It is probably been posted before...

Is happiness a choice? I think it is, but I can't imagine someone in serious pain would agree.

Yes or no? Is happiness a choice?

Yes

People who love and care for you (alive or not). Would want you to be happy, Our duty to be happy for others. It's difficult, speaking with people on the same level can help

thus the wheel shall turn and return to you in circirculation in theory

For me, it depends on the degree of positivity and good will that surrounds you.
One can either embrace it, or deny it. Choice.

Yes it is. Though you have to learn to be happy first. It is sometimes the smallest things in life, that can make us happy.

So how does one "learn to be happy"? By denying / ignoring reality?

Yes it is a choice. It requires a shift in focus which everyone can do. It is only a choice to do this, or not.

Yes, and no.

Hope that helps.

.

What about maybe?

I’m with rock
Yes and no

Maybe, would also be a great answer. :thumsup:

It would be an epic answer,
if you could post the pic of
the Magic 8 Ball 'Maybe'.

One good example is, not to look at the value of a present, but to appreciate the person, who gives the present.

its always a inside job....its based on two things, first our beliefs about

ourselves and others...am i o.k. and are they o.k. second thing is the

favorite feelings we have, for example mad,sad,glad, and scared ...we pick

people to help us validate the beliefs and help us recycle those favorite

feelings....change your belief and change your life....so yes its a choice

only we can make......for most people will take pain when they believe there

is nothing else, ,,,,

p.s. the most important relationship in our lives is the one we have with

ourselves....when like and love ourselves then we have it to give to

others....unfortunately most of us are wounded emotionally and are not aware

that they are.....ourselves like relationships require commitment to self

awareness....

I think you can "choose" to be optimistic about life, or a situation. But true "happiness" as a choice? No. If somebody tells a really awful joke, or life gives you a **** sandwich, you can't choose to think it's funny or really tastes good.

It all depends upon how well you have control over your own emotional states.

The question posed is: Is happiness a choice?
I argue all emotional states are a choice.
If they were not, there would never be exceptions.

People don't feel the same depth of joy or sadness for similar circumstances.
That fact, makes feelings unique and individual. Based on each person's emotional control.

from some of the answers it looks like social intercourse is here to stay....

It is a complex chemical reaction involving the brain’s limbic pathways . Although we can trigger happiness and pleasure , if cerebral chemicals become imbalanced altered moods such as depression , mania can occur . Such changes are seldom under voluntary control and require medical assistance to correct the imbalance .

An oversimplified question, but eh.

It can be. But it may not be something you want, or it might actually be a sign of something that's actually negative from a macro perspective.

The more control you have or convenient of a choice happiness is? It means the more ignorant you need to be. Ignorance is bliss.

You ever hear of the McGurk effect? There's a video going around the internet highlighting it.
Among many other things (like Pareidolia, but not really talking about misophonia, just average general people), your brain also performs something called "filling."

Your senses are on all the time. Bringing information into the brain.
You are constantly bombarded by new information, information that can conflict between senses and understanding.
Your brain fills it in, translates it based on experience, and it may not be true.

You have natural implicit bias.

You ever notice how people start setting routines?
You ever drive the same way to work over and over and over again? For years?
Off the top of your head do you remember every single billboard or road sign along the route (probably more relevant to those in the U.S., especially in larger cities)? People generally don't (and there are a lot of people who think they can, but in reality they can't).

When things are consistent, they stop paying too much attention to anything that isn't personally relevant, or is considered a big enough change.

When you search the internet on how to choose happiness what do the links generally tell you?
"Be more mindful in the moment! Enjoy the little things! Get rid of toxic people, network positive people in your life!"

Crap like that.

Or IOW "control your environment. Create an echo chamber. Feed your pleasurable implicit biases. Stop paying attention to newness or diversity or real change (although support the illusion of change if you're one of those 'self help' people). Only do those things that engender happiness."

Basically, pursue ignorance. Stop seeking anything that really changes.
Make sure the input you get from your senses are pretty much the same and consistent over time.
Establish happiness as a delusion, and make sure nothing can pop your bubble.

So,

Yes. And that can be a problem that causes unhappiness to a lot of other people, and as they react making it seem like they want to cause your unhappiness.

People protect their bubbles. Ask any old person "set in their ways."

Also, because of this, "Happiness" can be subverted to a lot of less pleasant emotional states as people try to protect the things they thought they chose to make them "happy."