A Happiness Equation

I don't remember when I first made this analogy or if I heard it from a teacher somewhere. It may have been when I was bored in a high school math class. And maybe by posting this on my blog it's proof that I've been around my math crazy Korean students. But the idea is that you can make yourself happier and positive (or any emotion) over time if you want.

First think of a sin or cosin graph or any wave function. The line rises and falls over time. The highest points on the line can represent happiness or really good feelings. The low points, depression, sadness, etc. Instead of y=sin(x), y being a function of x, we could say happiness=life(time), happiness is a function of life around you (and internal things too) at that point in time. This is overly simplistic, as not all highs and lows are even nearly close, and they don't occur at regular intervals. But it's good enough for the analogy.

Now some people try to remain at the high points. Cocaine addicts, for example. But staying at the high points is impossible. Life happens. And chemically, our brains can't naturally be do that. So what to do? If you can't stay at the high points what can you do? You have to shift the graph up. The highs will be higher and the lows not as low. This isn't a quick fix, only over time is it possible. It's taken me more than 5 years to get to the point I am at now. It happens gradually, but when it does, life is great.

How to do this? I've found:
1. That just being aware that's it's possible helps.
2. Being around more positive people
3. Recognizing that the lows (and highs) won't last forever
4. Just by wanting to be happier and thinking positive. It's all about the attitude. Try to catch yourself when you're slipping into a negative pattern of thinking. Over time, you can get better.
5. Live in the present, seize the day, etc. The list could go on and on...
Good luck!