Happy

So I recently watched a documentary (yes, I watch documentaries) called Happy. After watching the entire thing, and feeling perplexed, I couldn't stop thinking about it, even days later. I think that the appealing thing about this documentary was that the pursuit of happiness could be backed by science. The part that stuck out the most was that apparently human happiness is based on multiple aspects, not just things like money, success, physical or material things... It's actually split between three different determinants. 50% of what determines someone's happiness is something called a "set point". The movie compares this to genetics, or what your happiness set point was when you were born. My own theory is that the set point is related to someone's time of year they were born, or zodiac sign, which is why a certain zodiac sign can tell so much about any given person. 40% is intentional activity. These are things like actions you decide to make that make you happy. Such as a certain route you take on a run, or the kind of music you listen to, or what kind of things you do for fun such as hobbies. The amazingly shocking part that I loved finding out was that only 10% of our happiness is caused by circumstances. By this, they mean material things. Where you live, what kind of neighborhood you live in, what kind of car you drive, what kind of house you live in, things like that. So you're telling me that a huge part of being happy is something I can control? Well, haven't I been talking about this for the majority of my life now?!
If you don't believe me, go watch the documentary on your own. I watched it on Netflix, and it's only an hour so it won't take up too much time. It really is an enlightening documentary. It took us on a journey all over the world to help show us that being happy isn't about what's around us, it's about what's inside of us. If we choose to be rotten about our past, and pitiful about circumstances, well then expect an unhappy life.
Another thing that amazes me is the simplicity of the examples they used to exemplify happiness. The scientists described that even a small change of scenery, such as a different route taken during a morning run, can actually boost your happiness. They also talk about how true shocking things or sorrows don't last for a long time. After it passes, we return to our "set point", so if your "set point" is low, that's unfortunate, but that's not all that happiness is. Even through sorrow, our happiness is still our own choice. This shocking information seemed so obvious after I sat and thought about it for a bit. DUH! Seemed to be all I could think after I truly soaked in all of the valuable information. Everything leads back to mindset, and if we have a negative mindset, expect negative consequences, and that happens to be unhappiness.
Well, I hope that after reading this many people will begin to consider the importance of being positive. Just learn to let loose, and let it all go. Things happen, tragedies occur, and everyone goes through their own story. But the funny part? That's exactly what life is. A story. And you know what's even more funny? We can all write our own story, and that's exactly what I plan on doing.

Have a wonderful night everyone, and I hope you all go to bed with a smile on your face knowing you got through another day.
-Happy Gabby