Some Great Ideal; The Key to Happiness

(John Green)

“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.”- John Lennon (Goodreads). According to the World Health Organization, World Mental Health (WMH) Survey Initiative, conducted in July 2011, over 121 million people worldwide suffer from depression, which on average causes 850,000 deaths per year (Depression Statistics). The onset of depression is triggered by a variety of circumstances one  has suffered. Research scientists know that there are many factors that contribute to depression; the three most common factors are loose ties with family, low self-esteem and being dissatisfied with your life. There is unanimous agreement in medical circles that to avoid depression you need to pay attention to the the triggers that cause it.

In order to achieve happiness, one must strengthen ties within the family. The support of family is the greatest attribute you can acquire in life, so embrace it. Many people sacrifice family life for work, in the hopes of a higher income (Columbia University). The understanding that if one has money, then one can be happy is a common thought. When people become obsessed with trying to earn a higher wage, they lose sight of family. Family support helps people prevail through tough times. Family is infinitely better than friends because family are always with you at the end of the day. Data from the study indicated that earning a high salary was rated of little importance, families preferred safety and security over wealth. When family support is strong, so is your happiness. And happiness gives you the energy and willpower to achieve goals. That's why it is important to always find time to talk to each other, no matter the circumstances (HPRC). Of crucial importance was the need to find time to interact and discuss issues with each other. Researchers outlined the fact that reflection on issues will boost happiness, because you would've said everything on your mind, insuring no emotions get bottled up inside. At least once a week sit down together and talk. Talk about your day at school or work. Discuss the high and low points in your day. Your family will listen and guide you in the right direction, this also helps heighten your self-esteem.

Heightening your self-esteem is a long journey, but a path that will surely lead you to happiness. Because the media has twisted society's perception of beauty, many females self-esteem has decreased (Psychology Today). Female models today are around 5”8- 5”11 and weigh 110-115 pounds. This weight is only achievable by 5% of the female population. Magazines such as Vogue and Elle have a negative impact on females because they feature models that are super thin. For this reason Vogue and Elle are banned from many eating-disorder clinics. For many women the road to higher self-esteem includes isolating themselves from media,magazines in particular, because society has set unachievable goals if one aims to become ‘beautiful’. By stopping yourself from reading magazines you are letting yourself  live a world with normal standards rather than impractical ones.  “...The more depressed or anxious you become the lower your opinion of yourself and your abilities...” (BBC Health). A common trigger for low self-esteem is being told you don’t measure up to standards. Once you hear this your self-esteem (especially the thoughts on your abilities) instantly decreases. ‘Working on the triggers changing your expectations...you can begin to work on improving your self-esteem’, if you set yourself a reasonable goal(don’t try to conquer everything) for any activity that you do, once you achieve it, you will feel good about yourself. Keep setting yourself goals, and you can also tell people once you have completed your goal(s). This will help build your self-esteem. 

Learning to accept the conditions you live with, will boost your happiness. What you have changes, accept what is placed in front of you and try to make the best out of it. (Tiny Buddha). One way to embrace what you have been given is to look at it positively. For example, if your parents only give you RM50 allowance for one week, instead of looking at it as hardly any money, say “at least I got something”. This will help you acknowledge negative situations and respond positively. For the most part we can’t control what happens in our lives, but we can control our reactions. So stop trying to change your past, live in the present. (Roger Darlington). ‘You can change your state of mind’, happiness is a state of mind and therefore once you stop dwelling on the past you can focus on the future. Stop regretting something you said an hour ago and focus on what you are doing at this moment. Whether you are reading a book, a magazine or doing work. Enjoy it and stop trying to change something you have no control over. 

“As we strain to grasp the things we desire, the things we think will make our life better, money, popularity, fame, we ignore the things that truly matter. The simple things like friendship, family, love, the things we probably already had.”- Lucas Scott, One Tree Hill (inspired by George Bernard Shaw). Although, research scientists know the three most common factors that play a part in depression (loose ties with family, low self-esteem and being unsatisfied with your life), there continues to be ongoing efforts to uncover additional triggers of depression.  By doing this, scientists are trying to help the families and friends that have lost loved ones due to this mental illness. We should all reach out to  people that we know who are silently suffering from depression and assist them in reaching out to get them help. We must unleash the key to happiness, not only for ourselves but for the others around us.