Live GR: What is happiness? 2nd of December, 7:30pm AEST
Oh hey there! Yup, you guessed it again! It's almost time for another LIVE Getting Real!
This coming Wednesday we'll be chatting about what is that thing called happiness? How do you find it? Can you buy it?
Is it okay to not be happy? Is it okay not to want to be happy? (yes!)
Anyway, maybe I should leave SOME questions for the night 😛
So yes, we'd love it if you came to join us on Wednesday- it should be an interesting chat! I'm keen to hear all of your perspectives and hopefully learn something new (I'm always learning new things from these chats :))
As always, make sure you check out those guidelines, and remember to contact support if at all you feel distressed or need to chat to someone about things that come up in this conversation.
Looking forward to seeing you there! 😄
Yep @featuringme I totally agree! It's so much better not to bottle those emotions up. Things can get so confusing otherwise
What are some ways we can cope with stress that arises from trying to manage our own and others experience of happiness?
I feel like taking the time to slow down sometimes can be important. I often feel stressed when I'm struggling to manage my happiness and other people's experience of happiness. Helping others can be fulfilling, but you've got to take the time to rest and focus on self-care too. I can also feel stressed when I'm focusing too much on the future and not enough on the present. So taking the time to enjoy the little moments that bring me joy has really helped me. There are also times where I've had to step back and think of a situation more objectively. I think it's important to remember that happiness is a spectrum and doesn't have to be perfect or constant all the time.
I guess just remembering what we can and can't control, having boundaries and looking after ourselves like what @WheresMySquishy was saying!
Recognising that it's okay to not feel happy and it's also okay not to even want to be happy. Sometimes we need to feel sad, or scared, or angry so we can process things. All emotions are there for a reason and try to tell you something. All emotions are valid 🙂 Again the message of 'Inside Out'- it's important to be able to feel sad, and through that we can move on to new things 🙂
And expressing the emotions you're actually feeling lets others know you need them 🙂
I love that movie and the message @Lost_Space_Explorer5. 🙂 Carrying on like usual and not telling others how we really feel can end up making us feel even worse.
It's been a great chat tonight everyone! Reading everyone's experiences has been so insightful (and made me feel very happy 
). It was also amazing to see so many people jump online and participate! Thank you so much @Lost_Space_Explorer5 @Hozzles @Saltwaterdreamtime @Sunnybear @featuringme @sunnygirl606! 🙂
Goodnight all!
Anyone who hasn't participated is still welcome to answer the questions and share their experiences in this thread. 🙂
Here are the questions:
1. What is happiness? What does it look and feel like for you?
2. What are some things which can cultivate happiness for you? How do these things compare to strategies which you might have come across before (e.g. being grateful, being mindful, etc.)? Have things which you thought would make you happy met your expectations?
3. Does society have certain expectations when it comes to experiencing happiness? If so, how might these have impacted on you and those around you?
4. How important is happiness to you? Have your views about happiness changed throughout your life? How have these attitudes affect your daily life?
5. Can we control our feelings of happiness? Can we make other people happy? Are there times when we ever want to make ourselves or others unhappy?
6. What are some ways we can cope with stress that arises from trying to manage our own and others experience of happiness?
Yeah, it goes so quick doesn't it @Sunnybear!
Brain isn't working right now (so exhausted) so maybe I'll revisit this question later, but completely agree with a lot of what has been said! Just reminding ourselves that happiness isn't and shouldn't be the default, that all emotions are important and deserve to be felt as well, and it's often true that happiness comes when you least expecting it. Chasing happiness can make you anxious, which pushes away happiness!
This has been such a thought-provoking chat. We all have such unique perspectives about happiness 🙂 And so many people have jumped in tonight! I love it!
@WheresMySquishy So true! And such a good quote, wow! Thanks for sharing! 
How important is happiness to you? Have your views about happiness changed throughout your life? How do these attitudes affect your daily life?
Happiness is super important to me! I feel that happiness is a treasure and something that should be continuously spread. As i grew older, i appreciated the value of happiness and how emotions can affect other people's moods! This affects my daily life as i try to remind myself to be happy, but allow myself to feel the other emotions that are normal to feel!
How important is happiness to you? Have your views about happiness changed throughout your life? How do these attitudes affect your daily life?
I'm a bit late to the party but I also want to join the conversation!
Happiness is important to me but I've learned to not hold myself to the expectation that I should be happy all the time but rather just do things that bring me happiness. Changing my perspective on happiness actually brought me more joy because I'm not constantly setting myself up for failure and then questioning why "I'm not happy all the time".
Welcome @sunnygirl606! Lovely to have you here too 😄 It sounds like happiness is a really important and valued emotion for you 🙂
Damn I'm guilty of worrying what others think too @WheresMySquishy
@Lost_Space_Explorer5 I also try to have the same attitude of 'Whatever will be, will be.' Just because something doesn't turn out like I've planned, it doesn't mean that it's the end of the world. I've heard a quote that said something like 'If you are insecure, guess what? The rest of the world is too. Do not overestimate the competition and underestimate yourself. You are better than you think.' I also remember reading a passage from a book that said not to waste your time wondering about what other people are up to or thinking. That's something I'm guilty of doing a lot.
How important is happiness to you? Have your views about happiness changed throughout your life? How do these attitudes affect your daily life?
Completely agree with @Lost_Space_Explorer5! 
Just another emotion I'm open to feeling, there's no real point in actively chasing it! There can always be more to do, or things to be done or go wrong... but living in the present is important! I definitely think I've been more open to happiness lately, apparently the fear of happiness is called cherophobia (like the singer Cher? weird...) but as weird as it sounds I think I've struggled with it at some points. I've always had a feeling that if I was happy, it wasn't going to last long or things will ruin it. But now I'm happy to just to feel it and move on!
omg I still get that a bit @Hozzles, feeling like there's no point in being happy. I'm trying my best to just appreciate it as it comes and goes.
And that's okay @Saltwaterdreamtime I can imagine! Is your little human giving you some trouble ?
@Lost_Space_Explorer5 Exactly, to both of your points! Definitely think too much of one emotion is portrayed by society as a bad thing.
Yeah is it just me or does society expect us all to just get on with things. Like you're seen as weak or something if you're not coping. It's not even that we're expected to be happy. It's like just deal with it or something 😞 I feel like it has affected me by making me afraid of emotions and expressing them
So many things I've thought would make me happy but haven't completely, mostly because of anxiety and fear ahah. Things like certain outings that didn't live up to expectations, or having a specific item that I really want. But it's rare to feel just one emotion at once, at least for me anyway.
