Brianna Suggs

Dr. Jizi
UWRT 1102
26 January 2016

Double Entry Journal

How Happy Are You and Why? Sonja Lyubomirsky
How HappyWhy? Quote:
Its hard not to envy such people. How do
they do it? (pg. 179)

Still, with all that has happened and all the

challengesconsiders herself a very happy
person. (pg. 180)
He picked himself up (pg. 181)
On the surface, her life is quite goodsees
herself as a generally unhappy person. (pg.
182)

All of us fit somewhere on that scale and it is

critical to find out where exactly that may be
(pg. 182)

No one but you knows or should tell you how

happy you truly are (pg. 184)
Happiness is not out there for us to find. (pg.
185)
..happy IFWHEN (pg. 185)

those of us who wish we were a great deal

happier should be a little less hard on
ourselves (pg. 187)

But just because your happiness set point

cannot be changed doesnt mean that your

Response:
Not only is this an important question for the
topic of the essay, but it is an important
question to ask in life- what could I do
(similarly to what they do) to be happy?
This sets up an extremely important ideathat
happiness is not circumstantial, but rather the
way one chooses to see things or overcomes.
Attitude!
This, surprisingly, is one of my favorite quotes
because it amplifies two things: 1) happiness is
not dependent on materials and 2) quality of
life does not correlate to ones level of
happiness.
Highly disagree. Placing yourself on a scale
can only make you feel worse. Life is not
about ranks and scores; neither is happiness. It
is about feeling it, discovering it. It is actually
disgusting to think there is a happiness score,
as if it were a competition.
Isnt that contradictory to the idea that
happiness fits on a scale?
Happiness is a state of mind. It is a life status
only achieved by your own perspective
A HUGE common thought. I think people
dont realize it is not the moments in life, but
how you react to them.
As a depression sufferer, I can say blaming
yourself is a ginormous part of what you
believe the problem is. This quote captures the
mind of people perceived as less happy and the
depressed.
Its always up to you! Like previously said,
attitude!

happiness level cannot be changed. (pg. 190)

That environmental factor is severe stress
(pg. 191)

Agreed!

activated by an environmental trigger (pg.

192)

It is not set in stone that those with the allele

will get depression leading up to the second
quote

whether or not that predisposition is

expressed is in your hands. (pg. 193)

Not about the problem, but your reaction to it

It should be obvious by now where the secret

to happiness does not lie. (pg. 195)

Those whom dont have a natural tendency to

be happier need to think outside of the box.
The answers to well-being are not in life, but
the mind. Use alternative strategies, train, think
on ways to outwit genetics.