Self Assessment
Happiness
First of all, I leant that having power, influences, or even money does not bring happiness (Qayoom & Husain, 2016, pg. 462). However, it is brought about by belonging to a happy family or an economically prosperous nation. Whatever an individual seeks creates happiness both at the individual and communal level. Within the work environment, organizations have to ensure staff members are happy for them to work effectively. Happiness can be fostered by ensuring that rewards like salaries and compensation are adequate for the specific work and services offered by the employees. Most people tend to look for happiness but do not understand where it lies and finds it the most effective means of finding it. According to spiritual beliefs, people seek higher levels of joy until they attain an infinite degree. And in this case, nothing can affect their bliss. According to Krishna’s belief, happiness is the state of Brahmn and having achieved satisfaction; one is not deluded again.
However, since they are established, a person remains happy even after death; happiness is vital for overall well-being; therefore, it is essential to be satisfied. However, it lies within human beings; and it is the mental state where one is free from psychological conflicts and emotional trouble. Usually, many people become happy by owning material resources; however, genuine happiness is dependent on the specific attitude towards life. It determines the best way of leading life since it brings the feeling of fullness in any activity that an individual conducts. People who know that happiness depends on internal well-being have the skill of maintaining emotional calmness and can efficiently control how happy they are through free will. Therefore, everyone should strive to implement social frameworks, which ensure that they pleased at all times. Happiness fosters emotional wellness and healthy living in all aspects of life.
Loss and Grief
In the event of a loss, it is normal for most people to feel sad. During World War Two, Iktor Frankl was an Austrian psychiatrist who was detained in the Nazi prisons for several years (Madarang, 2017, pg. 71). Throughout his detention, he was creating theoretical factors that were essential in helping people through difficult times. And these ideologies were supported by the experiences in the Nazi detention camps. On the one hand, some inmates were facing various challenges, and it was hard for them to survive; therefore, they gave up and died. On the other hand, other inmates kept on enduring, despite the hardships that they all experienced. Therefore, Frankl wondered what made the difference, and this statement formed the basis of the psychiatrist’s loss management theories. And Frankl discovered that the reason as to why some people survived is because they find purpose and meaning to continue living Madarang, 2017, pg. 712.
For many who survived, their dream was to stay alive through the Holocaust and tell stories in remembrance of those who died in the process. What I learnt from the whole story is that in the wake of a loss or sadness, it is vital to believe that there is a purpose since it will foster persistence and consistency to continue making efforts. In the wake of a loss, people can find the meaning of their lives in various ways; to be more precise, using the present challenge or condition to find purpose. That is, the deprivation can be viewed as a vital stage towards specific goals and objectives. For instance, a student who faces financial challenges can use that limitation to work extra hard to attain sufficient education. Another strategy of finding purpose is creating stories that turn negative perceptions to positivity, for example, acknowledging that particular challenges are all for the best.
Coping and the Environment
Coping involves the mental and behavioural activities that are usually carried out to solve various challenges that relate to stress. Generally, it consists of altering or managing the specific problem that is causing stressful experiences. According to Cervinka, Röderer and Hefler, nature lovers are usually happy due to their love for the environment; besides, connectedness with nature was repeatedly reported to play a decisive role in the human-nature relationship (Cervinka, Röderer and Hefler, 2011, pg. 380). It was found to predict pro-environmental behaviour, for instance, in therapeutic horticulture. Connection to natural resources involves a personal feeling of emotional attachment to nature. Indirectly or directly, natural resources impact the overall well-being and health through various factors; that is, recovery from stressful and attention-seeking activities. Secondly, it encourages multiple people to conduct physical exercises, which could be by running through the forest. Third, nature facilitates social contact
Lastly, nature provides opportunities that foster a sense of purpose, thereby leading to personal growth and development. All these benefits come from visiting natural outdoor resources such as urban nature and wild nature. According to Cervinka, Röderer and Hefler, there is a positive relationship between the amount of green space in a living environment and a person’s well-being (2011, pg. 281). In 1981, Ulrich conducted extensive research on the impacts of nature on the psycho-physiological aspects of minimizing stress. And the results indicated several factors that come as a result of the effects of the benefit of walking through an all-natural environment. First of all, nature is vital for coping since it provides an opportunity to get away from routine. Secondly, it makes people feel like part of life, thereby feeling safe and happy. What is more, within peaceful and natural environments, people can be themselves, therefore, finding the meaning and purpose of their lives.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is the act of focusing on the present moment and accepting personal emotions and ideas. Mindfulness has been in practice for over a thousand years, with its origins being linked to the old Buddhist traditions. There are various ways of attaining mindfulness, including breathing activities, meditation and the commonly practiced yoga (Compton & Hoffman, 2013, pg.80). Therefore, it is vital to slow down and attend to the experience at hand. An alternative tool for the mindfulness process is taking a walk outside and interacting with nature. For instance, finding out how plantations change with the environment, smell some flowers and feel the temperature and how it is felt on the skin. In most cases, many people will carry out this activity quickly, just to finish; however, this is a limitation to the process since it could lead to mindlessness.
One of the most common conditions of human life is pain, and it is usually unavoidable. However, mindfulness is a skill that enables a person to be less responsive to a painful situation, reducing the overall suffering. For adults and even adolescents, mindfulness helps develop the ability to recognize ethical and bad experiences that often cross the mind unnoticed or unappreciated (Compton & Hoffman, 2013, pg. 80). What is more, learning the ability to control mindfulness is very important. In that, it fosters the development of social-emotional competencies. Some of these competencies are goal-oriented, responsibility, effective planning, personal initiative, and interpersonal strategies, especially when resolving conflicts. When children and adolescents become socially competent at a young age, there is always a high probability that they will be successful in a wide range of areas, including extra-curricular actions and interactive skills. And these skills will form the basis for “Mindful” self-management of emotions and behaviour throughout their adult life.
Self Compassion
In most cases, when people face various challenges, they tend to be tough on themselves; in worse case scenarios, some people give up in their quest. When people fail or make mistakes in their lives, for instance, a relationship comes to an end, or they fail in an examination, there is a high probability that the prevalent mood will take two potential directions. That is self-pity, on the one hand, where it is exclusively everyone else’s fault, and people bathe in the sense of innocence and purity. And on the other, self-flagellation, where there is self-blame ourselves for sheer stupidity (School of life, 2016). However, self-compassion ensures that an individual can act rationally, even when facing various challenges. It entails three main elements; first of all, self-kindness; compassion ensures that people are warm towards themselves.
The second element of self-compassion is isolation. Frustrations that come as a result of mistakes or problems are usually accompanied by the pervasive and irrational feeling of isolation, which comes as a result of self-blame and guilt. However, a compassionate person believes that all humans make mistakes. What is more, the foundations of human beings are based on imperfections, mortality and vulnerability. As a result, they will view life suffering as part of human experience and vital steps to attain goals and objectives. The last element of compassion is mindfulness. In that, it requires efficient control of emotions to ensure they do not lead to stress or other negative impacts. Mindfulness provides that the negative thoughts are approached with clarity and openness, to ensure the victim maintains a positive attitude towards life.
References
Cervinka, R., Röderer, K., and Hefler, E. (2011). Are nature lovers happy? On various indicators of well-being and connectedness with nature. Journal of Health Psychology
Compton, W., & Hoffman, E. (2013). Positive Psychology: The Science of Happiness and Flourishing. Wadsworth Publishing
Madarang, A. J. M. (2017). An Analysis of Viktor Frankl’s Notion of Dehumanization. TALISIK.
Qayoom, S., & Husain, A. (2016). Happiness and well-being. Indian Journal Of Health & Wellbeing, 7(4), 461-464. http://libproxy.mtroyal.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,url,cookie,uid&db=a9h&AN=115726405&site=ehost-live
School of life. (2016, February 1). Self Compassion (Video). Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kfUE41-JFw