The science of happiness

While he was discussing his topic and clicking on his presentation, my mind was also focused somewhere else, and I started asking myself if what I am doing at work and in school makes me happy.

Though I know and believe that happiness is a choice, there are instances where we cannot control our emotions, which is a fascinating fact about our human body. Our unique biochemical composition makes our body reacts or responds beyond our physical body’s control.

In addition, Dr. Velasco also shared other activities that would make us happier. Yes, happiness is a choice; we can always choose to be happy, but if we can be happier, we must pursue that. One way to become happier is to be kind and compassionate towards others. I know that this is true. When we help others, we have this “magical sa pakiramdam” moment where our body feels lighter, our heart is full, and our brain is active.

Another one is expressing gratitude. Like the experiment we replicated, expressing gratitude is a good way to feel happier. Expressing gratitude is appreciating other people and their acts – whether tangible or intangible. It allows us to acknowledge the goodness in other people and the events we experience. Daily, I always express gratitude to God through prayers. This is how I start and end my day. Gratitude is, indeed, the best attitude.

One of my greatest takeaways from the session is that happiness comes from within. As human beings and as adults, we need to practice mindfulness by letting ourselves be fully present and aware of our actions and surroundings.

It is practicing thinking first before reacting and responding to an outside stimulus. Mindfulness is being calm. It is the process of going inside your core, reflecting on your values as a human being, and making decisions and actions based on these values.

I find this human experience very fascinating and admirable. Despite many challenges in life, humans are still given enough resources to find happiness. However, not all have the privilege and the capacity to find happiness. I say this because each human experience varies. So as human beings equipped with the resources to be mindful, calm and happy, how can we help other people be in a better place in their lives? Our behaviors toward happiness create a ripple of positive change in the community where we belong. I hope we can share how we overcome challenges and obstacles so others can learn from us. I hope that we can help ourselves, so we can help others to stand up after stumbling.

Let’s create a better world for everyone. A better world where challenges still exist, but we are all equipped to find calm and peace in the middle of the storm.

The author is an MBA student at the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business, DLSU. He can be reached at ruben_alvarezjr@dlsu.edu.ph.

The views expressed above are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of DLSU, its faculty and its administrators.

NEW YORK, USA—Investment tycoon Warren Buffett said Saturday that messaging from the US government over the regional banking crisis had been “poor,” suggesting that is why confidence has not returned among consumers.

Four regional banks have been caught up in crisis since the beginning of March in the United States, three of them subsequently taken over by other institutions with the help of authorities.

For two of them—Silicon Valley Bank (and Signature Bank—the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation took the controversial decision to support their uninsured deposits, citing fears of contagion.

By law, the FDIC insures up to $250,000 of customers’ deposits in eligible banks, but for SVB and Signature the body insured all deposits, including those above the legal limit. Yet, despite that extraordinary step, consumers are still worried, Buffett said at a shareholder meeting of his Berkshire Hathaway holding company.

“That just shouldn’t happen. The messaging has been very poor,” said the billionaire, who continues to run his group at the age of 92.

“It’s been poor by the politicians who sometimes have an interest in having it poor, it’s been poor by the agencies. And I’d say it’s been poor by the press.”

What happened with SVB demonstrated a government takeover completed with an expanded deposit guarantee, “and the public is still confused,” he said.

While the emergency takeover of regional bank First Republic by the giant JPMorgan Chase on Monday seemed likely to ease anxiety about the banks, it has been a turbulent week.

Several mid-sized banks were targeted on Wall Street, in particular PacWest, which fell 68 percent before recovering 82 percent in Friday’s session alone.

On Saturday, Berkshire Hathaway reported a monster $35.5 billion profit for the first quarter alone, largely due to strong financial markets. AFP