Experts or "Experts"

Suicide is a hard topic. It is hard to write about, hard to read about, and hard to research in fact. The medical community itself is split on the topic of teen-age suicide.

Dr. Miller Newton for example believes that drugs and alcohol are major factors in suicide. He states that "Between 85 and 90 percent of adolescent suicides,'' he says, ''occur because the victim was a drug and alcohol user at the time of death." Those numbers do not have any evidence supporting them. Suicide is more then a mix of drugs and alcohol. Suicide is a collective series of event that cause a person to lose the urge to live. Living is one of the most powerful reasons to fight. Looking back at history or even in our own time, this can be proven to be true.

The doctor also makes a point that  ," We must stop ill-conceived, 'trendy' suicide-prevention programs that play into the 'suggestibility factor'". This statement is shameful even from him. He assumes that knowing about suicide will bring about suicide. If that were true then knowing about a gun would automatically mean that you would shoot someone and the world would be in a chaotic. All in all, I believe the medical community needs to inform everyone in its sectors to help inform everyone else and help stop this action.

Global Issues in Context "TEEN-AGE SUICIDE: EPIDEMIC, NOT TRENDY."

Why do you think some people can have such different opinions on a single topic?

fotopedia.com

Behavioral Economics

The idea of behavioral economics

Is Freedom Limiting our Happiness?

A year post-accident in the life of a paraplegic or a year post-win for a lottery winner - most people wouldn't think twice about which person would be happier 12 months after these major events in their respective lives.  Yet, those people couldn't be more wrong. Happiness in both cases were measured to be exactly the same! Gilbert argues that this is possible because synthetic happiness is in fact real.



This is his definition: "Natural happiness is what we get when we get what we wanted, and synthetic happiness is what we make when we don’t get what we wanted. In our society, we have a strong belief that synthetic happiness is of an inferior kind." 


According to Gilbert, freedom is the enemy of synthetic happiness and our psychological immune system runs best when we don't have the freedom of choice. Although this seems extreme, a study conducted at Harvard really puts things into the light.

This study was meant to explore the 'science of happiness.' Harvard students were allowed to photograph 12 objects/people they liked and choose 2 to enlarge and frame. This is where it gets interesting. After this, 1 group of students were told to choose 1 picture to keep although they could swap it in for the other one if they decided they like that one better. The other group was also told they could choose only 1 picture, but they were not given the option to reverse their choice at a later time. 3 and then 6 days later the happiness of both groups were measured. The results? The students who were NOT given the option to swap their picture were substantially more happy with their photo! What could the implications of such a controversial idea be for our society? Does happiness truly lie in not having a choice?

Source: http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_gilbert_asks_why_are_we_happy.html

Authority: The speaker is Dan Gilbert, a Harvard psychologist and a best-selling author.
Accuracy: Gilbert cites recent and factual studies/experiments conducted in well-known universities, such as the Science of Happiness study conducted at Harvard University.
Timeliness: This video was filmed February 2004.

Less Money Can Buy Misery - Blog 3

What Makes People Happy?

"Money can't buy happiness."  There are many people who try and live by this quote and claim family and friends and intangibles are more important.
Daniel Kahneman, an American psychologist and a Nobel Prize winner in Economics, woulnd't necesarily agree with that quote, yet he would modify it to say "Lack of money could bring misery .
Throughout his research, he has found that the ideal average income for Americans is about $75,000. People with money over 75,000 don't progressivly have more happiness.  More money (above $75,000) doesn't directly correlate with happiness, which goes along with "money can't buy happiness." On the other hand, people who have less and less money under (75,000) progressively become more unhappy and have more misery.
These numbers prove that although money can't buy happiness, it is very difficult to be happy and satisfied if the amount of money one makes is very low. It makes sense that it would be much more difficult to be happy if one is struggling to put food on the table which would replace their happiness with worry.

How many people actually live by "money can't buy you happiness?" Should more people try and live by it?
http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/NewsDetailsPage/NewsDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&mode=view&displayGroupName=News&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=false&source=&sortBy=&displayGroups=&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CA269838115&userGroupName=hins30136&jsid=e720ff00666b882977f4ec4c6a5fedbd


http://pfitblog.com/tag/eating/

New Found Happiness - Blog 2

Although people have been happy since, well, forever, scientists have again recently begun to look at WHY they are happy.
In this article, M. Elias from USA Today shows that since the 90s, scientists have begun to look at what makes people happy again. Before now, there were many more studies published about sadness rather than happiness. Elias first listed some things that very happy people are known to do, such as hang out with other people a lot and follow their own standards, not other peoples.  One thing that was emphasized in this articles was to stay away from materialism. It is "toxic" to happiness. Those who don't care about buying and receiving things are much happier than those who do. If people claim that happiness it genetic, they are only partially correct since genes only has to do with happiness about 50% of the time. The main point that Elias brought up was that being happy comes a great deal from doing what you love.  As easy or difficult as that may be, it will make you truly happy. When I go to college, I plan on studying to become a veterinarian. Although that may be a very hard job and require a lot of time, I love working with animals and believe that that would truly make me happy.

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/2002-12-08-happy-main_x.htm


https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxkli9vTNXVKK_G48a1qVNsTTeijRRV9IORDO301HbGJatPYIkXxF7jZ0NZ03i9rxKxu9Ua1e15NJtrgIrAeEOrXCJ87n6JtTslz4LasdnIvoYKbLkxKLMFjy46iWNWfbC613ZKvGAK7o/s320/image001-752368.jpg

This article claims that materialism is toxic for happiness.  Why do chidren feel so happy when they open presents on Christmas morning? Will those feelings ever go away with age?

Is There More to Eating Than Fulfilling Hunger?

          The purpose of food is supposed to be to fulfill your hunger... but I really don't think it's that simple anymore. Obesity rates just keep climbing, that's all they ever seem to do. Aside from all the unhealthy food options available for consumption, one major reason for this is that people aren't using food in the right circumstances. Food's sole job is to fulfill your hunger and provide your body with the nutritional benefits necessary. I feel like this is a universally known fact, so why is it so hard for Americans to accept this and abide by these guidelines? For some people, it's no longer just an option for whether they overeat or not, but an obligation. Some people are literally addicting to eating food. Sometimes it's hereditary, in which case is very unfortunate because you can't do anything about it. Other times, people tend overeat and eat unhealthily due to emotional reasons like depression or stress. Another very common site of overeating (i'm a common culprit) is at parties and events, especially during the holidays, in which there is an abundance of food and one only feels obligated to overindulge. If only it was as easy to put your thoughts into actions, anybody who thought rationally about what they ate would be a lot slimmer. Maybe a major problem in our country is that people aren't aware that they subconsciously eat their feelings or eat when they're not hungry. Maybe fixing the obesity epidemic could be as simple as educating the people to only eat when they're actually hungry, and not eating just because they're bored or simple because they can. Maybe we'll never know...

eatwithoutguilt.com

http://voices.yahoo.com/why-people-turn-food-comfort-4831580.html

How Wealth Affects Obesity

          Can your wealth affect your weight? I have never really thought about this until now, but it kind of makes sense. Although, all the answers seem to point in different directions. I can think of reasons supporting both sides; If you're wealthy, you will be obese, yet if you are poor you will also be obese. Maybe that's why America is so fat... the availability of crappy foods is plentiful and available to anyone who pleases. If somebody is wealthy, they would have the resources and opportunities available to consume unhealthy foods thus increasing their weight. However, studies find that the opposite is mostly true - a majority of America's poor population is obese. This also makes sense. Since the poor are short on money, they need to ration their money. This can mean spending minimal money on food which most times means spending small amounts of money to eat unhealthily at fast food restaurants such McDonalds or Burger King. It also makes sense that the poorer population is more likely to be obese when you consider the fact that the less money they have, the fewer opportunities they have to access exercise facilities and take part in weight loss programs that their wealthy neighbors may have plenty of access to.

          "'There is no single, simple answer to explain the obesity patterns' in America, says Walter Willett, who chairs the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health. 'Part of this is due to lower incomes and education, which result in purchases of cheap foods that are high in refined starch and sugar. More deeply, this also reflects lower public investment in education, public transportation, and recreational facilities,' he says. The bottom line: cheap, unhealthy foods mixed with a sedentary lifestyle has made obesity the new normal in America."

newsphilter.wordpress.com

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2012/08/16/why-were-so-fat-whats-behind-the-latest-obesity-rates

Does and Don'ts of being successful

http://www.2knowmyself.com/Success/how_to_be_successful_in_life

Success is when you  begin and end your day feeling  victorious. Being successful will make you proud while you walk through the streets with your head held high. In life though there are no successful people. There are people who use there full abilities to reach goals for themselves. On the other hand there are people who have the potential but don't use there full on abilities. To be successful you need to know what will make you unsuccessful. 

• False Beliefs: Act as limitors of your full potential. You need to get rid of false beliefs and learn more about self beliefs if you want to be successful at all. example: " I can never find such a job in such a country". 
• External locus of control: This is when someone thinks that everything that happens to him is because external factors. Example: someone doing bad on a test and saying it was just to hard.  To strengthen your path to success you need to become internal locus. This way of thinking makes it so you are in control.  
• Lack of Persistence: Someone could be great at what they do but if they cant get past failing a few times then they will not end up successful. You need to work hard till the second you reach your goal. You need to get past your failures and keep working after you reach your goal. 
• Lack of Flexibility: The ability to adapt to External Conditions. The more flexible you become the higher your chances are to adjust to something and then higher chances at success
• Lack of Self-Confidence: If you have low confidence then you may be to quite to share your ideas or push past the criticism or your peers. You need to increase your chances of being successful. 
• Thinking that you lack resources: If you are serious about succeeding then you will work hard enough to pull it off with the resources you are provided with. 
• Success related fears: If you are afraid of failure or success then you wont be successful

The road to success will probably be full of rejection, pain, hard work, disappointment as well as many other discouraging things but when you reach its end you will feel really happy and victorious.This feeling is the feeling of success its self.  

http://www.nextgenges.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Businessman-success-key.jpg

What can someone do that hurts there chances of being successful and what can help?

Understanding the Other Side - the Suicide side

The six reasons people kill themselves are as follows:

• They're depressed
• They're psychotic
• They're impulsive
• They're crying out for help
• They have a philosophical desire to die
• They've made a mistake

 Depression being the most common reason of all. Depression can make you feel like there is nothing left and that you've reached your end and there wont be anymore happy times.Treatable

Psychotic people usually suffer from some sort of mental illness such as schizophrenia. Treatable

They are implusive. This is mainly from drugs or alcohol.They become drunk and they gain self pity and may attempt suicide. Treatment for suicidal thoughts is not as necessary as working to stop the use of the substance causing this. The specifics are unknown such as if they only think that way from the substance, if it will come back, etc.

They are crying out for help. They don't per say want to die as much as get help or strike out at people who hurt them. Treatable

Philosophical desire to die is most common in terminally ill patients. This is when they believe they will die already and just want to no suffer through life and the pain it brings. Treatable in some ways.

They made a mistake. If you watched World's Greatest Dad you'll have seen this happen. Its when people choke themselves to get to a high from asphyxiation. Treatable  



Source: geograph.org.uk



Alex Lickerman, M.D. published April 29,2010 http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/happiness-in-world/201004/the-six-reasons-people-attempt-suicide


Why is talking about suicide always seen as thinking about committing suicide.?

Buying Your Way to Happiness.

It is a fact that money cannot buy emotions; therefore, money cannot buy someone their happiness.  From my research over the past few weeks, I have concluded that the "things" money buys do bring pleasure temporarily.  

Think about getting a job for example.  You work and work and work.  But in the end you are making a profit.  Some money goes to the bills, some goes to savings, and some goes to spendings.  It is up to you how you want to spend your money.  So if you have been saving up for a new computer and finally are able to obtain your new device, you will feel satisfaction and happiness.  But after exploring your computer for a couple weeks, your new possession becomes old and your feelings dissolve.  And you move on and start saving up for something else.     

                                

In today's society, many children are bought whatever they desire.  Their parents basically "buy them happiness", but their feelings do not last forever.  As time progresses and new ideas come to term, people become more infatuated with materialized goods.  As a matter of fact, consumerism is now a part of the American culture.  For instance, many parents spoil their children with Hummers and extravagant parties just for their sixteenth birthdays.  Think about it, does money truly make one happy?  

http://photopin.com/search/money-and-happiness

The Wise Words of Ralph Waldo Emerson

To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.
--- attributed to Ralph Waldo Emersonhttp://www.transcendentalists.com/success.htm


                                      //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:RWEmerson.jpg

Ralph Waldo Emerson is well known in the philosophy world and had something to say about success in life. He had just a couple of different things that you need to accomplish to become successful.

"To Laugh often and much;"
This line is pretty simple. Throughout your life you should have a good time and as long as you laugh a lot you are partially a success. I agree with this statement because in order to be successful in my mind I have to have a good time doing whatever I do in my life.

"To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;"
This line isn't as straightforward as the other lines but it is not that hard to understand. The first half of the sentence makes perfect sense to me. Being respected by intelligent people is a good way to measure success because if someone is considered intelligent they are already successful in their education. I think the affection of children is important because they will want to be successful like you and live a fulfilling life.

"To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;"
The honest critics will be the ones who tell you when you have failed but praise you when you succeed. If they appreciate you they mean it. Their approval is a true representation as to whether or not you are a success. Being able to endure the betrayal of false friends is important because not everyone you encounter in real life will be trustworthy and will stab you in the back. You have to learn to shrug that off and keep moving on your road to success.

"To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;"
I think this line simply means to find the little things in life. We focus to much on the big picture and if we decided to focus on the small little things we will live a happier life. Emerson's view of success is partially the honors and professional approval but also just being happy. This line focuses primarily on the happiness part of his view of success.

"To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;"
Leaving a good mark on this world will not only make you successful but is pushing the future of everyone in the successful direction. This line suggests that if you leave a good mark on the world it is a cycle that will be repeated and everyone will leave a good mark on the world to make it a better place for everyone.

"To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived."
He implies here that you can not be selfish while trying to be successful. Your goals and path to that goal should have others in mind and how it affects them and at least one person should be helped while on your path to a successful life.

Emerson is well respected in history and I can say that I agree with his views of success. These simple rules give you some guidelines and goals to work towards while on your path to success. Some of the lines could have some more explanation to further express what he means. Do his views represent doing good for others in ones life or to be successful in your career/professional life or a mix of both? Personally I think this quote is more focused on doing good for others instead of having a successful career. Emerson was more focused on the happiness of life versus success and fame that a successful professional life can bring.

The Mistaken Truth

Many people continuously mistake success with money and begin to think that they have to be rich to be successful which is defiantly not the case. Most people, when they hear success they think about how much money is in ones bank account or what objects someone has. I am here to tell you that money plays a factor in success, but not anything near as important as success in family, friends, and you life accomplishments. According to Jim Connolly who is a writer for his own marketing blog tells a story of a time when he "reflected on how it’s almost always the things that money CAN’T buy, which bring the most joy – Like great conversation with good friends.  In fact, none of the key moments in [his] life happened as a result of [him] spending a ton of money". 

Not to say that money makes people miserable, but Jim gives us insight to the facts that money is not the key to happiness, nor success. Jim quotes "I know people with millions in the bank, who own all the things that money can buy, who are not particularly happy with their lives.   Equally, I know people who earn very little, yet have wonderful families, children they love and great friends."

• People have chosen to be rich instead of successful at times
• Money can't buy love or happiness
• if someone is rich it does not mean they will be miserable

Jim's Marketing Blog

Authority: Jim Connolly, Expert in marketing. Gives advice for small business owners http://jimsmarketingblog.com/

Accuracy: He did not cite any sources here, instead it is more of a personal opinion which i agree with. 

Timeliness: December 10, 2012. Pretty recent and easy to trust. 

Lets Start Simple

According to Dictionary.com the definition of success and the answer to what is success is very simple. They define success in two different ways:

1. the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors.
2. the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like.

This is interesting because the two definitions seem very different. The first one seems very black and white. If you achieve a goal you are successful. No matter what the goal was, if you accomplished it, you were successful. Personally I think this definition does not accurately express what modern day society thinks of success. If this definition was true, everyone in society is successful but not everyone agrees with that. I feel that most people agree with definition number two and any of their smaller goals to get there are only steps needed to achieve success in the end. No matter how many smaller goals we accomplish we can not see how far we have come. Everyone is constantly looking forward and focusing on the next steps towards success.

Shawn Achor gave a TED Talk about success and happiness and how we are looking at it all wrong (link below.) There was a study done on Harvard students about success. When they were accepted into Harvard they accomplished a huge goal and most people would consider them extremely successful. The study found that within within two weeks of the students being at Harvard they forgot about how successful they had been and were too focused on the stresses of their classes and the competition for class rank among their peers. These students overcame huge odds to make it into Harvard and within two weeks they feel like they aren't successful anymore but rather drowning trying to achieve success. They feel like they still aren't good enough even though the rest of the world looks at them as some of the brightest minds in the world. They feel like they need to attain this wealth, position, and honors that the second definition talks about.

http://www.ted.com/talks/shawn_achor_the_happy_secret_to_better_work.html
http://www.tedxbloomington.com/2011/03/shawn-achor/

The second definition makes success a much harder thing to accomplish but it also leaves a lot of grey area. How much wealth is needed for success? What position is considered successful? How many awards and honors do you need to be successful?

Behavioral economics

Behavioral Economics is a widely accepted term by economist. Behavioral economics uses mathematical concepts of standard economics, but factors in the cognitive and psychological variable into consideration. Behavioral economics is essential in terms of predicting good investments and decisions. A nobel prize for economics was given to Daniel Kahneman for his extensive research in psycho economical research. Many people are still critics of Behavioral economics and believe that all decisions can be made through mathematical equations. But many believe that the psychology is a major factor to consider when considering economics.

 http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/BehavioralEconomics.html

Bhutan Introduces a New "Happiness"-meter

Sources:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/bhutan/8355028/Bhutans-Gross-National-Happiness-index.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/bhutan/8355042/More-and-more-world-leaders-want-happy-nations-not-just-rich-ones.html

Reliability:
-Authority: Both these articles were posted in The Telegraph, a British
newspaper. They were written by Dean Nelson, the South Asia Editor of the
Telegraph.
-Accuracy: He quotes Pavan K Verma, India's ambassador to Bhutan and refers to
decisions and statements made by several word leaders regarding implementing a
Gross National Happiness index.
-Timeliness: The article was published March 2, 2011.



Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk


Sure, we know the differences between first world and third world countries... but what actually
determines how successful or happy a country really is? Is it the average
income of citizens, the GDP, or something else entirely? In 1972, the King of
Bhutan wanted this answer and he came up with a new "Happiness"-meter. It was called the Gross National Happiness index and it was meant to measure "peoples' sense of being well-governed, their relationship with the environment, satisfaction with the pace of economic development, [and] a sense of cultural and national belonging." It quickly became popular with world leaders in western countries as well, such as Britain
and France.

Bhutan was revealed to have an extremely high happiness index. Most citizens who traveled abroad for further studies were most likely to return home and raise a family in Bhutan itself... despite the fact that they would be sacrificing a higher salary. India's Bhutanese ambassador, though, found some loopholes in this way of measuring happiness. Although citizens claimed high levels of happiness, the Census Bureau revealed that most women were accepting of the idea of domestic violence and even believed they deserved it at times.

These women consider themselves happy, but anyone from a western mindset would certainly not call their situations pleasant. Different countries and cultures have vastly different definitions of contentedness. Now the question that arises is this: Should they be considered happy? Is there any objective way to truly measure happiness? It seems the closer we look at happiness, the blurrier things become.

Rich People Are Not Always Happier...

A study done by Daniel Guilbert and Satya Paul from the University of Western Sydney followed 8,530 people between 2001 and 2005.  Their results were significant displaying that  wealthy people were not happier than people with lower incomes.  According to Adele Horin, the author, "people in the bottom fifth of income earners in 2005 rated themselves on average at 7.99 on a happiness scale from 0-10, about the same as for those in the top income bracket." Therefore, money does not truly contribute to one's glee.  

Additionally, Horin explains that one's drive for more money comes from one's surroundings and peers.  For instance, if your neighbor is successful with his/her business and is constantly consuming the latest products, your desire to be prosperous instinctively increases.  This cycle is regularly ongoing and one will truly not feel satisfied until self standards are met.  Think about it.  Do you compare your wealth to other's money?

Gale Opposing Viewpoints Peers Drive Happiness

http://s185.photobucket.com/albums/x196/the1myheartbelongs2/?action=view&current=FP25C_C_LargeHappyFace.jpg&&mediafilter=images 

Are diamonds really worth their cost?

The price of diamonds is predicted to go up by 30% in the next two years. Diamonds are a very scarce resource therefore the price of them will gradually increase. People like the look and the value of diamonds so much that they are willing to pay so much for them. More and more diamonds are being found every day and eventually there will be so much that the value of them will go down. This wont happen anytime soon but in the far future it is a possibility. More and more diamonds are found everyday. More people are beginning to buy diamonds because they like the look and the value of them. Diamonds are huge in our economy because so many people buy them. Why are diamonds worth their cost today?
SOURCE: Global Issues In Context
TITLE: Diamonds and their costs
SOURCE: Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center
TITLE: The Value Of Diamonds
http://sgHitCountType=None&sort=DateDescend&tabID=T004&prodId=GIC&resultListType=RESULT
http://failOverType=&query=&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&mode=view&display
SOURCE:en.wikipedia.org

Too Much Success < Too Much Happiness

According to a study from the University of Northern Iowa, "The truly fortunate people are not those who succeed in life, but those who succeed in living". Success in life can be overdone where as success in living can never be exceeded. Meaning one may have a whole lot of money and nothing to do with it, and they also may be unhappy- this is success in life. Where as success in living can be a person with little money, no job, and a small house with only their spouse next to them, and still be exceedingly more happy than the man with money.
 This article shows that there is such thing as being too successful, but it depends if you are getting your success through living, or obtaining your success from life.

• Success in business is money
• Success in living is happiness
• Life's success consists of what you want it to
• Life is different than how someone lives
• No one can judge another persons success without knowing them
• Judging people by their income is not a judge of success

Authority: Edward S. Martin, Professor at University of Northern Iowa

Accuracy:The North American Review

Timeliness: July 1908, which is fine because it gives us insight of what success was and what it is now.

Can it be true that happiness outweighs success, or does money buy the happiness which intact creates success?

Money Can't Buy Love...

Source:http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/dec/13/happiness-growing-wealth-nations-study

Reliability:
-Authority: This article was posted in The Guardian, a British daily newspaper. The piece was written by Alok Jha, the Guardian's own science correspondent and also a physics graduate from Imperial College London.
-Accuracy: He quotes Richard Easterlin from USC, David Bartram and Alexander Gorban from the University of Leicester.
-Timeliness: The article was published December 2010.

Source: si.smugmug.com

Money is happiness, right? Most people connect the two ideas and automatically see a positive correlation.That isn't necessarily true. Jha's article disproves this line of thinking by citing a new study that may prove that happiness has little relation to income. The study was completely unbiased and it looked at countries that had capitalist and non-capitalist economies (Check this study out here!). It was conducted by Easterlin from USC, a self-proclaimed "happiness scholar."

He says this about his findings: "Simply stated, the happiness-income paradox is this: at a point in time both among and within countries, happiness and income are positively correlated," he said. "But, over time, happiness does not increase when a country's income increases."

Countries like China and South Korea have seen large jumps in their per capita income. Sure, these countries are happier than their less developed counterparts. But compared to their earlier numbers, their happiness has seen not as large a jump. In South Korea's case, the numbers, although too insignificant to consider, have even dropped. These findings bring up some important questions, such as: What are the true factors involved in increasing happiness? Health? Family? Also, does gratefulness play a factor in any of this? For example, as we make more money... do we in turn become less grateful of our material success?

Secrets to success

This video was a great way to learn about the study of success. Richard interviewed 500 successful people and asked them what they thought made them the successful person they are today. How he decided weather or not the person was successful is not clear but he did put some pretty impressive names behind his evidence. Names like Bill gates the computer genius. 
Quote:"The interesting thing is: if you do it for love, the money comes anyway.”

http://www.healthylifestylesliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/SecretstoSucess.jpg

• credible due to that he interviewed successful people for example Bill Gates 
• What do people do that can ruin their chance of being successful or damper their success?
• success advice to a high school student
• Asked other successful people
• 500 interviews compiled 
• Passion: Do it for love
• Hard work: But have fun 
• get good at something
• Push yourself: physical and mental
• focus yourself
• get past self-doubt
• serve
• serve others something with value to become rich
• ideas: be curious, ask questions, problem solve, make connections
• persistence: number one reason for success
• get over failure
• deal with CRAP; C:criticism R:rejection A:assholes P:pressure
• 8 concrete things that lead to success(summary): Serve, Passion, Work, Push, Focus, Good, Ideas, Persist

If you are unable to achieve one of these steps, is success still an option?

Drug Life? Drugs Death?

Children killing themselves. It is a heartstrings puller. Why would an innocent child revert to such a cruel way to leave this world so early? Can we help them?

Yes we can, but it comes with some controversy. Antidepressants can help children with their depressive thoughts and prevent their death. But are they safe? According to Greg Simmons," Beginning in 1995, and continuing for nearly a decade, prescription of antidepressants to children and teens increased dramatically, and their suicide rates steadily declined." This is one study that shows that suicide rate declined and the drugs were working. But everything has two side. The F.D.A. stated that "antidepressants might actually cause or worsen suicidal thoughts in children and teens."

What do we believe? There is not enough evidence on either side to be sure but for now we can see some "theories". Antidepressants help prevent suicide, but they increase the thoughts of suicide. For now I believe that prescribing the medicine is a risky 50-50 risk and should truly be discussed with the patient and family.

Would you take a drug that could either help or hurt you, without knowing which it would do?

Global Issues In Context "CHILDHOOD DEPRESSION AND SUICIDE."

zeroatthebone.com

 

People need to conserve water now

Water is a very valuable source. Everyone needs water in order to survive. The world is full of water. 75% of the world is covered in water. Why do we take advantage of it all? sooner or later water is going to be scarce. Not necessarily anytime soon but it will happen. Water utility is spreading these days. People need to start conserving water now. There is a severe drought going on now. Water is not scarce in America in our world today but in countries like Africa water is a very scarce resource. Not only is water scarce in Africa but its is also very hard for them to find clean drinking water. Most of the water that they have is contaminated and dirty. If we don't start conserving water now we could end up just like Africa one day. We don't just need water to drink or live but we also need it for crops and animals. Can you imagine what America would look and be like with a scarcity of water. We wouldn't be living like we are today. Why aren't people conserving water today?
SOURCE: Global Issues In Context
TITLE: Water conservation a habit we must keep
SOURCE: Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center
TITLE: Conservation of water
http://HitCountType=None&sort=Relevance&tabID=T006&prodId=GIC&resultListType=RESULT_LIST
http://failOverType=&query=&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&mode=view&displayG
SOURCE: capecodgroundwater.org

What do people consider success and how do they achieve it?

I want to study the topic because I would find it interesting to see if people in poorer countries have the same ideas of success as people in richer countries. I want to know if even between two world powers if the peoples views of success are the same or different. Maybe because people in other countries have different celebrities and look up to different successful people they want different things in life.

So far all I know about success in life is my personal view of success. My view of success has been influenced by our modern society. Having lots of money and having a lot of power is what I and most other people consider success. Most famous people are who we look at to shape our views of success. They all drive fancy cars and wear all the brand new designer clothes. Because we consider them successful we strive to make money and do the same that they do.