Photos by NICOLE TAYLOR / Scroll

How to be one of the happy people on campus

Kadie Sharp SHA04007@BYUI.EDU Lifestyle Asst. Editor

You know those people who are just happy no matter what happens to them? They seem to always have a smile on their face and something positive to say. Why are they so happy all of the time? In an attempt to answer this mystery, here are some tips on how to become one of those happy people you admire.

Choose to be happy

“We need to recognize that ‘wanting to’ is the determining factor which leads us to lay hold upon the word of God and be happy,” said Elder Benjamin de Hoyos of the Quorum of the Seventy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Surround yourself with happy people

“Happy people affect everyone,” said Brian Lee, a junior from Clayton, Wash. “If there’s a happy person in class, it helps make everyone else happy.”

Accept who you are unconditionally

“You are not just the size of your bank account, the neighborhood you live in or the type of work you do. You are, just like everyone else, an almost inconceivable complicated mix of abilities and limitations,” said psychologist David Niven in his book, The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People.

Do not base your happiness on success

“You need not be either rich or hold high position to be completely successful and truly happy,” said Elder Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the Nov. 1980 Ensign. “We [can] struggle through life, perhaps missing both fame and fortune, to finally learn one day … that neither has made us happy; neither is basic to the recipe for true success and for complete happiness.”

Get involved

“Everyone told me to get involved in order to be happy,” said Logan Essig, a freshman from Centerville, Utah. “Don’t go home every weekend.”

Instead, choose to stay at school and do something with others. “Find something to do, because feeling that we have too much to do is much more pleasing than feeling that we have nothing to do,” Niven said.

What are the results of following these steps? Good health is one consequence of being happy. Lee said not only does he feel better physically when he is happy, but it gives him energy throughout the day.

Essig said happiness also makes you confident. This confidence can not only help you make friends, but it can also help you in your schoolwork and professional life. Other people also might notice your happiness and decide to be happy themselves, thus creating a large circle of happy influence.