LIFE SKILLS &VALUE EDUCATION – Class—XII -UNIT – 1  In Pursuit of Happiness

Self-Awareness……

When people are self-aware, they understand their strengths and challenges and know what helps them thrive. They also understand that how they see themselves may be different from how others see them.  

Let’s recognize our feelings……

Unit – 1: In Pursuit of Happiness  

While writing stories or telling tales, we often use the words “emotions” and “feelings” as if they mean the same but they are not. Psychologically speaking, they are quite different, but at times it becomes difficult to differentiate between them. We all are born with a brain that has the same set of emotions wired into it, but we acquire feelings with time as we grow up, just like we learn languages from our surroundings. Feelings are reactions to emotions. Psychologists have defined about a dozen core emotions like joy, anger, disgust, surprise, fear, etc., that are associated with our brain.

In contrast, there are thousands of feelings like happiness, panic, peaceful, energetic, etc., that occur in our mind as we go on living our lives. Feelings are connected to our mind, whereas emotions are associated with our brain. Feelings are personal and stored as memories in our brains. Unlike emotions, feelings are difficult to understand at times. Feelings always follow emotions but the kinds of feelings vary from person to person and situation to situation. They are shaped by individual experiences, beliefs, values, upbringing (conditioning) and various other factors. For example, in a circus, we see a roaring tiger performing under a ringmaster. Our emotion should be of fear, but instead we may feel admiration for the majestic lion or even pity if we are a wildlife conservationist. When we accidentally touch something hot cold, our hand instinctively, automatically or in a reflex withdraws itself. We do not have to think about withdrawing it. Emotions are instinctive too. We have no control over them. They are related to our immediate survival. For example, when we meet a roaring tiger, not in circus or a zoo but, deep in jungle where somehow we got lost, we will be filled fear and will run. After all, our ancestors in the jungles did not survive by negotiating with the lions (predators). Those who did not run did not survive, and today we all are the successors of those who survived. Unlike emotions, feelings are not instinctive, and we can control them. Since we can control how we feel, we can also control our actions based on our feelings. Actions can be safe or unsafe, healthy or unhealthy, and they can have consequences that can be short or long term. We have to learn to express as well as control our feelings appropriately. Feelings are learned behaviours that are usually in hibernation until triggered by an external event.

Measuring happiness:

Unlike happiness (a feeling), joy (an emotion) involves little cognitive awareness. We feel joy without consciously deciding to and it is long-lasting. While happiness is usually induced by and dependent on external conditions, joy is a something we experience more deeply. Joy is a state of being that is not necessarily tied to external situations. While happiness is a state of mind based on circumstances, joy is an internal feeling that disregards circumstances. To understand happiness, let us do a thought experiment. Imagine, we take an image (CT scan) of the brain of a poor farmer who is unhappy. She is unhappy because she is poor and to make matters worse, she has lost all her crop to bad monsoon. Her CT scan records her brain’s electric, magnetic and chemical signatures in the form of a sine wave, i.e. valleys and peaks. It shows 8 valleys and 2 peaks. We compare it with that of a happy person who is rich and has just won an enormous amount of money in a lottery. She has 10 peaks and 0 valleys.

The chemistry of happiness:

Now, a psychiatrist administers medicine that has dopamine in it to the poor unhappy farmer. Soon, she begins to feel good, and after a few more doses, she feels happy. Dopamine, just like adrenaline, is a hormone produced by the organs of our body. It keeps us motivated and makes us feel good among other functions, provided it exists in the right quantity in our body.

A few sayings about happiness: Happiness is a direction, not a place. | Happiness depends upon ourselves. | It is not how we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness. | The real secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life. | People should find happiness in the little things, like family and friends. | There is no happiness like that of being loved by your fellow creatures, and feeling that your presence is an addition to their comfort. | Happiness is not something readymade. It comes from your own actions. | Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.

Suggested viewing: Movie ‘Inside Out’ by Disney and Pixar.

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