Blogpost 8: No Regrets

Life is so precious. Life can change in a blink of an eye. One minute you’re on top and then the next moment you’re on the bottom thinking can things get any worse? When moments in life like that occur you shouldn't give up because the next day you’re going to wake up and regret it.

I saw an article entitled "Living in the No Regrets Zone” by Caroline Adams Miller. She said regrets are defined as unfulfilled intentions or goals that a person wishes they had the courage or time to pursue at a previous time in their life.  It’s natural for everyone to experience regrets, and these regrets often begin to build during the college years over passed-up educational opportunities. There are many connections on how regrets fit with the science of Positive Psychology, including Ryff’s work about how one’s well-being is increased when progress is made toward meaningful, challenging goals in the present, and that are correlated with one’s best possible future self. It has also been found that attained and unattained goals are key predictors of rumination, which is an indication of psychological adjustment. Regrets carry a certain type of energy that can be used in positive or negative ways, and that will impact your well-being. In fact, researchers have found that the incidence and intensity of regretful ruminations are minimized through the active pursuit of goals and that greater well-being can occur through a carefully structured plan of daily goal pursuit that is married to pursuit of meaningful life goals.

"If you are living with regrets today about roads not taken, old decisions made in haste, or things you have longed to attempt but been afraid to try, declare this to be your “No Regrets Zone” year. Take a risk — try it out. And take another risk — live today without regrets," Caroline said.

Life is full of great things that you should never miss out. Live life to the fullest and embrace the challenges you face with no regret because in the end it’s all worth it. We tend to focus more on what might go wrong, what we might lose or sacrifice when taking risks. They are pointing us to a brighter future that we can only create when we commit to taking bolder, more decisive and courageous actions.

Another good article I've read entitled "No Regrets: Why 'Letting Go' May Be Key to Happy Aging" by Charles Q. Choi. He said rain scans can now reveal that living a life without regrets may be one key to aging well. The brain scans revealed that activity in a brain region called the ventral striatum, which is linked with feeling regret and also addiction, and in the anterior cingulate cortex, which is involved in regulating emotions, was similar between the young adults and the depressed older adults. In contrast, the healthy older adults showed different patterns in brain activity that suggested they experienced less regret and regulated their emotions more effectively. They suggest that healthy older adults may employ helpful mental strategies to avoid regret, such as reminding themselves that the results of the game were up to chance. In contrast, depressed older adults may blame themselves for the outcome. It might be possible to train people to use these mental strategies to help preserve their emotional health in old age.

"Given that unsuccessfully aged people demonstrated a more youth-like behavior, it seems to be essential for our emotional well-being to adapt to changing life demands when we are older that is, to not look back in anger and to focus on the positive," Charles said.

I have always heard people say, “Don’t have any regrets.” For some reason I believed it was true. We all do things in life that we regret. We also do things in life that make us proud of the people that we are. Still, there are things in life that we hope that someday be able to do. All of these things make up who we are and how we've come to be ourselves. 

Blogpost 7: The Power Of Your Smile

I believe in the power that a simple smile can bring. Living in a chaotic world where crime rates are on the rise, people are abused, innocent loved once are being killed and anything can happen in the blink of an eye. I believe that a simple smile can remind others that the world is still full of kind people and still full of hope.

According to "There's Magic In Your Smile" an article written  by Sarah Stevenson, the act of smiling activates neural messaging that benefits our health and happiness. Neuropeptides are tiny molecules that allow neurons to communicate. They facilitate messaging to the whole body when we are happy, sad, angry, depressed, excited. The feel good neurotransmitters dopamine, endorphins and serotonin are all released when a smile flashes across your face as well. Finally, the serotonin release brought on by our smile serves as an anti-depressant/mood lifter. Many of today’s pharmaceutical anti-depressants also influence the levels of serotonin in your brain, but with a smile, we don’t have to worry about negative side effects and we don’t need a prescription from our doctor. When we smile, people treat us differently. We're viewed as attractive, reliable, relaxed and sincere. A study published in the journal Neuropsychologia reported that seeing an attractive smiling face activates our orbitofrontal cortex, the region in our brain that process sensory rewards. It also explains the 2011 findings by researchers at the Face Research Laboratory at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. Subjects were asked to rate smiling and attractiveness. They found that both men and women were more attracted to images of people who made eye contact and smiled than those who did not. 

"We can’t always control what happens to us, but I am 100% confident that gracing your face with a grin can seriously change your internal and external experience. Your smile is something that should be worn often, so make it a priority to surround yourself with people, places and things that brighten your day," Sarah said. 

I agree with what Sarah mentioned, we do not have the control in what will happen to us. But we should always smile to the people around us because maybe it will be the last. Through our smile, we gain friends and we also experience new happenings in our life. They said that we should start our day with a smile because it will be the start of a new productive day for all of us. 

Another good article I've read was written by Julia Layton entitled "Explanations for Why Smiling Causes Happiness". She said that the theory goes back to Darwin, who proposed in the 19th century that facial expressions didn't only reflect emotions, but also caused them however, there is a lack of good evidence. But in the 1980s, some interesting studies on the physiology of smiling brought it back into the consciousness of the psychology field. Dr. Zajonc's research took this observation further, into a full-fledged proposal for why a smile might trigger happiness. When facial muscles are activated in an expression, the biochemical processes associated with those areas of the face are altered according to their temperature change. And research suggests that a cooler brain creates good emotions, while a warmer brain produces negative emotions. Dr. Zajonc points to the part of the body called the internal carotid artery, which is the pipe that delivers the majority of blood to the brain. This artery flows through an opening called the cavernous sinus, which contains lots of facial veins. When someone smiles, causing certain facial muscles to stretch and tighten, veins are constricted. This would cut down on the blood flowing to the cavernous sinus, which in turn would reduce the amount of blood flowing through the carotid artery to the brain. Less blood volume means the temperature of that blood drops. When that cooler blood gets to the brain, brain temperature would drop too, triggering a happy feeling.    

Julia Layton said, "Even proponents of the theory don't suggest that smiling can make unhappiness go away. The theory basically states that in a state of emotional neutrality, putting a smile on your face can tip you in the direction of a positive feeling."

Smile is a beautiful thing. It's a symbol of happiness. I believe that a smile is one of the most powerful gift that we as humans, possess. It is our ability to create and express our infinite love. So today, smile often. Smile at yourself and smile at your loved one. And whatever that thing that we love to do, do it and share it with someone. And do it all with a smile, knowing that we are spreading love, joy and inspiration.

Blogpost 6: Can We Live Forever?

The longest journey that we as human beings will have to go through is the Journey of Life. From the moment we entered this world, we are faced with the most terrifying roller coaster ride. Life has its ups and downs. And as life goes on, things get more complicated. We are no longer a child, but an adult who faces reality. And the one thing that is real, we are all gonna die sooner or later. 

As per Molly Edmonds, the writer of "Can humans live forever?", the idea of living forever might seem like a fairy tale. Some researchers believe that there is a limit on how many years we can live, and the maximum is 125. Aging, dementia and heart disease are just one of the diseases that blocks us from reaching that point. Our body parts wear out from use that's why scientists are focused on how to stop aging occurring within the body. One method that has demonstrably increased the lifespan  is a calorie-restricted diet. To follow this diet, we must cut our caloric intake by 30 percent while still consuming all necessary nutrients. This eating plan has proven difficult for humans to maintain, so researchers are trying to figure out how, exactly, fewer calories lengthen life. Anti-aging pills could also be used to halt the production of free radicals, which are molecules that cause increasing damage within the body as we age. Researchers are also considering whether compounds like resveratrol, which is found in red wine, could be effective in pill form, as resveratrol might have the ability to interfere with the aging process at the genetic level. Some scientists think that telomerase, an enzyme that mends protective coverings on cells, is the answer, while some would-be centenarians have begun injections of human growth hormone, hoping they will stop the body from aging. There are many theories on why we age and how we can stop it, and an anti-aging pill may be decades away, if it ever appears at all.

Molly Edmond said, "We've been raised with the belief that death is inevitable, so we must consider the legacy of what we'll leave behind. But what if you had unlimited time to pursue your life's work? What if you didn't have to die?"

We are all working so hard because when the time has come, we all want to leave a a good legacy. I actually don't agree with the anti-aging pill. Although these pills may slow the aging process, but still we should accept the fact that sooner or later these will no longer be effective anymore. And instead of these pills, why don't we intake vitamins that can make us healthier although we cannot avoid being sick. Death is inevitable therefore we should seize the remaining years to come. 

The second article was written by Chris Wood entitled "Can You Really Live Forever?". He said that a molecular biologist named Dr. William Andrews' company discovered a nutraceutical or knows as TA-65.  It supposedly slows down the aging process in humans by activating an enzyme called telomerase.Telomerase acts on telomeres—simple repeating sequences of nucleotides (the building blocks of DNA) found at the tips of chromosomes that are important to cell division and replication. When telomeres erode away, parts of critical genes remain uncopied, eventually spelling death for the cell. Some scientists think that this telomere erosion is what imposes a limit on our lifespans and causes our health to decline as we age, they also think that an answer to this dilemma might be telomerase activation. Some scientists, like Dr. Andrews, think telomerase activation could be the cure for aging that his company is looking for, and he views TA-65 as a potential big first step in that direction. 

Chris Wood said, "Just keep on living until you meet with a fatal accident. Woo hoo! But… hold on. Turns out we shouldn’t get irrationally exuberant just yet. It might not be such a good idea to activate telomerase, after all—because of the role it seems to play in cancer."

I don't really think that we can live forever. Perhaps these new invented pills can actually slows down the aging process however, these may be cost too much. People who are rich and afraid to die old just like the celebrities and some politicians are willing to buy these kind of pills. There are also some people that are also afraid to die old however, they cannot afford to buy because they have their prioritize in life. While some people accept the fact that there's nothing we can do about aging. They just enjoy the life and they do not care about any matter regarding their lines in their forehead or whatever signs due to oldness. I think we should be satisfied on how long we can live in this earth and  just mind the legacy that we can leave behind. 

Blogpost 5 : Enjoy Life

I believe in living in the moment. We have been given only one life to live, and we need to live it to the fullest. I believe that the purpose of life is not only to fulfill God's purpose for us, but also to find joy along the journey that we have been given.

According to the article entitled"How to Enjoy Life" written by Peter Clemens, we should appreciate beauty. Everything in this world is beautiful and has its own uniqueness. Although some might find it ugly, still we should consider it as an art.  He also said that we should always laugh, and we should surround ourselves with fun people and don't get caught up in our own sense of importance. Connect with different people because in this life, it is our relationships with people that gives us the most happiness in life. It is also the best if we build good and strong relationships with the people we encounter everyday. He also added that we should celebrate our success. We love celebrating even the small matters is important. The compliments that we receive from them is also a part of our life that makes us even happier because they value our works. 

Peter said, "If you slow down for just a moment and take the time to appreciate these ordinary events, life becomes instantly more enjoyable."

What Peter said is actually true. Every moment is important. Take time to appreciate small things or any ordinary events. We are always in a hurry that sometimes we tend to forget those moment every second of our lives.

The second article is about "How to Enjoy Life Every Day"   which was also written by Peter Clemens. According to him, we should enjoy every day. Do what we love, make friends, take pride in our work and stop waiting for something to occur before we are happy. He also said that we should try to improve 1% each day by being 1% happier, healthier and productive than yesterday. 

It is not about recklessly living life as if there is no tomorrow. The future is important to plan for, but it is important not to obsess about it to the extent that you neglect the present. Remember, the only way to get to the future is through a series of todays," Peter said.

There is a saying that "Yesterday is a history, tomorrow is a mystery and today is a gift". This means that we don't actually know what will happen to us tomorrow. So why don't we think that it's like our last day here and so we should enjoy and treasure every moment. Remember that we only have one life and that's it. We all don't want to live in regrets in the future. So like I said, appreciate, cherish and enjoy every second of our lives.

Blogpost 4: Love is ...

       

 Love is a very special and meaningful word to each and everyone of us. Everyone has his/her own thoughts about love, to guide himself/herself into the kingdom of Love. By the way, What is Love? I know this question exists in our minds. If not it is still waiting to be discovered deeply in our hearts. 
  

 I've read several articles regarding about what is love. One article I've read was written by Kendra Cherry entitled "What Is Love?". In her article, she said that according to Sigmund Freud, the study of love in the past was left to the creative writer to depict for us the necessary conditions for loving. While research about this has grown tremendously over the last 20 years, early explorations into the nature and reasons for love drew considerable criticism. According to social psychologist Zick Rubin, love is characterized by three different things : attachment, caring and intimacy. Using a psychometric approach to love, Rubin devised a scale used to assess levels of liking and loving. While love is often seen as one of the basic human emotions such as anger or happiness, some have suggested that love is instead a cultural phenomenon that arises partly due to social pressures and expectations. If love were a purely cultural invention, it would stand to reason that love would simply not exist in some cultures. However anthropological research suggests that love is influenced by both biological drives and cultural influences. While hormones and biology are important, because the way we express and experience this emotion are influenced by our personal conceptions of love. 

"Despite the fact that love is one of the major human emotions (some would even say the most important one), love has only fairly recently became the subject of scientific." , Kendra said. 

When we talk about love, it is a wide range topic. No one can answer what Love really is. Some people might think that love is a biological or cultural phenomenon. Its the kind of thing that keeps poets and philosophers up at nights. But science, actually has a pretty good explanation for it to. 

Another article I've read was entitled "What Is Love, and What Isn't?" by Deborah Anapol. She said,  Love is inherently free. It cannot be bought, sold, or traded. You cannot make someone love you, nor can you prevent it, for any amount of money. Sexual stimulation and gratification, whether by way of fingers, mouths, objects, fantasy play, whips and chains, or just plain intercourse, can certainly be bought and sold, not to mention used to sell other things. Whether sex should be for sale is another question entirely, but love itself can not be sold. This doesn't mean that love allows destructive and abusive behaviors to go unchecked. Love speaks out for justice and protests when harm is being done. Love cares what becomes of you because love knows that we are all interconnected. Love is inherently compassionate and empathic. Love knows that the "other" is also oneself. This is the true nature of love and love itself can not be manipulated or restrained. Love honors the sovereignty of each soul. Love is its own law.

Deborah said, "Love is a force of nature. However much we may want to, we can not command, demand, or take away love, any more than we can command the moon and the stars and the wind and the rain to come and go according to our whims".

The truth is, the people have different meanings when talking about Love. Scientists may explain it  with different tests and observations . Psychologists may interpret it with our emotions. While some ordinary people may simplify it based on their emotions and actions. With their experiences they usually come up with a unique meaning of Love. 

Blogpost 3: Can Money Buy Happiness?

People desires to have more money just like I do. Money can provide our needs and wants. It can take us wherever we want. Nowadays, it's like money can make the world go round. People would  do everything just to have money, in illegal or not. They will do whatever it takes to give happiness to the people they love by giving them money or by buying anything they want. Nevertheless, can money buy happiness?

According to the article entitled "Does Money Buy Happiness? Apparently, it does" written by Sara Miller, when we're introduced to the lifestyle of rich, we witness the majestic money can achieve. They mentioned that according to the Time Magazine article "Do We Need $75,000 a Year to Make Us Happy? money can buy happiness in a certain point. A study held by Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School surveying 450,000 people, the happiness limits is around $75,000. This wage allows the average American to live comfortably and a little fancy. Economists Angus Deaton and Daniel Kahneman tested two different types of happiness. The first being the daily up and down of mood swings and the second focused on a deeper and long lasting fulfillment. $75,000 or above helps people to feel the deep satisfaction of happiness and gives them a positive outlook on their future.  Once under the $75.000 mark, dissatisfaction starts to arise and the worries of life.

Sara quoted, "Does money buy us happiness? It does, and it can.  In the modern world, money (be it $75,000 or 1 million) can bring us happiness to a certain degree, optimism about our futures, and leave a little extra for indulgence."

 I strongly disagree with the author. How can she measure the money that we need just to ensure our happiness? For me, her thoughts are mainly focused on tangible things that can make us even happier. However, she never thought of the things that absolutely money can't buy and those are the intangible just like love, friends, family, talents and so on. Surely we can live without material possession just like how our ancestors lived in simplicity. 

The second article is about "5 Ways Money Can Buy Happiness, Backed by Science" by Martha C. White. According to it, we have to spend wisely. Buy moments, not stuff. According to Psychology Professor Dan Gilbert, the key is to spend your money on experiences rather than material things. Material things, even if they're expensive or you wanted them badly. Memories of people, places and activities, however, never get old. Spend on others, spending money on others boosts people's emotional and physical well-being. Buy small splurges. Buy what you like and spend it with others.

"Doing things with friends or family, even if it’s not as exciting, makes you happy because it fosters a sense of togetherness and connection between you and other people", Martha said.

I still believe that money can't buy happiness. Because if it does, I would buy the talents that I do not have and the love from someone that I have been waiting for so many years. Money can buy any thing in this world, those are our needs and wants. However, these things can only be a part of our happiness. We must remember that happiness comes from our choices, family, friends, experiences and romantic relationships that are obviously money can't buy.

Blogpost 2: Towards Happiness

Happiness is a choice. You prescribe your own happiness. It's really all about the mindset. You are the only one in the way of your own happiness. Yes, there is a lot of negativity in the world but to be happy you have to learn to see past that and focus on everything positive in your life, and love yourself over anyone else. However, what are the secrets towards happiness?

As per Joshua Becker, the writer of "10 Positive Psychology Studies To Change Your View of Happiness", our most fulfilled lives are discovered living for greater causes. He also included how Dr. William Compton describes positive psychology as seeking to make normal life more fulfilling. It is the study of what actions, pursuits and motivations best contribute to the good life. The first positive psychology study if about from wealth to well-being. There is definitely a correlation between wealth and happiness however, money does not lead to nearly as much as happiness as people think it will. Second is about buying experiences , not possessions. Experiences result in an increased well-being than material possessions. Next is the science of gratitude, a little appreciation and forever grateful even on small things is one of the greatest contributing factors to overall happiness. Trust, Morality and Oxytocin, the honesty and the feeling that you understand and share another person's experiences and emotions can result in a happier you. Fifth is about for a better day, the smile, just simple smile can immediately improve your mood and recall pleasant memories. Next is the dynamic spread of happiness, people who are embraced by their families and friends are more likely to become happy in the future. Seventh is about kindness counts. People who are thoughtful as they help can gain personal popularity . Eight is about the people who exercise on work days are happier, it improves the mood and they can be more productive to managed the stress. Next is about volunteers. Evidence suggests volunteering benefits mental health and survival. And the last thing is about spending money on others promotes happiness.Specifically, spending more of one's income on others results in greater happiness.

Joshua said, "People wait all week for Friday, all year for summer and all life for happiness"

I actually believe in what he said. People nowadays especially teenagers, view their happiness based on the Fridays and summer. They always forget to be thankful on small things everyday, their families and friends, the blessings they have and of course for the new mornings as we all wake up everyday. We should realize that we are full of so many great things that we almost forgot the true meaning of happiness because we actually based it on mostly material things.

Another article I've read is about "Positive Psychology and the Science of Happiness" from www.pursuit-of-happiness.org. Many books and articles tackled about the different remedies for human misery. But we need to use the greatest method, the scientific method. Lately, we have seen an upsurge in discovering what makes happy people happy. Fortunately, many of these studies point to specific ways of thinking that can have an impact in our sense of well-being. Through relationships, we express our hearts. We also cultivate kindness by volunteering in an organizations. Through exercise, diet and sleep, there is an evidence that it improves our mental well-being and it lessen our depressive symptoms. Through positive psychology, we should find our flow or we actively trying to reach our goals. This leads to increased positive affect, performance and commitment to long-term and meaningful goals. Also through spiritual engagement, religious organizations provide strong social support from like-minded people, providing various opportunities for socializing, community service and making friends with individuals from a common network. According to experts, in the new field of positive psychology shows that the happiest people are those who discovered their unique strength and virtues for a purpose. The last is about the positive mindset. Optimism has been proven to improve the immune system, prevent chronic disease, and help people cope with unfortunate news. Gratitude is associated with optimism and has been determined that grateful people are happier, receive more social support, are less stressed, and are less depressed. And these are 7 habits of happy people .

According to www.pursuit-of-happiness.org, "The resulting discoveries are enriching the practices of counseling, clinical psychology, psychiatry and life coaching".

I agree with those factors and I am also trying to achieve happiness just like everybody else. Just being alive and being surrounded with those whom I love, makes me happy everyday. It is known that if one is satisfied emotionally, they will feel better on the outside physically and vise-versa. Life is a cycle and in order to keep a positive cycle, one needs to be happy. If the happiness were to break, a bad attitude comes in and things can end up going down hill. Happiness matters to me a lot because it is a simple word, but very complex situation. There are so many ways to achieve happiness and so little time to live everyday to the fullest