Critical Thinking Research Paper

Critical Thinking Paper

Many people all over the world are unhappy, some for a very good reason, like not having your basic needs met. Others are also unhappy with minuscule things, which in some ways are serious problems, but when compared others they might not seem so. There are things we call ‘real-world problems’ which is a sarcastic remark about having struggles that aren’t serious. In a roundabout way, I see this sarcasm as a defense mechanism for those who are unhappy but are also self-aware of how small their issues can be. This article addresses things such as this and offers up advice towards being happier. Suzanne Degges-White Ph.D. writes about how friendliness, cheerfulness, compassion, and gratitude are the four key ingredients

for being more pleased with yourself and your life. Though these key factors are strong, there are also many more that can affect our happiness greatly. Much like the variety of big and small problems, there is a variety of big and small solutions.
There are many ways that one can find how to be happy. Some people follow exactly what Suzanne offered in variations, such as a man named Babauta who has found clarity in what is most important to him. He says, “I don't watch TV. I don't talk to people on the phone. My Internet searches are all work-related,’ he says. "Most people have too much going on and not enough time for things that are truly important. Simplifying makes room for these important things. It also reduces stress and clutter, and that leads to a more peaceful life." (Happiness Makeovers, 2009) His version of friendliness is shown within his family. He has unplugged from things that have stolen away attention from others and blinded them from what is important. Babauta has simplified his life and focused on showing one of Suzanne’s key ingredients, compassion.
Another example of someone using one of Suzanne’s four factors is a man named Chris Peterson and his class of college students.

Mr. Peterson created an assignment for his students where they write gratitude letters as a belated thank you note to someone they choose specifically. Though this was a moving experience for his students, Mr. Peterson was struggling with writing his own gratitude letter. He soon figured out how to become open enough to write an effective letter. His route says to fake it at first, you should say thank you to all of the cheesy things you can think of off the top of your head. Such as your pets, family, or a neighbor and something they have done for you. These simple things will open you to the idea that you are “an object of love and care… your self-esteem is bolstered when you say. ‘Hey, people have done things for me.’” (Make a Gratitude Adjustment, 2006). Widening your view of your self is referred to as the glue that will hold society together by the author of this article.

Though Suzanne’s four factors to happiness are have been agreed upon is valid, there seem to be more than just those four. It is an expanded amount that keeps growing in possibilities as you live life. There is another circumstance that I believe to be very important, that is growth. Carlin Flora

wrote,
"What's right might not necessarily make you feel good," He stresses. For example, people hate commutes, but they make them to live in a good school district or to give their kids a yard. It's a source of feeling bad, but it's often the right thing to do as a parent." "Happiness is elusive, always just out of reach," she says. "That's why it's important to have a feeling of progress, of growth and change for the better. That could be learning something new, or having an actual garden, or just noticing your children maturing. Even if a life feels right, it's not going to bring happiness if it's stagnant." (Happiness Makeovers, 2009).
It’s important to give yourself a chance by growing, you won’t have a chance at happiness if you don’t leave some room. It won't all be glamorous or maybe even feel like happiness but working through the bad times to get to the good has been a saying that many have used for a long time.
There is a very vast amount of possibilities for happiness, but not allowing things such as growth, friendliness, gratitude or compassion into your life will narrow those chances for being happy.

You shouldn’t have to follow all of Suzanne’s factors to truly be happy. Some of those things are powerful enough to stand alone, but I believe that Suzanne is trying to help people find maximum happiness. Something that all of the examples that I have given have in common are that they only want to help the public. They have more than likely struggled with being happy in the past and searched their lives and society for answers. When they finally found a method that worked for them they began to write about it. They want to give others who are in their predicament to have an easier time of finding answers, so they offer up their information in hopes it helps. This also ties into these authors fulfilling their goals to be happy. This is much like the compassion example. They are doing their best to be positive influences and serve as someone else’s stepping stone to becoming happier. It is self-fulfilling and charitable at the same

time.