that did not dance whatsoever. He not knowing how to dance was a bit of an obstacle for us because he felt awkward when my family got together and he‘d just sit there. Another obstacle was our upbringing and our ideas on how to raise children. Our ideas on discipline and spoiling was extremely different since we were both disciplined in different ways. It was a topic that we argued on at least three times. It sometimes came to the point where I had thoughts about ending the relationship due to the fact that I didn’t think I’d be able to raise my kids the way I thought they should be if we were to procreate. Another argument on procreation was what hair the child should have and he mentioned that he wanted them to have his hair since I have “nappy” hair it is not “good” hair. Which I opposed against because I think black hair is beautiful and any hair in general is beautiful in it’s own way. An additional barrier was food I was brought up eating all different types of food due to family views on the different economies my family was brought up in. My Haitian side ate really spicy foods such as curry and vegetables. My boyfriends did not eat spicy food and was brought up not to eat foods so spicy and he did not eat vegetables. He was shown to be somewhat of a picky eater. I on the other hand was brought up not to be, since I was told one day you might not have food on your plate so value and appreciate what you have now.

Having a satisfied mixed racial relationship is hard due to the reason that there are difficulties in interests and in families there are stereotypes and discrimination. A 19 year old man who is Puerto Rican and Dominican shares his views on this topic with me since he himself had dated a Caucasian woman. Their families and their parents and upbringings were completely different. He tells me their interests were dissimilar in the fact that they both always wanted to watch completely different shows. He says what he found funny she did not and what she found funny he did not. He quotes “Its challenging not to be able to relate and enjoy something you like with someone you care for.” It was written by Nadra Kareem that “Even someone who dates interracially today runs the risk of incurring the disapproval of friends and family.”
In morals and stereotypes he tells me due to the fact that he is Spanish his girlfriend’s Caucasian family believed that he was going to get the Caucasian daughter pregnant and leave him since “that’s what Spanish men do”. It was hard for him to take her out because her father had this thought engraved in his mind. He always ran into arguments due to that belief and proved them wrong but he was driven to the point where could no longer deal. In result he broke a two year relationship with a person he dearly cared about.


The science of happiness has helped many cultivate in happiness within their relationships. The author Tal Ben-Shahar of Happier writes “spend time together [engage] in activities that [you] care about most, .. Build a foundation.” (Ben-Shahar) Which is what my Puerto Rican Dominican friend had done and my boyfriend and I are trying to do. It has helped us learn about each other and compromise in certain situations. Since dancing was a huge part of my culture my boyfriend attempted to learn how to dance and has mustered up enough courage to dance with my family members. He has actually done such a great job assimilating. My boyfriend is a teacher and a coach he has invited me into his work place and to watch his games there I viewed the way he treats children and have seen the way he disciplines and learned to understand his different methods of disciplining. I have learned to accept it. On the topic of food my boyfriend has gone out of the way to try different foods that my family has made and he has come to accept and actually enjoy many different plates that he wasn’t used to. Dr. Phil in the article Prepare an Open Heart wrote “ By keeping the lines of communication open, you can maintain your position of support and influence.”  Bobby Taylor & The Vancouvers sing “We've got to be strong For love that's so right Can't be wrong”. The 19 year old man says that he now wishes that he had spoke to his then girlfriend further about the way her father and family made him feel so that he didn’t feel alone in that situation. They may have actually lasted much longer. My boyfriend has gotten me to followed this quote in that we speak about every obstacle and challenge that we come up against this has actually gotten us through many of them. Dr. Phil also writes “If someone has animosity toward you, the only thing you can do is prepare an open heart, so that it’s open should he/she ever change his/her mind. Which is what the 19 year old did and he might have carried through the challenges longer and had communicated through would have actually helped him.

Cultivating a satisfying mixed racial relationship is difficult but there are many ways that the science of happiness can help. As you can see spending time together, communicating, compromising can help deal through the cultural differences, through the discrimination and through the challenges. Resulting in a happier relationship.

Happiness and Relationships

Diana Guevara



If someone is loved for their core self they will have a better chance of being happy in that relationship. I for one has found this to be true through my romanticized experienced relationships. There was indeed a difference between going into a relationship with someone I barely knew than with someone I got to know ahead of time.

You can never truly love someone if you do not know their core self. Which is why I believe you should always act yourself when you jump into any kind of relationship. Tal Ben-Shahar writes that “The core self comprises our deepest and most stable characteristics -- our character” (Ben Shahar 114). I have jumped into many relationships barely knowing the person and than come to the realization that I either have nothing in common with them or don’t like them in a certain way or at all. I was only lusting after them and their images instead of their core self. In my current relationship my boyfriend and I began a friendship first and learned so much about each other before we began our romantic relationship. Tal Ben-Shahar quotes that “To be loved for our wealth, power, or fame is to be loved conditionally;  to be loved for our steadfastness, intensity, or warmth is to be loved unconditionally” (Ben-Shahar 114). I believe that to be true. My boyfriend has told me himself that I am the one person that he can truly be himself around and I absolutely love it. I love that I learned how he’s understanding, loving, respectful, fun and how he reacts when he is mad and has just won or lost a game in the beginning of our relationship. I love his personality over all. In addition, he also learned so much about me since I realized  I should jump into a relationship fully being myself. My boyfriend has learned to love me for my sensitivity, my kindness, the way I care and put others first, and how I make people laugh. He has learned to love me for my good and bad. Since we have learned about each others personalities before hand it helps improve our emotions to a more happy relationship. This by having the ability to do things that the other likes, being able to work on common ground, spending time do things we both like together, working out our problems, and avoiding others since we know what each other person does and does not like.



Being able to really know who a person is inside has many positive advantages in a relationship. It’s results as shown in my experiences, show that it does truly have a happier, long lasting effect. It helps keep the problems at a balance, helps create happier moments and an overall delightful experience.

Challenges/ Happiness in Education

Happiness In Education


As a person that has encountered many challenges in my journey with education, I believe there is still time to improve those challenges to result into a happy journey. Many of these challenges that I have come across include anxiety, stress and public speaking. I believe that every one of these challenges can be turned around for the better.


I have recently noticed that one of my biggest challenges in education has been anxiety. I believe my challenge with anxiety derives from the feeling of failing. On page 84 from Happiness in Education it is stated “ students are motivated by their fear of failure. At the end of the term, liberated from their books and papers and exams, they feel an overwhelming sense of relief-which, in the moment, can feel a lot like happiness.” It is true that before every project, paper or homework assignment I get this feeling of being overwhelmed. During these times I have thoughts of failure run through my mind and negative scenarios of my future. I fully agree with what was stated in the previous quote from Happiness in Education. It is not until I am completely done with all the assignments that I feel the feeling of complete relief which, only tends to stay for a very short period of time.

I am convinced I can change my feeling of anxiety and produce a more happy experience. It was stated that “students experience boredom or anxiety in school”. To change that feeling I tested a theory that I came upon looking at an article called 10 Tips to Manage Anxiety found on lifemojo.com in the section How Do I cope with Anxiety, it was stated “Relaxation techniques” . My relaxation technique that I have been testing is listening to uplifting music previous and during the assignment. I tested this theory out because it has worked for me before I have gone up on stage and before and during a big clean up project carried out in my house. I am listening to uplifting music as we speak and it has released some of the anxiety and has put my mind in a more positive state.

Another challenge I’ve run into in education is stress. I have grown up in a house with four other girls which, now became five. All of these girls either go to college or middle school and we only have one computer. All of us need the computer just about every day and they tend to get to it before I can because of our school schedules. This results in a great amount of stress for me because more or less all of my assignments have to do with using the computer. I consider myself lucky if I get to it around 10 PM or 12 AM because sometimes like this very moment I have to wake up early to write my assignments or pull a somewhat close to what people call an “all nighter”. Getting to my computer late puts pressure on the amount of sleep I get. Proven in the video The effects of sleep Deprivation on www.videojug.com “Sleep deprivation and sleep restriction just don't help work at all. Mainly because you can't concentrate as well, it's more difficult to recall things”. Which shows that the fact that I’m getting to my computer late resulting in lack of sleep is putting pressure on my performance in class.


I believe that I can relieve my stress to make a more pleasant educational journey. In Happiness Explained on page 46 and 47 they mention a “weekly map” which gave me the idea of creating a schedule. I will attempt to make a schedule with my family and try to map out and balance a reasonable time limit for every person. I will do this so that everyone can have a chance at a time that works out for them best. This may result in better timing, more sleep, improved family harmony and less stress on my educational life.

I realize that I absolutely dread public speaking. When I was younger I used to be the kid that would be the first speaker, take over when another student in my group messed up and in my earlier years in high school I even volunteered to go give presentations to other students around the school. I even grew up on stage. Though over the past two years or so I’ve been losing sleep over it, I hyperventilate, I get anxious, I get scared. I have gotten to extreme points where I had to be removed and brought to the nurses office in a wheel chair. In the article The Mysterious Dread of Public Speaking by
Dr. Mark Dillof it was stated that “This is not a question of having an inferiority complex or a poor self-image or a lack of self-esteem, for many people who fear public speaking are confident in every other aspect of their lives.” I do have a reasonable amount of self esteem so I know that has not been the problem. I notice that about 5 minutes before my presentation is when I start to get the worse but it isn’t as bad as when I get in front of the class. Once I see all those eyes staring at me I begin to panic .


I have confidence that even this challenge of the fear of public speaking can be changed. I think that if I prepared my presentation at least a week ahead of time I would be better at it. I would be able to practice my presentation multiple times. I believe if I practiced my presentation many times I will be ready. I will know my subject thoroughly and if I knew my subject to that great extent I believe I would be more confident about what I will speak about when I get in front of a crowd.


Though I have come across many challenges in education I have always believed that there always time to improve and create a more positive outcome. I am convinced that I can change anxiety or stress or public speaking or anything at all as long as I put time and effort into it. Putting time and effort is exactly what I am going to do.