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Michael Crichton Happiness Summary

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In the article “Happiness” by Michael Crichton, he writes a refreshing article on happiness. Crichton argues that happiness is not a mystery, and everyone experiences it. One of main points in the article is that happiness isn’t an illusion; it is a real thing that everybody experiences, even if you haven’t noticed. He states that happiness occurs when we are not paying attention, and that is why it seems mysterious. The author asserts that buying things won’t make you happy. He states “the endless disappointment of shoppers, thronging to the stores to acquire the new clothes of the season, the new car of the model year, is repeated again and again.” Crichton also states that getting that degree, relationship, or promotion …show more content…

Studies say your happiness level is 50% genetics, 40% is intentional behavior, and 10% circumstantial. I thought that this was interesting because I did not know that 50% of your happiness was based off of genetics alone. In the Ted Talk “On Positive Psychology”, the speaker Martin Seligman talks about this science. There is still a lot more to learn, but what the scientists have learned is amazing and very contradicting to previous studies. One thing mentioned in the Ted Talks was that there are now 14 mental illnesses that can be treatable, and two that are curable when previously all mental illnesses were untreatable. Seligman explains there are 3 different kinds of happy lives: the pleasant life, the good life, and the meaningful life. The pleasant life is having lots of pleasures in life, but also learning to savor them. The good life is having a lot of flow. Having flow means to just having relatively smooth days. The meaningful life is doing things that are meaningful for you or for other people. The type of happy that helps you stay happier longer is the meaningful life. It has been proven that people stay happier longer, and show less depression. This is relatable to Crichton’s article because once again, being around people you love will have the most effect on your

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