Is Happiness a Choice?

                I’ve thought a lot about the question “is happiness a choice?” a lot over the course of this semester, and I’ve come to the conclusion that happiness isn’t necessarily a choice, in a sense that one can look at the window and say: “Wow, today is a miserable day, but I’m going to choose to be happy” and have that work. I’ve tried multiple times throughout the semester to do so, but it hasn’t really worked out in making me suddenly happy with no further thought or effort. Through my own personal experience, I realize much more clearly that outside influences do play a HUGE role in happiness; environmental and biological factors are very real and do very much influence the way that we feel in our daily lives.

                That being said, I do feel like there are certain factors that remain under our control, independent of outside factors. My personal interpretation of the concept of agency as taught in the scriptures requires a certain realm of inner control. But that inner control isn’t just a switch that toggles between “happy” and “sad”. If such a switch did exists, we would rightfully call ourselves mental midgets whenever we felt a little blue, and we would say those with depression are simply choosing to feel sad. No, such a switch doesn’t exist. But our minds do have the power to take on certain attitudes and actions which I feel can bring joy in most situations. Having an attitude of gratitude is one such conscience choice that can make a huge difference in our mindset. Accepting and applying the Atonement of Jesus Christ is another. Willingly serving others is also a great way to minimize pessimistic thinking. To be blunt, I believe that living the gospel of Jesus Christ has the most power to make one happy.

Yet even the gospel doesn’t directly equate to happiness. There is no guarantee that doing all those things will automatically result in pure joy, or an instant increase of emotions. It’s not a guaranteed formula that gospel living means a perfect life free of sorrow. It’s simply the best formula I know that can get you within striking distance. I think that’s all the control anyone ever has: you can sure get pretty dang close to happiness through exercising your agency, but in the end, happiness isn’t a choice, because there is that outside 1% that isn’t under your control. Without the proper use of agency, there is a very slim chance that you will be happy. With the proper use of agency, you’re much more likely to be happy, but it’s still no guarantee. So keep striving to do the right, and if sometimes you feel disappointed because happiness seems out of reach, don’t give up; the gospel method works, but it never promises not to give you the ups and downs of life. Experiencing both the good and the bad is just another beautiful aspect of what it means to be alive.

Remote Team Meeting

                The Globetrotters team used the program Asana to remotely coordinate our work together. It was quite an experience. Asana is a program that is designed for group projects like ours, and we used the free trial to create accounts for everyone on our team. Once inside the program, we could chat, assign and accept tasks, create deadlines, and see how everyone’s progress was doing.

                One of the things that was nice about Asana was how frequently it reminded me about the project. I was getting email blasts daily, reminding me that I was expected to complete part of my project within the next day. After so many reminders though, it was more stressful and annoying than helpful.

                Overall, I learned a lot about collaboration without face-to-face encounters from this meeting. I learned that it is really important to be clear in those types of communications, because emails to send clarification questions and answers sure add up quickly. If I was able to express my point simply in one email, then everyone would be spared constant messages back and forth. I also learned the importance of being timely—at one point our team got a little behind our project deadlines and it made things pretty stressful. At one point, I was assigned to do data analysis on data that wasn’t collected yet, and I was stressing out because I felt pressure to perform on time, yet there was no way to get my piece done without the prior work. All in all, I feel that working remotely, although more convenient, isn’t as effective as meeting face to face.

Shout-out

This is a great post about how to find satisfaction in small and simple improvements. I found it really inspiring. Check it out here:

https://ajnevarez.wordpress.com/2014/11/29/life-on-the-margin/

Living Deliberately

                Today I had an intramural basketball game. I’ll try to keep a long story short, but we won, largely due to the effort of one of my teammates in playing terrific defense and shutting down our opponent’s best player. After the game, I was thinking about this friend of mine, and the lifestyle that he embodies. You see, he’s not especially tall, not especially strong, and doesn’t have the build of someone who looks like they should be an incredible athlete. To be blunt, he drew the short straw in the genetic lottery for athletic genes.

                But the thing about this friend of mine is how well he has managed his best resource: his willpower. At some point in his life, he decided that he wanted to be good at sports, and so he put in the time and effort to get into good shape. And on the court, he knows he’s not the most talented, nor the most athletic, yet he makes himself absolutely invaluable because he will work harder than anyone else on the court. He leverages his athleticism to the maximum and runs circles around everyone else, winning crucial hustle-plays, and as proved tonight, making him a crucial cog on a winning team. He’s a terror to play against and the best ally one could ever ask for in the sporting arena.

               

                I want to be him. I love the way in which this friend has decided what he wanted, and done it. His formula is that simple; decide and then do, but yet the way in which he executes his plans is masterful. It gives me hope to watch him flying around the basketball court. For me, he embodies my hope that the mind really can win over the protests of a lazy body, that deliberate change is possible, and that I can achieve my goals.

                After reflecting on the show that Ethan put on tonight, I’ve been changed. There is a higher level of living. It is possible to pivot course in a second, deliberately decide to move in a different life direction and be forever changed. How can you and I settle for anything less than greatness, when we know that such greatness is inside of us? I’m going out to live deliberately, starting now. That’s where true joy and true inner satisfaction is.