📕 Part 1: Being happy

What made you happy when you were a child?

Well, I quite liked spending time with people and going on adventures. That was very entertaining. And I liked the relationships we developed that made me feel supported and gave me the chance to tell jokes and funny stories. And of course, I was always happy whenever I was praised or rewarded in some way. I still am pleased by those things.

Is there anything that has made you feel happy lately?

I went for dinner with my family recently. That was very good fun. And we were telling jokes and sharing stories and welcoming new people into our lives. That was a good time for everyone. Hopefully, we can do it again soon.

Do you feel happy when buying new things?

I think that depends on what it is, to be honest. If it's something like a new train ticket after finding out the one I bought was useless, then I'm not exactly going to be thrilled about that. But if it's something I worked hard for that I know will improve my life and make me a better person, like, I don't know, a new phone or a new laptop or something like that, then yeah, 100%.

When do you feel happy at work?

Well, I'm usually happy at it, to be honest. I suppose the moments that really stand out are when my students or colleagues get something new or special from what I'm doing, like some sort of new insight or understanding. That's quite rewarding to see happen. And of course, I love putting things in order. So whenever I'm planning lessons and preparing materials, and that's all coming together nicely, then that's very satisfying.

What will make you happy in the future?

Well, that's an interesting one. I hope my relationships will continue to grow and evolve, and get stronger. That would be or should be pretty gratifying. And continuing to grow and do well at my job, I really get a kick out of being successful. Although, doesn't everyone?

I wonder what people mean when they say Be happy. For you, being happy is one thing. For me, being happy is another thing. For you, dear listener, it's the third thing, you know?

I feel like a positive feeling will be good. Yeah. Any positive feeling should be close to happiness. I think anyway.

Yeah, when you feel joy and you smile and you feel like light and bright and you're kind of like happy, happy, happy like this. Yeah. So it's like feeling of happiness. When you get a band eight for speaking or band nine or even band 7.5, you're kind of happy. Hey. And you expect it to get a 5. And we say that something made me happy when I was a child. Like chocolate made me happy. Spending time with people made me happy. So doing something or something made me happy. Going on adventures made me happy. So when Rory went on some adventures, like what Rory?

Oh, it could be a visit to the park or walking somewhere new with friends. It doesn't have to be like something super exciting, but it was new and fun.

It was very entertaining. So entertaining, like it was fun. It was exciting. Telling jokes made me happy. Telling funny stories. I was always happy when I was praised. So here we are using the past simple. So I was happy whenever I was praised, whenever I was rewarded. So when people gave Rory praise, when they said, Oh, Rory, well done, you did it well. Atta boy, you know.

Did you… I feel like that last one might be a bit old, but any positive praise saying that I did a good job will be good.

Yes, well done. You've done a good job. And I was very pleased. A very good synonym for I was happy. I was pleased by such rewards. Well, I was pleased when I told jokes, when I spent time with my relatives, family. Something has made me happy lately, or recently, like not a long time ago. And here you can say like, oh, a delicious dinner has made me happy. And then you can use the past simple. It was very good fun. So I went out with my family and it was very good fun. It was fun. What were you doing? Here we can use the past continuous. We were telling jokes. We were telling stories. We were drinking. We were eating. I was wearing my favourite dress. Well, Rory wasn't, but I was.

I wouldn't be wearing my favourite dress. Maybe my favourite clothes.

When I buy new things, I usually feel happy. Or I usually feel really pleased when I buy new things. Or another synonym, you can say, like I was thrilled to buy a new watch. I was thrilled. Like, yeah, I was excited. I was thrilled. Or you could say I was ecstatic. Like if you bought something, if you bought a flat, for example, if you, I bought a car or even, you know, something small like a ring or even, I don't know, like cream. I was ecstatic when I bought this cream.

…like moisturiser.

Yeah, moisturiser, you know, for your body. Recently, actually, I've bought like super cool moisturiser. And I think it was, yeah, it was body oil. I was ecstatic. I was like in the shop, like, yeah, that's been my dream forever. Yeah, because it was pretty expensive. So yeah, so I felt ecstatic, like super happy, this ecstasy, you know.

I would just be happy to get my moisturiser with a discount.

Yeah, but it's not like a luxury moisturiser, it’s just a simple, usual moisturiser, right? I know it's not.

Oh, thank you. Maria's just like, no, it's not luxury. And you're right.

Yeah, I see. I've been dreaming of buying this, you know, luxury oil, like, and it does smell like heaven. I don't know what they put in there, but it's just, oh, I'm just, I don't know, in some Egyptian…

Palace, maybe palace?

Yes, I'm in this palace when I put it on, you know. And Rory told us that he enjoys things that improve his life. So things that make me a better person make me happy. Or I'm happy when I buy something that makes me a better person. And then, for example, like a new book, a new set of pens. You see, because Rory writes everything down in his super diary, Rory's diary, and pens are pretty important because using pens, Rory creates his life. What a crazy question. When do you feel happy at work? Never.

No, you feel happy at work.

Yeah, but not everybody, Rory, you know, not everyone is as lucky as you are. So if you, dear listener, feel unhappy at work, you just say never. No, I really dislike my job. I'm there only for money. So I hardly ever feel happy at work. Well, many people, unfortunately, are like this. So hardly ever or rarely, like not always or sometimes.

It's very sad.

Well, it is, but that's true, right? Some people just dislike their work. Or you can say, I'm usually happy at work. You can lie because the examiner doesn't want to see, you know, I'm unhappy, I'm miserable, I'm depressed, help me. Yeah, the examiner doesn't want to see that. The examiner wants to see a happy person, full of life, you know, feel free to lie. Or I'm happy at work when they pay me. Or I'm happy at work when I don't have to go to work on national holidays.

Well, yes, although we don't do that.

And you can say that these moments stand out, something unusual, right? So when I get a bonus, so this moment stands out. And you can say like, well, the moments that really stand out are when I get my bonus or when I get praised by my boss or when my colleagues get together or the moments that really stand out are when we celebrate each other's birthdays, for example. And you can say that it's really rewarding when my colleagues praise me, when my boss is satisfied with my job. It's rewarding. So that's a nice adjective. Because actually, we feel happy at work when our work is rewarding. That means it makes you feel satisfied. So you've done something important and useful and it's rewarding. So my job is rewarding, intellectually rewarding, and financially rewarding.

Financially rewarding, very important.

And another adjective is satisfying. So I'm happy when my work is satisfying. It's satisfying to finish a project. So I'm satisfied or I'm dissatisfied when you're not satisfied.

Hopefully, most people are satisfied with their jobs.

In the future, something will make me happy. So we use the future. And here Rory is speculating. He's thinking, that's an interesting one.

Well, how many people think about that?

Hmm, because what makes you happy now may not make you happy in the future, right?

Yep.

Hopefully, you are changing, dear listener, right? And maybe when you were a child, toys made you happy. But now we have different toys, like cars, flats, jewellery, gold, and diamonds. And luxury body oil.

I love how you go to the diamonds. I just love it.

No, diamonds made me happy.

Diamonds, I bet they do.

Yes, you can say something like growing as a person makes me happy. Like getting stronger makes me happy. Getting my body healthy makes me happy, right? Taking care of myself and my family makes me happy. So we can kind of go spiritual, dear listener, right? So, about like self-development makes me happy, right? And then diamonds also help.

It's always going to come back to the diamonds, I think.

Yeah, because, well, we live in a material world. So we eat food, and we sleep in a comfortable bed. So we need some kind of material comfort.

You said so.

Yeah, but Rory, tell us about your glasses. Like you drink water from what glasses?

Well, I drink it from crystal glasses, but none of them I paid for myself. They were bought for me.

Oh, yeah, but people still like they bought them for you. But if they didn't, you would buy them, right?

No, if they didn't, then I would drink them from a normal glass. I have normal glasses too. People, you don't want to give people the idea that I'm just like swanning around my home, surrounded by crystal glassware.

Yeah, you see, it's a combination, dear listener. It's a combination, you know, self-development, spiritual world, helping people, and also drinking your water from a crystal glass. And we have another adjective, gratifying. And Rory, tell us more about this adjective, gratifying.

It just makes you feel satisfied, I suppose. It leaves me feeling satisfied.

Yeah, if something is gratifying, it's pleasing, satisfying. So it's gratifying to see all my family close to me. It's gratifying to see all my children grown up and happy. So it's satisfying, it's pleasing, it makes me happy. Okay, a very nice phrase is I really get a kick out of being successful. So get a kick out of doing something.

Well, it just means it makes you happy, probably for a brief period.

Yeah, I think there's a song, Get a Kick Out of You.

Yeah, is it Frank Sinatra that sings that?

Yeah, so Frank Sinatra, listen to this lovely song, I Get a Kick Out of You. That means that I love you, I enjoy your company, and you thrill me. So I get a kick out of champagne, I enjoy champagne. I get a kick out of yoga. Rory, give us examples of this phrase.

Well, you could, I don't know, I get a kick out of doing sports, for example. Or you might get a kick out of playing video games as well.

I get a kick out of watching old movies. I get a kick out of dancing tango. Oh, that's true, actually. So what do you get a kick out of? Can you say I get a kick out of ice cream or something?

Probably not. It's usually out of doing something, because you have the ing, yeah.

So I get a kick out of drinking champagne. I get a kick out of playing something or doing or, or I don't know, listening to, so doing something.

I think it's usually like a physical activity that involves some sort of movement. Drinking champagne might be a push, I think.

I've been reading this article, Be Happier, so you can focus on three things to be happier. So the first thing, prioritise your own health and well-being.

Well, that makes sense.

The second one, asking for and accepting help. So that's interesting. So you're not just alone, but you should ask for help and accept help. And the third one is listening to our podcast, Dear Listener. Yes, this article.

That's exactly what it says.

Thank you very much for listening. We wish you happiness, joy and love. Hugs and love and kisses. Bye.

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