Webinar #4 "AWAKENING HAPPINESS" was a success.

Attending Webinar #4: "Awakening Happiness," Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dinh Hong Hai - Lecturer in the Faculty of Anthropology, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Nhu Trang - Lecturer in the Faculty of Sociology (University of Social Sciences and Humanities) discussed and shared perspectives on happiness from a scientific standpoint in a very accessible and easy-to-understand way, while also answering participants' questions and concerns about how to experience happiness for themselves and those around them.

The two speakers for Webinar #4 are Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dinh Hong Hai and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Nhu Trang.

What is happiness?

This was a question frequently asked by young people to the two speakers. To answer this question, Associate Professor Dr. Dinh Hong Hai discussed happiness from an anthropological perspective across different periods, classifying it into individual, family, and national/human levels. In particular, Professor Hai shared the differences in the perspective on happiness between East Asian and Western cultures. He emphasized that to experience happiness, we must first understand suffering – only by understanding suffering can we truly appreciate the happiness of ourselves, our families, and our communities.

Unlike Associate Professor Dr. Dinh Hong Hai, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thi Nhu Trang presented on happiness from a positivist sociological approach. She shared that happiness is a subjective feeling about oneself and life. We are happy when we feel satisfied and content with ourselves and the life we ​​have. Happiness is created from three factors: perception, emotion, and biology (genes). The speaker emphasized that although genetic inheritance cannot be changed, we can absolutely be happy when we know how to manage our emotions and adjust our perceptions in a positive direction.

So how can we achieve happiness?

From an anthropological perspective, Associate Professor Dr. Dinh Hong Hai pointed out that to achieve happiness, we need to be freed from suffering. According to Buddhist philosophy, if we have good karma, we will have a happy life in this lifetime or the next. To have good karma, we need to understand the true Dharma. When we understand it, we will find the path to liberation and achieve happiness. From a Western cultural perspective, Associate Professor Dr. Dinh Hong Hai explains happiness based on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, from the most basic needs at the bottom to the need for self-actualization at the top. When the lower needs are met, individuals will have a desire to express themselves and contribute to society. This means that when a person is fulfilled in terms of physiology, safety, affection, and respect, they will have a desire to express themselves and will then feel happy.

Returning to the question "How to achieve happiness?", Associate Professor Dr. Dinh Hong Hai concluded that happiness is something we create ourselves, not something we need to search for. He cited evidence from the book "The Happiness Code" by Sonja Lyubomirsky, an American positive psychologist, which shows that 50% of happiness is natural (genes, family, country, etc.), 10% is due to living conditions, and 40% is due to ourselves. This means that we can completely control and change ourselves to achieve happiness.

Sharing the same viewpoint as Professor Hai, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thi Nhu Trang pointed out four important factors for achieving happiness.

1. Adjust your thinking:

• Avoid negative generalizations: When analyzing a problem, focus on specific facts and things you can change, rather than focusing on things you can't change. By looking at it this way, you can more easily spot opportunities within difficulties.
• Focus more on what we "have," rather than what we "don't have."

2. Building meaning in life:We need to reassess our values ​​and interests and identify what we truly want to pursue. When we pursue what we value and what aligns with our needs, we feel happier, even if we don't achieve it. The very process of pursuing what we love and value brings us happiness. However, we must be cautious because sometimes it's not easy to determine what we truly want and what suits us. It can be difficult to distinguish between what is truly important and right for us and what society values ​​and promotes, leading us to mistakenly believe it's what we want.

3. Healing the wounds:If past wounds remain unhealed, they can significantly impact your present feelings about life. At this point, it's advisable to seek professional help to heal those wounds, so that you can more easily open yourself up to happiness.

4. Strengthen the contributing factors,Specifically, these include: financial stability, social relationships, social status (prestige, influence), family, physical health, moral values, and positive experiences.

Through Webinar #4, the anthropological and sociological knowledge of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dinh Hong Hai and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Nhu Trang helped participants gain a better understanding of happiness. From there, each person can find solutions to awaken happiness within themselves.

Having received overwhelming support, CIRSS promises to continue planning and implementing further webinars with equally engaging topics that will bring significant value to the community.

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* Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Social Sciences *

The Center for Interdisciplinary Studies in Social Sciences (CIRSS), affiliated with the University of Social Sciences and Humanities - Vietnam National University, Hanoi.

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