Irish 1

Braden Irish

Mrs. Gatfield

English 101

2020 April 28

Just Be Happy

True happiness in life is something that all people want to achieve in life. Not many try or

put forth the effort to become happy, but it's something that everyone longs for. Gaining

happiness in life comes easy for some people and comes harder for others, others who may be

struggling with depression or the like. On paper, it's a simple equation that can be applied to

anyone’s life given that they are willing to put in the effort. Happiness is obtained by accepting

the uncontrollable and making the best out of any situation.

The first and largest step on the path to daily happiness is acceptance. This is an

acceptance that not everything is perfect and that not all things will make you happy, and that it

is okay. There are a couple of different parts to acceptance. There’s accepting outside events that

impact you, and there’s accepting events that you bring upon yourself.

Dr. Travis Bradberry says the following on accepting things beyond your control, “It's

good to know how the Brexit might affect your country's markets or that your company could

merge with its largest competitor, but there's a big difference between understanding these larger

forces and worrying about them. Happy people are ready and informed, but they don't allow

themselves to fret over things that are beyond their control” (Bradberry). As he explains, there

will be small, medium, or large events in your life that you will have no control over. These

events could change the course of your life slightly or to some significant degree, and may mess
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up the order in your life. It's good to know about these events and how they will change your life,

and possibly if you do have the power to change them or not. But when you can't change a

life-altering event, it's not worth the stress and obsession over. It's a waste of your time to be

obsessing about something that you have no control of. You are putting the wrong priority on

what to be thinking about and focusing on. The path to happiness isn't found on trying to control

the uncontrollable, it's found on accepting that situation you are in and making the best out of it.

The second half to acceptance is accepting the things that you bring upon your self. No

one is perfect and acts in a way that will only benefit them. Everyone makes mistakes that can

negatively affect their lives, but as long as you are still alive, no matter what situation you put

yourself in you can get back out of and still be happy. Referencing Daniel Gilbert’s studies of

happiness, Jon Gertner explains more about accepting personal decisions:

Still, the argument that we imperfectly imagine what we want and how we will cope is

nevertheless disorienting. On the one hand, it can cast a shadow of regret on some life

decisions. Why did I decide that working 100 hours a week to earn more would make me

happy? Why did I think retiring to Sun City, Ariz., would please me? On the other hand,

it can be enlightening. No wonder this teak patio set hasn't made me as happy as I

expected. Even if she dumps me, I'll be O.K. Either way, predicting how things will feel

to us over the long term is mystifying. A large body of research on well-being seems to

suggest that wealth above middle-class comfort makes little difference to our happiness,

for example, or that having children does nothing to improve well-being -- even as it

drives marital satisfaction dramatically down. We often yearn for a roomy, isolated home

(a thing we easily adapt to), when, in fact, it will probably compromise our happiness by
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distancing us from neighbors. (Social interaction and friendships have been shown to

give lasting pleasure.) (Gertner)

In that quote, Gertner is stating that if you spend to your time regretting and thinking about how

a decision you made negatively impacts your life, you aren't going to achieve happiness. Instead,

the better solution is to quickly acknowledge that the decision you made wasn't the greatest, and

then move on to do better next time by learning from that decision. To put this in a real-life

example, say you decide to leave your home town, friends, and family, to pursue an education so

that you can get a good-paying job thinking that having a high income will be what makes you

happy. But when actually that's not the case, you realize that back at your home town with your

friends and family is where you are actually happy. This is when you can't just think that there is

nothing you can do and your life is ruined. Someone who truly desires happiness and is willing

to put in the effort will accept the decisions they made and where they are at, and then move on

to figuring out how to make the best of that situation. Which could just be as simple as moving

back to your home town. Gertner also shares with us that studies have shown that we can't

always predict how things may make us feel in the end. So before we make any decision we have

to be ready for the worst to come, prepare for it to not turn out the way we want. However, this

has to be done with a positive attitude, someone could easily become too cautious and never

want to attempt anything. But that is not the goal, it is okay to keep doing new things in your life,

and experiment with how you can make the best of the situation that is your life. Accepting the

decision that you made, looking forward with a growth mindset, and understanding that your life

isn’t ruined, because of one decision that will eventually be insignificant, is the recipe for

obtaining happiness with your decisions.

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My uncle, Aaron Irish, is the best example to the change that can come from putting

effort into maintaining happiness in life. He never grabbed a good foothold on life after moving

out of his family’s home and spent the first while of his life moving around through the states,

living with roommates, going from job to job, and trying to find his place and grab that hold on

life. He was never really happy with his situation and spent all his time complaining about his

life and how he screwed it up. He had a fixed mindset that nothing would ever get better, it

would only be horrible, and there was no fixing it. But then there was one day when he decided

that it wasn't the way he wanted his life to be and that he was going to find a way to fix it. That's

when he started learning acceptance. The realization that you can't change the decisions you

made in your past and the only way to go is up. He started to look forward with a more positive

attitude and took his losses with little complaints. This isn't to say that he started to be perfect

and was always happy. There are times where he slips up and takes things a little too harshly and

complains a little. But he has improved his life situation significantly since choosing to be happy.

A lot of what happiness is comprised of is just a change in attitude and the decision to be

happy. Just how my uncle made the decision to turn his life around and be happy. “The adventure

of happiness begins with the intention to be happy, the most hidden, yet powerful choice we

make. … Unlike most forces in life that are out of our control, our intention is fully in our

control. In other words, we can't always choose our circumstances, but we can always choose our

attitude and reactions to things around us.” (Foster and Hicks 20) That quote from the book How

We Choose to be Happy, explains just that. In order to achive happiness one must decide to be

happy and have the intentions becoming happy. Just as stated before, Foster and Hicks talk about

how there will always be events that impact us that we can not control; and even though we can’t
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control those events, we can always choose how we react to those events and our attitude

towards them.

Happiness is a key aspect of life, and going without it is a waste of time that could be

used to live it to it's fullest. There are people who think that there is no hope for them to find

happiness in their life. This is why learning the simple way to be happy in life is so important, it

allows you to be your best self and make the most out of the one life you are given. Happiness

can be obtained by not trying to control things you can't and choosing the right attitude to

become happy in any situation.

Works Cited

Bradberry, Travis. “10 Powerful Ways To Create Your Own Happiness.” HuffPost, HuffPost,

6 Jan. 2018,

www.huffpost.com/entry/10-powerful-ways-to-creat_b_13978980?guccounter=1&guce_re

ferrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAFMvI93x-

7WBdQHXDeyziWhlUdwjajqiza7x_WeDX1zp19fmHmS--bcqvIZDogIJ-e0PxhVr6TW4n

uZlC2JILQtWO-U50GIRBy6YbV2d6_mk6w5hfU6yQM53Ct-oIjnSQxleuulExuPr0ymjH

unP-AWkL0tK-tK3jIN8zl8nqccq.

Foster, Rick, and Greg Hicks. How We Choose to Be Happy: The 9 Choices of Extremely

Happy People-- Their Secrets, Their Stories. Berkley Pub. Group, 2004.
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Gertner, Jon. “The Futile Pursuit of Happiness.” The New York Times, The New York Times,

7 Sept. 2003,

www.nytimes.com/2003/09/07/magazine/the-futile-pursuit-of-happiness.html.

Irish, Aaron. Personal Interview. 30 April 2019.

Reading - 1 Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual
evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
4 In addition to a 3.0 score, student demonstrates sophisticated applications such as:
☐ Reflect nuanced, close reading of text(s) (beyond what was discussed in class).
xDemonstration of original thinking.
3.5  In addition to 3.0, in-depth inferences and applications were partially correct.

3 While engaged in grade appropriate tasks, the student demonstrates an ability to:
xReflect accurate reading of the text(s).
xCite direct textual evidence from primary sources to support claims.
xCite direct textual evidence from secondary, scholarly sources to support claims.
No major errors or omissions with 2.0 and 3.0 elements.
2.5 No major errors or omissions regarding the 2.0 elements and a partial knowledge of 3.0 elements.

No major errors or omissions regarding the simpler details and processes such as:
2 ☐ Making an argument (claim).
☐ Evidence for support.
1 The student demonstrates understanding of all 2.0 elements with help.

Reading - 2 Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and
ideas.
4 In addition to a 3.0 score, student demonstrates sophisticated applications such as:
☐ In-depth, thematic interpretations that move beyond the text.
xOriginal thinking about that theme.
3.5 In addition to 3.0, in-depth inferences and applications were partially correct.

3 While engaged in grade appropriate tasks, the student demonstrates an ability to:
2.75 xDetermine central theme(s) of a text.
xAnalyze the development of that theme throughout the text.
xIdentify supporting details.
2.5 No major errors or omissions regarding the 2.0 elements and a partial knowledge of 3.0 elements.

2 No major errors or omissions regarding the simpler details and processes such as:
☐ Identification of a theme.
☐ Summary of text.
1 The student demonstrates understanding of all 2.0 elements with help.

Writing - 1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts using valid reasoning and relevant and
sufficient evidence.
4 In addition to a 3.0 score, student demonstrates sophisticated applications such as:
☐ Engage reader with unique approach (example: intro engages, writing personality
shines)
☐ Use carefully selected evidence effectively.
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☐ Draw intertextual and/or extra-textual connections.

☐ Develop nuanced ideas.
xAnalyze evidence implicitly (read between the lines—not just summary)
☐ Presents and analyzes counterclaim(s) as leverage for argument.
3.5 In addition to 3.0, in-depth inferences and applications were partially correct.

3 While engaged in grade appropriate tasks, the student demonstrates an ability to:
2.75 xMake a clear argument; maintains continuity of argument throughout the essay.
xUse specifics whenever possible.
xShow, instead of tell.
☐ Sandwich quotes by context (before) and analysis (after) source material.
xDevelop reasoning to show how/why evidence supports argument.
xNotes implications of argument or evidence (So what?)
☐ Presents counterclaim(s), but only summarizes it.
2.5 No major errors or omissions regarding the 2.0 elements and a partial knowledge of 3.0 elements.

No major errors or omissions regarding the simpler details and processes such as:
2 ☐ Logical explanation.
☐ Organized paragraphs and transitions.
1 The student demonstrates understanding of all 2.0 elements with help.

Writing - 4 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately
through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
4 ☐ Engage reader with unique, but effective organization
☐ Explain concept(s) in unique way that results in fresh, original realization or
discovery.
3.5 In addition to 3.0, in-depth inferences and applications were partially correct.

3 xOrganize paragraphs and points logically; use transition words and phrases.
2.75 xExplain concept(s) in clear manner.
☐ Establish necessary informational context as groundwork for analysis or argument. Context for sources would be
helpful
2.5 No major errors or omissions regarding the 2.0 elements and a partial knowledge of 3.0 elements.

2.25 No major errors or omissions regarding the simpler details and processes such as:
2 xWrite introduction with thesis. xExplain material and ideas.
xOrganize material. xConclude.
1 The student demonstrates understanding of all 2.0 elements with help.

Language - 1 Demonstrate command of conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

4 In addition to a 3.0 score, student demonstrates sophisticated applications such as:

☐ Deliberate control over grammar and punctuation to create a creative,
unconventional, or desired effect on the reader.
☐ Deliberate variation in sentence structure (simple and complex) to show mastery.
☐ Sophisticated, new applications of MLA formatting.
3.5 In addition to 3.0, in-depth inferences and applications were partially correct.

3 While engaged in grade appropriate tasks, the student demonstrates an ability to:
2.75 ☐ Demonstrate proficient understanding of grammar and punctuation rules. Avoids
common errors such as comma splices, run-on sentences, and misspelled words.
☐ Follow all MLA formatting guidelines for heading, header, in-text citations for short
and block quotes, and spacing.
xFollow MLA format for Works Cited page, including alphabetical order, hanging
indent, and citation for a work in an anthology.
2.5 No major errors or omissions regarding the 2.0 elements and a partial knowledge of 3.0 elements.
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2 No major errors or omissions regarding the simpler details and processes such as:
☐ Basic sentence structure.
☐ Simplest application of MLA formatting.
1 The student demonstrates understanding of all 2.0 elements with help.