A weary traveler reaches an ancient mountain peak on the last legs of his journey. Atop the rocks is a small shrine, untouched by the outside world. The hiker breathes a sigh of relief and asks the monk for the way to eternal happiness, and he responds with some vague, enlightened answer that leaves the man unsatisfied and ever searching.
The cliché, while enduring, isn’t very effective in solving the problem. Happiness is something that everyone wants but so many don’t have, and very few know how to find it. In addressing this, the Union Activities Board presented “TUFFtalks: Pursuit of Happiness,” the second of its kind in NC State history.
The event, which took place Monday, hosted a diverse group of speakers who shared their experiences in finding happiness. Presentations were simple and the format was much like that of TEDx, which UAB used as a model. Cassandra Brinkman, former UAB chairman of Issues and Ideas, prefaced the first series in 2016.
“Bringing together the school’s brightest minds is an exciting prospect for us all and we hope to have an event that’ll educate the crowd in attendance,” Brinkman said.
Waleed Ahmed, a junior majoring in international studies, started the event off with a discussion of the importance of making sure that one’s dreams and career intersect, rather than relying on a fallback. Afterward, Ben Bradley, former master’s student in business administration, took an anecdotal approach by talking about his time with AmeriCorps, a civil society program. He found that setting the bar for happiness a bit lower helps him find joy more frequently.
“Happiness is not a finite thing; you can’t run out of it,” Bradley said. “You need to think about your definition of happiness … if you take a second and look at the world around you, there are so many different definitions, and they’re all amazing.”
Interspersed between talks was the story of Michael James, a College of Education graduate, who triumphed against many odds and discovered that his happiness lied within giving back to the community he came from and teaching underprivileged youth. Victoria Kroll, an alumna, discussed her battle with depression, anorexia and suicidal thoughts, which led her to find happiness in the life she was given.
Business administration alumnus Hunter Davis talked about his work with Camp Kesem, a summer program for children whose parents are afflicted with cancer.
“When you help others, you feel good about yourself,” Davis said. “When you help others, you become more optimistic. Rather than looking at the world through the lens of negativity, you approach people for the good that they bring to the table. You approach difficulty with positivity rather than the weight on your back of the challenge that lies ahead.”
The event ended with a keynote speech by Mindy Sopher, a current academic adviser and lecturer. She started in a bizarre (albeit effective) manner by having the audience members close their eyes and breathe for a minute. The silence lingered, and she began her presentation by discussing the importance of self-reflection.
“I believe self-reflection is an essential component of every day,” Sopher said. “I challenge you to take that 60 seconds that we did and amplify it by 10 for reflection.”
Sopher presented a simple set of steps to aid with self-reflection: Find your aha moment of the day, pinpoint when you learned it, find out why it’s important and decide what you’ll do now that you know it. The event ended with Sopher’s reading of Oliver Wendell Holmes’ poem “The Chambered Nautilus,” which is centered on personal development.
“It’s all about growth,” Sopher said to conclude the evening. “That growth comes from choices; that growth comes from reflection. I challenge you all to reflect.”
Mindy Sopher, an academic advisor and communication lecturer, talks about relaxing and reflecting daily to find satisfaction in life during a TUFFtalk in Stewart Theatre Monday. Sopher said that spending just 10 minutes each day focusing on self-examination could lead to feeling more pleasure in life.
