Reflection Paper to the movie Happy
Katherine Diamandis
HPR 62 Wellness, Lifestyle, Health, and Happiness
Happiness comes from within. Many people could be living in the same environment and facing the same challenges but some seem to be happier than others. No matter what one’s challenges are, it is one’s choice and decisions to live a happy and content life. There has been an unfounded belief that the rich are happier than the poor but research has given contradicting results. I cannot say that I have lived a happy life but after watching the “Happy” documentary, I am now ready to live positively and happily no matter what circumstances I am facing. I have realized that we make ourselves unhappy by complaining about the problems we face in our day-to-day life rather than appreciating the good side of life. We should focus on the positive aspects of life and try as much as we cannot to let the negative aspects of our lives ruin our happiness. The documentary shows how wellness, health, lifestyle and happiness are intertwined by using examples from around the world. This film was inspired by an article written in the New York Times by Andrew C. Revkin titled “A New Measure of Well-Being from a Happy Little Kingdom” in 2005. In this article countries were ranked in terms of their level of happiness and the United States was ranked in position 23. It was surprising how countries which were poor in comparison with the United States surpassed it in their level of happiness. Countries like Iceland and Puerto Rico were ranked above the United states and this led to the argument that if the basic necessities are provided for, other factors like the economic factors have very little to do with the level of happiness and satisfaction in life.
In the documentary, the filmmakers used scientific research and real human stories to explore the non-material sources of happiness and show that although there is no formula for happiness, everyone can actually be happy. The documentary used subjects who
HPR 62 Wellness, Lifestyle, Health, and Happiness
Happiness comes from within. Many people could be living in the same environment and facing the same challenges but some seem to be happier than others. No matter what one’s challenges are, it is one’s choice and decisions to live a happy and content life. There has been an unfounded belief that the rich are happier than the poor but research has given contradicting results. I cannot say that I have lived a happy life but after watching the “Happy” documentary, I am now ready to live positively and happily no matter what circumstances I am facing. I have realized that we make ourselves unhappy by complaining about the problems we face in our day-to-day life rather than appreciating the good side of life. We should focus on the positive aspects of life and try as much as we cannot to let the negative aspects of our lives ruin our happiness. The documentary shows how wellness, health, lifestyle and happiness are intertwined by using examples from around the world. This film was inspired by an article written in the New York Times by Andrew C. Revkin titled “A New Measure of Well-Being from a Happy Little Kingdom” in 2005. In this article countries were ranked in terms of their level of happiness and the United States was ranked in position 23. It was surprising how countries which were poor in comparison with the United States surpassed it in their level of happiness. Countries like Iceland and Puerto Rico were ranked above the United states and this led to the argument that if the basic necessities are provided for, other factors like the economic factors have very little to do with the level of happiness and satisfaction in life.
In the documentary, the filmmakers used scientific research and real human stories to explore the non-material sources of happiness and show that although there is no formula for happiness, everyone can actually be happy. The documentary used subjects who