English Rewind - Entertainment: Happiness 😁

Hello. The programme you're about to listen to  

was originally broadcast in May 2006 on the BBC Learning English website.

We hope you enjoy it!

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Hello I'm Jackie Dalton. Welcome to Entertainment!

What is it that makes you happy? Friends, family, art, money, a big TV set?

Well research shows that having  lots of money doesn't always mean being happier. 

We're about to hear a report on the topic of  wealth and happiness. First, let's look at a few  

words and phrases related to happiness. If you're feeling happy, you could express it in these ways:

'I'm feeling quite cheerful today.'

'I'm content.'

'I'm feeling good.'

Another word for happiness can be 'well-being'.

'The older I get, the greater my sense of well-being.'

What about unhappiness? That baby sounds miserable.

'miserable' is a word we sometimes use to  describe 'someone who's not happy'. We can also say:

'She's sad.'

'I'm feeling low.'

'He's a bit down today.'

Some of these words will come up in a moment.  As you listen to this report by Mark Easton answer this question:

Are people in Britain  happier now than they were 50 years ago?

It is perhaps one of the greatest challenges  for developed nations around the world. Once  

average incomes exceed about fifteen thousand  dollars, additional wealth doesn't easily  

translate into additional well-being. In  some countries, notably the United States,  

it appears that despite being richer than ever in their history,  

they're getting slightly more miserable.  In Britain, happiness levels appear to have  

remained constant since the 1950s, despite  the country being three times richer.

Well, the answer to the question was no. People  in Britain are not happier than they were 50 years  

ago. Mark said happiness levels have remained  constant. People are more or less as happy as  

they were in the 1950s, even though Britain is  three times richer. And in the United States,  

although people are richer, they are  a bit more miserable than before.

So is there anything we can do to make us  feel good? Some people think the leaders  

of countries should take action.  As you listen to the next part of the report, answer this question.

Why is happiness important for nations?

Governments are being forced to consider the  purpose of politics. Should its prime aim be to  

make people richer, or to make people happier?  Happy nations tend to be more productive,  

health is better, people are more creative, life  expectancy goes up. Quality of life matters.

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So why is a more cheerful country a better  country? Well, there are a lot of reasons,  

including people are more 'productive', which  means 'they achieve more at work' and

'life expectancy' goes up, meaning 'people live longer'.  Mark says quality of life matters.

'quality of life' is a term often used to talk about 'how  good or bad your life is and how happy you are'.

So what are some of the things that make us feel like we have  

a 'bad quality of life'? Listen to find out.

Mobility of labour, commuting,  long working hours are all bad for  

happiness. A big gap between rich  and poor tends to reduce it too.

So essentially, it looks like  working too hard makes people  

unhappy and 'commuting' - 'travelling to and from work'.

As does 'a big pay gap' – 'a situation where there are very rich and very poor people living in the same area'.

So these are things that, in theory, governments could try  

to improve. But what about us as individuals?

Dr. Nicks Baylis is co-director of the new Well-Being Institute at  

the University of Cambridge. He thinks that happiness has become an industry.

Firms want us to think we can buy happiness.  Whether it’s a tasty chocolate bar

or 'self-help books' - 'books telling you how you can make yourself feel happier'.

Why does Dr. Baylis think this is a bad thing?

It's become an industry. There's 8 million 'self-help books' claiming they can sell us 'feel-good'.

It's a very unhelpful view of life because  

sometimes life feels bad and we have to  know what to do with those bad feelings  

and if, if we're just trying to feel good the  whole time and demonise the feeling bad,  

the feeling scared, or angry, or ashamed or lonely, I  think we're missing much of the richness of life.  

As for there being a formula for happy lives, I  think that's just going so far in the wrong direction.

Dr. Baylis thinks the 'feel-good' industry offers an unhelpful view  of how we should be living. He thinks it's more  

important for us to stop just expecting to be able  to make our lives happy all the time. We must learn to  

accept that there are times when we don't feel so  good. What are some of the adjectives he used?

'feeling bad, the feeling scared, or angry, or ashamed or lonely'.

'feeling bad, scared, lonely, or ashamed'. You feel 'ashamed' when 'you think you've done something wrong,

like upset someone'. Dr. Baylis thinks we shouldn't expect to be content all the time.

We should learn how to accept and cope with negative feelings as well.

As he says, they're all part of the richness of life.

BBC Learning English dot com.