We all want happiness, don’t we?

Happy Feet Lead 2

The United Nations declared March 20 the first International Day of Happiness, declaring that “the pursuit of happiness is a fundamental human goal.”

What specifically makes you happy? How do you make others happy? If your nation had a Gross National Happiness Index, as the Kingdom of Bhutan does, how happy do you think people would be? Why?

The United Nations has declared March 20 the first International Day of Happiness to underline the commitment of its 193 member states to “better capture the importance of the pursuit of happiness and well-being in development with a view to guiding their public policies.”

…The initiative for Happiness Day came from the Kingdom of Bhutan, the small landlocked Himalayan state, which adopted a Gross National Happiness Index as a better measure of its people’s prosperity than its income.

Ban Ki-moon, the U.N. Secretary-General, marked the day by calling for a reinforced commitment to inclusive and sustainable human development.

“When we contribute to the common good, we ourselves are enriched,” he said. “Compassion promotes happiness and will help build the future we want.”

The Action for Happiness organization in Britain urges people to count their blessings. “People who are grateful tend to be happier, healthier and more fulfilled,” it says. “Being grateful can help people cope with stress and can even have a beneficial effect on heart rate.

Which of the highlighted sentences best encapsulates your view of happiness?

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Now it is your turn to express your views on happiness:

What makes you happy? Be as specific as you can in listing five things or more. (For instance, if “home” makes you happy, tell us what details about it are so happy-making.)

What do you do to make others happy, whether on purpose or not?

Do you think your nation should be like the Kingdom of Bhutan and have a Gross National Happiness Index? If so, do you think that would measure prosperity better than income does?

Do you agree with Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary-general, that “when we contribute to the common good, we ourselves are enriched”? Have you ever had the experience of being made happy by helping someone else?

Do you ever literally “count your blessings,” as the Action for Happiness organization in Britain urges people to do? If so, what’s on your list right now?

happiness-7stepsDo you agree with the above list of steps to happiness? Can you add a further step?

happiness

How do you interpret this? what does the rainbow stand for? The rain?

lunapic_134479850761888_5What does “I am in charge of the way I feel” mean? What is the relevance of this notice above? Where would you post it? Outside your school? Inside your classroom? On your bedroom door? Where?

pursuit-of-happiness-mind-map-adam-sicinski

Now it is your turn to let your creativity run free. Draw your own mindmap of your happiness.

Look at the following video, it may help you.

If you are not happy with the way Buzan explained how to create a mindmap, just click on this link. You may like it better!

Listen to the following song (I am posting the lyrics too, should some of you have problems understanding the words).

What are the “incidents” in our life that might spoil our happiness?

What are the solutions that the singer provides us with?

How would you describe this song?

lively, soft, simple, fun, good beat, makes me want to dance, inspiring, soothing, I want to hear it again, ….. (add your own adjective or words to express your “description of the song).

What emotions does this song evoke in you?

What do you see if you close your eyes as you listen?

If this song were the background music fro an advertisement, what do you think the advertised product would be like?

In what kind of place would you be most likely to hear this music?

Now up to you! What song would you recommend to spark and infuse happiness? In your reply post the link so that we can listen to it.  Remember to mention why it makes you feel happy. 🙂

Here’s a little song I wrote
You might want to sing it note for note
Don’t worry, be happy.
In every life we have some trouble
But when you worry you make it double
Don’t worry, be happy.
Don’t worry, be happy now.

CHORUS:
Don’t worry, be happy. Don’t worry, be happy.
Don’t worry, be happy. Don’t worry, be happy.

Ain’t got no place to lay your head
Somebody came and took your bed
Don’t worry, be happy.
The landlord say your rent is late
He may have to litigate
Don’t worry, be happy.

CHORUS:
(Look at me — I’m happy. Don’t worry, be happy.
Here I give you my phone number. When you worry, call me,
I make you happy. Don’t worry, be happy.)

Ain’t got no cash, ain’t got no style
Ain’t got no gal to make you smile
Don’t worry, be happy.
‘Cause when you worry your face will frown
And that will bring everybody down
Don’t worry, be happy.

CHORUS:
(Don’t worry, don’t worry, don’t do it.
Be happy. Put a smile on your face.
Don’t bring everybody down.
Don’t worry. It will soon pass, whatever it is.
Don’t worry, be happy.
I’m not worried, I’m happy…)

37 Replies to “We all want happiness, don’t we?”

  1. What makes me really happy is playing rugby. For many people can be only a sport where other people hit themselves for an oval ball. For me it is a way to express my emotions, my fears, my disappointments in a game that I really love. And I have also vary good friends in my team, and they are one of the motivations of way I love this sport.
    I don’t really like looking someone that I know sad. If that happens, I usually make full of myself to make him or her laugh. And then, if I can help and support the person, I try to understand the problem, and see if I can have a good advice.
    I think that if Italy had a Gross National Happiness Index, nothing would change. I think that in Italy, Happiness it isn’t one of the biggest problems, so no one would care about this ‘idea’.

    As I said before, the most thing that makes me really happy is playing rugby, with my team. Another thing that really makes me happy is spending time with my true friends. For me true friends are those people that you can trust, even with close eyes, and they will be there always for you. Spending time with they makes me happy because I can say any thing to them, knowing that they won’t tell anybody else. Drawing makes me happy. Generally I don’t have any idea before starting to drawing. I start with a line, and from that line I open my imagination and create. Singing with my Brother made me happy. Now he leaves far away from me, but when he was leaving with us, we used to listen and memorized new songs together, and then sing it. It was wonderful. And that making people happy makes me happy. Knowing that I brought a smile in somebody face makes me thing that I’ve done a great job.
    I think that what the United Nations secretary-general said is vary correct because, like I just said, I myself think that making other people happy, makes us happy.
    At the 7 Steps to Happiness I would add at the end: “… And just be yourself.” Sometimes, if we want to be accepted from someone, we use to play a role that it isn’t our. From my point of view, everyone should be themselves, ‘cause we only live once, and if you start hiding under a mask, you will ruin your life, for someone that can’t see your real face for the fear of differences.
    “Everyone wants, Happiness. No one wants, Pain. But you can’t have a Rainbow, without a little Rain.”
    This is a banal, but a wonderful sentence. The Rainbow stand for the Happiness, the Rain for the Pain. In life nothing is perfect. You will always have to suffer. But after, you will be awarded with joy and happiness.
    “I’m in charge of the way I feel and today I’m choosing Happiness.”
    I think that this sentence means a lot. I’ve always believed in it. We have the responsibility of our emotions and of our brain. We have the duty to open our minds and look after our problems, and think that nothing can stop us.
    I think that I would post it in classroom, ‘cause many of my class mates can’t see what the real problems are, and come to school, or turn into sad person. And I would post it in my bedroom, ‘cause even I forget that my happiness depends only from me.
    “Don’t Worry, Be happy.”
    The “incidents” that can happen in our life are a lot. But we have to separate the most important ones (like losing one of the parents when we are young, or been adopted cause your real parents can’t keep you for many reasons, ecc.) from the not important ones (Like losing your girlfriend/boyfriend, or can’t have something that we always wanted, like a very expensive pair of shoes, ecc. ).
    The song is very simple, has a good rhythm, inspiring, and has got very significant words.

  2. These are my favourites songs:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwK7ggA3-bU

    This song was the first one that I sang with my Brother. The singer has a wonderful voice and I remember that when we get on the high notes of this sing, I wasn’t able to compare it like ma Brother. I always listen to it when I want peace.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F90Cw4l-8NY

    Now it is even my ring tone. I love his voice, and a like the words of the song. I listen to it when I go at school, or when I go to rugby training.

  3. HAPPINESS
    Happiness for me is : to be loved by the person that I love, be happy and feel good, make my parents proud of me, don’t be persiflage, have a family that supports me and make others happy, put in their face a smile and make they happy when they are down.
    I prefer the second highlighted sentences because I think that the grateful people living the life in a easy way and they don’t want more, and I am agree with Ban Ki-Moon, the United nations-secretary-general because if we are selfless, I think that we can make other happy and in the same time we are happy too.
    Other way for be happy over and above at the list of steps to happiness for me is: “more sincerity less falsehood” because I think that we can live better with a clear conscience and I am agree with the steps of happiness because with these advices we can live the life in a better way.
    There are two posters that Mss Ziraldo posted about happiness: I like the slogan that represent the happiness with a wonderful rainbow and the sadness with the rain. For me this slogan means that there isn’t happiness without a little bit of sadness, because the rainbow appears only after the rain. In the second slogan there is this expression: “I am in charge of way I feel” for me it means that if I want express my opinion or make a choice I have to be ready to suffer the consequences and of what happens. I would like post it into my bedroom and in my home.
    There is a song that makes me happy because it infuse to all people the importance of happiness and his value. This is the message of the song “Don’t worry, be happy” that Mss Ziraldo posted. But my prefer song is “Just the way you are” by Bruno Mars, because I like the expression that use the singer to say at the people that each of us is perfect just as it is and we mustn’t change for anyone.

  4. Hello teacher,

    What makes me happy? The colors enjoy me! They convey happiness and joy! A life without colors is a life without smiles and laughs! My favorite colors are blue and green: the colors of the grass and the sky!
    Another thing that makes me happy are my friends!! The people that help me; they are all for me: when I am in trouble they help me immediately, they have always an answer for my questions! The most important is my best friend. She is a beautiful person! She always makes me happy, in every way. I love her!
    Music makes me happy! It is a little bit complicated because if I’m sad and I listen to “sad” music, I become more blue. But sometimes when I’m sad I listen to “happy” music like “22” or “starships”, I try to become glad.
    I like to stay at home too. At home I relax myself: at the first I do the things that are more difficult and then I listen to music, I sleep, I eat and I play with my brothers. Paradise!
    Also the summer makes me glad. Summer means fun, friends, sea, friends, swimming-pool, ice cream, friends, holiday and friends again! In the summer there are flowers that painting the landscape: it is like a rainbow.
    To make other people happy I try to be honest and nice, especially with my friends. If one of my friends is blue have to makes his happy, absolutely! How can we see a friend lonely? We mustn’t! Usually I tell him something very fun, a joke or I remind to him something that we had to do together.
    To make happy my parents I try to respond to them. I try to make them proud of me, behaving well or having good mark at school.

    The imagine “ 7 steps to happiness” is very nice! I like it because says true things, my favorite is “frown less, smile more” because sometimes we stop to smile for trivial things. In the world there are people with serious trouble that smiling even if they don’t feel very well, instead we frown for little thing that are not so severe. A person who smile is nicer than a person who frown.
    If I could add a further step I would write “show off yourself less, help more”. The society shows off itself and doesn’t think about poor people that can’t afford little things.

    “Everyone wants happiness, no one wants pain. But you can’t have a rainbow, without a little rain.” This is a beautiful expression. In my opinion the rainbow means the happiness, the fun and the nice things of the life; while the rain means the pain. We shouldn’t pretend to have only happiness, because to know the meaning of it, we have to understand the meaning of pain.

    The person who is written this sentence doesn’t feel good but he hopes to reach the happiness. I would post it in my bedroom so when I’m sad reading it I will feel better.

  5. The incidents are the quarrels with other people, for example with the friends or with the parents, or to gat a bad mark in a test. But, non for all in igual. The incidenst are different from person to person, for example my worry can’t be necessary your worry.
    In this song the singer advises to smile and be happy, so the problem is more simple to deal.
    For me this song is lively, soft and even simple. I share its mean. The video is very fun, but doen’t distract you from the words of the song.
    I see me that tell to my friends that br happy is important to live the day.
    I imagined the adversiment of a telephone company (like TIM or VODAFONE) because today be in contact with our friend make us happy, so we don’t feel lonely, and texting and call became important, so I think that if the company use this song like background, they are going to be very successful.
    In a bar, because there are a lot of people that probably have worries or are with their friend, so this song can improve the humor to them.
    This is the song that makes me happy:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk7Sxpmr7wI

    It’s old, but I heard this song when I was a child, so now when I listen it I think to the good memories and I’m happy.
    For me the happyness is very importat. Every day I repeat to myself (and to my friends) this: “Think positive and always smile”. I thank my mother that teaches me this phrase because it improves my life, ALWAYS making me smile, even when I’m sad.
    I think the life is happy and funny and those little “incidents” that we met during it, help us to grow up and to become strong.

  6. Go out with my friends makes me happy because with them I always have fun.
    Paint and draw make me happy because I can express my ideas and turn into real the picture that I have in my mind.
    Stay with my grandparents makes me happy because I love them and they are very important for me.
    Run makes me happy because help me to relase the tention.
    Listen to music makes me happy because I feel free and positive.
    In my opinion listen other people makes them happy and comprised. For example if they are lonely I let that they tell me their problems so they don’t feel lonely again.
    Yes, I think that we need this special day because if a person smiles that isn’t means that he/she is happy.
    “Be proud less, apologize more”
    In my opinion the rainbow represents the beautiful part of our life, the happyness and the rain represents the difficulty and the pain.
    We can’t expect to be happy without these little obstacles. For example we can’t really know how a person is important for us before lose him.
    I an charge of how I feel means that you can decide to be positive and smile to your lifer or to be pessimistic and think that is all wrong. If you are positive to yourself and your life is a little bit better overcome a difficulty. I post it on my bedroom’s ceiling so I can see that every morning when I wake up.

  7. For me happiness means feel good with my self principally. But happiness has got lots of “face” like: freedom, love, beauty, good luck, health and many other… I feel happy when: I can sing because it’s my passion, I do my best (in general), when the weather is beautiful because It’s fantastic to wake up in a sunny day and so I can have good time with people that I love, however I feel good when I wear ..
    I feel good when my friends or my relatives are happy too, and meanly when they are happy because I’m able to help them! To help other people makes me happy, I feel enriched and important because I know I’ve done the right thing! when I can help my mum I feel an emotion that it’s unbelievable, it’s really more than happy but I don’t know how to explain.
    The phrase “you can’t have a rainbow without a bit of rain” for me means if you want the happiness, you will have to sacrifice your self a bit, because today “no one give you something” you have to earn every thing!
    however I think money can help you to much, but if you are the richest man in the world but you’re lonely, stupid, sick, all people hate you, you won’t be happy .
    Instead people who are poor have a great quality that every other person should envy: they live with simplicity! We should take them as example because our society is based on the consumerism and to be happy you have to do lots of thing, and more you have and more you want.
    I will post this phrase “I’M IN CHARGE OF HOW I FEEL AND TODAY I AM CHOOSING HAPPINESS” in my bedroom because I think I would start every day with a smile!
    My eighth step to the happiness is: BE LESS SELFISH, BE MORE GENEROUS!!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA4ppvp2IzY

  8. Take good marks and good results at school makes me very happy (and especially my mom).When I play well volleyball and meet my teammates makes me happy. When I
    return in my country, in Moldavia and I have a lot of fun with my friends makes me incredibly happy. There is nothing I can do to help other people.The step that I add to the list of the steps of the happiness is “HATE LESS,LOVE MORE”.

  9. This is the song that makes me happy :
    Sally by Gogol Bordello
    Sally was a fifteen year old girl from Nebraska
    Gypsies were passing through her little town
    They dropped something on the road , she picked it up…
    And cultural revolution right away begun!
    Yes right away begun!
    They always were afraid that I was schizophrenic…
    They always were afraid schto ja rodinu prodam
    a po pravde ja bil prosto malenkij medvedik
    spizdil vsjo u vseh i vsjo nahuj proebal…
    From all the tables of contents that Mother Earth provides
    I’d like to be a big fat fucking fly
    The one that spins around your head all day and all night
    and sound of it is just like a what?…
    …but by the accident of some kind divine dispensation
    I ended up being walking U*nited Nation
    And I survive even fucking radiation
    A big fat fucking what?
    And I would visit you a lot

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