Petiola Manu

Axana King
Soc 1010
04/26/14
Happiness
Happiness plays a huge role in society. Everything we do is either subconsciously or
consciously in the pursuit of happiness. Whether you are in the pursuit by exercising to get that
hot summer body, or working overtime at work to save up for that dream family vacation.
Everything we do, work for, and hope for is in the anticipation of achieving happiness.
Happiness works on a micro-level simply because it is a form of symbolic interaction.
Which is what is so controversial about happiness, although it is a very important factor in
society it varies on what it means to all of us, to some it may be a sense of well-being, of
optimism or of meaningfulness in life, although those could also be treated as separate entities.
But what exactly is happiness? Well, happy is an adjective, and according to Merriam Websters
dictionary it is feeling pleasure and enjoyment because of your life, situation, etc. And happiness
is defined in Merriam Websters dictionary as the state of being happy. Whatever happiness may
mean to you, or any of us, theres one thing we all know, and thats that happiness is good and
we all want it.
Rendering to research studies, demographic factors such as age, race, gender, education,
marital status, and income explain about ten percent of our happiness. About 50 percent of our
happiness comes from our genes, according to a well-made study of twins by Tellegen and
colleagues but surprisingly a study done by Bruce Lipton, a cellular biologist, and others has
shown that our environment can control the expression of our DNA. That means our
environment, not our genetics, control that we are. When we change our environment, we can
control the 50 percent of our happiness that is related to our genes. And, according to
AbcNews.com Happiness has been correlated with better health, both in individuals and
communities. Some studies have even suggested that states of happiness may be associated with
lower stress-related hormones and better immune function (How Happiness Affects Your
Health).
With the information above, its useful to know that we have the power to make our lives
happier, and healthier with the simple choice. Although from a far may be seen as micro-level
affect on society, it actually builds up to be a macro level. Since we all individually want to be
happy or happier, its impact then also grows. According to HuffingtonPost.com The six factors
for a happy nation split evenly between concerns on a government- and on a human-scale. The
happiest countries have in common a large GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy at birth and a
lack of corruption in leadership. But also essential were three things over which individual
citizens have a bit more control over: A sense of social support, freedom to make life choices and
a culture of generosity. "There is now a rising worldwide demand that policy be more closely
aligned with what really matters to people as they themselves characterize their well-being,"
economist Jeffrey Sachs said in a statement at the time of the report's release (Denmark Is
Considered the Happiest Country. You'll Never Guess Why). Throughout the article,
researchers relate back to how being happy connected to their income, their health care etc. and
benefited such things positively for example Denmark is a society where citizens participate
and contribute to making society work. More than 40 percent of all Danes do voluntary work in
cultural and sports associations, NGOs, social organizations, political organizations, etc. There is
a wealth of associations: in 2006, there were 101,000 Danish organizations -- worth noting in a
population of just 5.5 million.
Happiness, although a very personal entity, has a huge impact on society at large. We all
want to be happy, because it feels good, and according to so many studies is shown to also be
good for us. It is beautiful to know that we have a choice to be happier people, and by making
that simple choice to be a happier person; we then create a happier environment. Start off by
making your home a happier place, then move on to our communities, simple steps like that soon
enough our society will start to become a happier place, which accumulates to an all around
better society.