Molly+Mahoney+RP+Post+5

Many people assume that there are people out there that are just plain more happy than others. Well, that is simply not true. There is a good 40% of things that you have control over. The other sixty is: ten percent environment and fifty genetics. One way to become happier is just to seem like you are. Act the way you want to and eventually it will become second nature. A student of the University of Michigan studying psychology believes that self-esteem plays a big part in being happy as well. When we have negative feelings regarding ourselves, it brings down our happiness level. This is because we are constantly comparing ourselves to others. Monika Schnarre states, "I do think lot of unhappy people choose to be unhappy. It’s easy for them to blame the world for their situation instead of taking responsibility and making the changes necessary." One step you could take is to start volunteering your time to help others. In Ethan Daniel's view, "our happiness lies in the happiness of other people. Give them their happiness; you will get your own happiness." Daniel's point is that by giving people what they need it gives you a purpose, thereby making your life fulfilling. Success can also be found at one’s job. One who has a job they love has double the chance to be happy than one who does not like their job. Money does not make one happy unless they are uncomfortable in their living situation. Once they have enough to support themselves, money no longer influences the level of happiness. One thing that Americans need to work on is that they often take the easy way out. When we have a broken heart, instead of dealing with the pain, we take pills to lessen depression. Now we lack the life skills to overcome an obstacle we are faced with. Every time something even a little bit bad happens, we watch a movie to take our mind off of it instead of dealing with it.