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In this episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Jack is joined by May, Layla, and Hendrick as they discuss the following question:
Do you believe that happiness is a choice, or is it influenced more by external factors?
00:00:01
Jack
Welcome to the A-Z English podcast, where Jack and Social take you on a journey from learning the basics to mastering the nuances of the English language. Our podcast is designed for non-native speakers who are looking to improve their English skills in a fun and interactive way. Each episode covers a wide range of topics.
00:00:23
Jack
From grammar and vocabulary to slang and culture to help you navigate the English speaking world with ease.
00:00:34
Jack
Welcome to the A-Z English podcast. My name is Jack and I’m one of the hosts of the podcast and today I am without social but do not worry, I am with May from Malaysia, Hendrick from Indonesia and Leila from Saudi Arabia. So we 3 for the price of 1.
00:00:54
Jack
Can’t complain with that, so steal.
00:00:57
Jack
UM so.
00:00:59
Jack
What we’re going to do today is a quick chat episode and I’m going to read a question to you and then I want you guys to just, you know, think about it and tell me what, what your opinions are. There’s no right or wrong answer to these. These are just opinion questions. But the question is.
00:01:19
Jack
Do you believe that happiness is a choice, or is it influenced?
00:01:26
Jack
By external factors and I’ll read it one more time. Do you believe happiness is a choice that we make? Or is happiness influenced by?
00:01:41
Jack
External factors, things that happen to us.
00:01:44
Jack
In our daily lives.
00:01:48
Layla
It’s close.
00:01:52
May
Costume make a decision for me.
00:01:57
Layla
I am.
00:01:58
May
But I most probably I will go for.
00:02:04
May
External factor as well.
00:02:07
Jack
OK.
00:02:12
May
It is true that we can choose to be happy. However, our external, the external factor most of the time affect as well.
00:02:26
May
For example, if the environment we are surrounded with full of, like crisis, anger, everybody’s fighting so.
00:02:37
May
I mean, it is hard for us to feel happy. How are we going to laugh at our time? Because our environment is so stressful.
00:02:46
May
So we can’t be pushing away all these things and laugh on our own.
00:02:52
May
So I think that is hard.
00:02:54
May
To happen it is, I mean it.
00:02:56
May
Is unlikely to happen.
00:02:59
May
So on, but on the other hand, if we are in a very healthy environment, healthy surrounding.
00:03:08
May
So certainly we will easily feel happy.
00:03:15
May
Without any reasons, without finding the a reason.
00:03:19
May
To be happy.
00:03:22
May
And the environment.
00:03:24
May
For me, the the environment we are at.
00:03:30
May
If will give us effect as well.
00:03:34
Jack
OK, so for you may you’re kind of trying to figure out like is it the chicken what came first, the chicken or the egg, right? It’s like does happiness come first and you choose it and it doesn’t matter what the external factors are or do the external factors make you happy?
00:03:55
Jack
And so your happiness is is dependent on the external factors like what the people around you, some good luck, happy things happen, you know, good things happen to you.
00:04:09
Jack
It sounds like you’re you’re more on the second the second one.
00:04:14
May
Yes, I I want to the second option and we for sure we can decide where they want to be happy and and so on.
00:04:23
May
But then we.
00:04:26
May
When we.
00:04:28
May
I mean, when you were a child, what can we do? What could we do unless we are? We are an adult and we move out from the the unhealthy place. So then we can decide.
00:04:47
May
So when people always say happiness is our choice, if we decide we want to be happy, we.
00:04:52
May
Can be happy.
00:04:53
May
It is true part. It is partly true.
00:04:56
May
But then it is also depends on.
00:04:59
May
Where we are.
00:05:00
Jack
OK. OK, good. Alright. So you’re you’re kind of, yeah, you kind of go. You’re kind of you’re kind of saying it’s it it the both things are possible you could choose to be happy but.
00:05:13
Jack
It’s harder when bad things are happening to you and you’re like I’m choosing to be happy and then something bad happens and you’re like I’m choosing to be happy and another bad thing happens. It’s very difficult, right?
00:05:26
May
Yes, you are right Jeff.
00:05:28
Jack
Yeah. OK. OK. Layla, what do you?
00:05:31
Jack
Think can you just choose to be?
00:05:33
Jack
Happy. Just wake.
00:05:34
Jack
Up and you go. I am happy today.
00:05:38
Layla
No, I think I couldn’t just have an exam. Maybe a literally. It depends on your environment. Sometimes you try to make happiness, you try to be happy all the time, but unfortunately you are. You are surrounded by negative.
00:05:59
Layla
People are.
00:06:00
Layla
Some very serious issue that really affect on you and in your feeling. So when you try to be happy, you couldn’t. It’s just like a challenge for you. So I think I can say between making happens and it depends on.
00:06:20
Layla
The situation.
00:06:23
Layla
Or maybe the environment surrounded you?
00:06:27
Jack
OK. So you’re you’re going with #2 external factors is more?
00:06:27
Layla
That’s my thought thought about.
00:06:33
Jack
Influences your your how happy you are in in a day.
00:06:39
Jack
OK, alright.
00:06:41
Jack
And Henry, OK, OK.
00:06:41
Layla
Yeah, maybe.
00:06:43
Layla
You can say that.
00:06:44
Jack
Yeah. Yeah. Hendrick. What about you? Can you just turn the happiness on like a switch? You’re just going to flip it on?
00:06:51
Jack
In the morning, just.
00:06:52
Jack
Happiness switch.
00:06:55
Hendrick
Yeah. For me, I think happiness.
00:06:58
Hendrick
Is a choice. I mean, this is your choice because.
00:07:00
Hendrick
Because, I mean, like, yeah, when even when you are in the difficult situation, I mean like you can still trying to be happy, you just need you know like find one reason why you you have to be happy like one reason you have to be grateful and then be happy even even when you are.
00:07:20
Hendrick
Living in the like in the bad information with bad people, I mean, like you can make the you can make the.
00:07:32
Hendrick
I mean like make the you know, like make it like the building and then, yeah, batteries. I mean, like, make the batteries and then yeah, it’s like you still can choose to be happy even even when you are in the difficult situation or in the best situation.
00:07:48
Jack
OK.
00:07:48
Jack
OK, I like that. Alright, so you’re you’re like an eternal optimist. You’re like, I can. There’s good in every situation. We can find the good in it. Hold on to it. OK.
00:07:49
Hendrick
So it is a choice.
00:07:57
Hendrick
Yeah, exactly. Just find one reason. You just you just need to find one reason why you. Why you have to be happy. That’s yeah. Every single day.
00:08:00
Jack
Alright, alright, alright.
00:08:09
Jack
So I wish I could be like Hendrick, alright? I I wanna. I wanna. I wanna agree with you. But I’m I’m, you know, for me like happiness is. It’s trickier for me. I my it’s.
00:08:21
Jack
More of mood related.
00:08:23
Jack
Sometimes I just wake up and I’m in such a good mood. I’m.
00:08:26
Jack
Just happy.
00:08:27
Jack
And I don’t know what it is.
00:08:29
Jack
Like maybe I.
00:08:32
Jack
It’s maybe it’s chemical. It’s just like the chemicals in my brain are all mixed together in such a good way. And I just like everything is positive. I feel good and I’m just happy.
00:08:45
Jack
And I can’t really control it.
00:08:46
May
Probably you dream of something nice. Just the night. Probably probably in that on, on that night we dream about something.
00:08:56
Jack
Yeah, maybe I dreamt about something. Nice. Yeah, that’s that’s.
00:08:59
Layla
Yeah, really. So effect on me.
00:09:03
May
And your mood.
00:09:04
May
On the next thing.
00:09:04
Layla
I thought.
00:09:06
Jack
I had a good dream and. Yeah, yeah, I I woke up and and I feel like I’m.
00:09:11
Jack
In a good mood?
00:09:13
Jack
Yeah, it just happens to me sometimes, but sometimes I I I wake up in a foul mood, you know, I’m just really.
00:09:21
Jack
I’m just really like, uh, you know, kind of depressed or or just down or whatever. I’m good at hiding it, you know, I mean, I don’t think anyone ever that meets me ever thinks that I’m like a Moody, you know, like a roller coaster. I’m pretty stable.
00:09:36
Hendrick
Yes you are.
00:09:38
Jack
Yeah, like I.
00:09:39
Jack
I look like I’m pretty happy all the time. I’m a pretty happy person, generally speaking, but sometimes I’m just like extra happy and I and that’s just mood related and I never know when it’s gonna happen. It just hits like a lightning bolt and I wake up and I’m like I’m just so happy today. I just. I’m so happy to be here. I can’t wait to teach this.
00:09:59
Jack
And sometimes I’m just really like, I’m not feeling it. And in those moments, I think Hendrick is right. You know, you have to.
00:10:08
Jack
Find something positive.
00:10:11
May
Yeah, yeah.
00:10:11
Jack
What’s I’ve I’ve got my health, I’ve got my, I’ve got this or that going for me and just hold on to that positive thing and try to carry that with you through the day and and not let the external. I mean, there’s always going to be annoying things that happen to us every day.
00:10:30
Hendrick
Exactly, yeah.
00:10:30
Jack
Right, traffic jams and.
00:10:33
Jack
Friends are gonna be angry with us, or we’ll we’ll argue with our spouse or something. And you know things are gonna happen. But if you can hold on to that one positive thing and like Hendrick says, I think you’d be much, much.
00:10:48
Jack
Happier, but it’s hard to do, easy to talk about, difficult to do in practice, yeah.
00:10:52
Hendrick
Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Because.
00:10:56
Hendrick
Yeah, because, you know, like nowadays, you know, like I’m a.
00:10:59
Hendrick
Student right now I have.
00:11:00
Hendrick
A lot of assignments, which is it makes me, like, feel overwhelmed. But you know, like I was trying to, you know, find one reason for example like ohh this is maybe, you know like one of the way for me to maybe one day to study a group.
00:11:16
Hendrick
Like it is like a training for me. And so I was thinking something positive and it makes me a bit better than, you know, like being.
00:11:25
Jack
There you go. There you go. This is all just a step. One step towards something amazing happening for you. Yeah. Yeah. There you go. All right, everybody, let us know what you think. Can you is happiness like a switch that you can turn on?
00:11:31
Hendrick
Yeah, that’s it.
00:11:42
Jack
Is it something you can? Can you just hold on to it? If you can think of 1 positive thing in your life? Or is it? Are you kind of a victim of like circumstances? Like if everything’s falling apart around you, does that just affect your mood so that you just can’t be happy?
00:12:03
Jack
Let us know what you think by sending us your messages on our website, leaving a comment at A-Z englishpodcast.com very easy A-Z englishpodcast.com or send us an e-mail A-Z englishpodcast@gmail.com that’s A-Z englishpodcast@gmail.com.
00:12:23
Jack
Or join our WhatsApp group and you can make lots of comments and get into a debate about this issue with our wonderful students in our WhatsApp group. So lots of choices for you all and we will see you, or at least you will hear us next time. Thanks.
00:12:40
Jack
Bye bye bye.
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