The Practice of Happy: External Influences

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September 4, 2026

SUNDAY EDITION PRESENTS

THE PRACTICE OF HAPPY

CONVERSATION THREE

THE EXTERNAL INFLUENCES

In Conversation Three of The Practice of Happy, Anthony Corona is joined by Lorna, Mark, Gabriel, Renae and Judy as the group turns its attention outward.

In our first conversation, we explored choosing happy and allowing happy to happen.

In Conversation Two, we explored the reality that joy, sadness, anger, grief, gratitude and happiness can all exist in the same heart at the same time.

This time, we asked a different question.

What happens to our practice of happy when the outside world gets involved?

Because none of us practices happy in a vacuum.

Throughout this candid and wide ranging conversation, the panel explores the people, circumstances and unexpected moments that can influence our emotional lives.

What happens when disability or an accommodation issue completely changes the day we planned to have?

How much do the moods of our partners, family members and friends influence our own?

What about the people who occupy that strange middle ground between friend and stranger?

The coworker we see every morning.

The neighbor we talk to across the fence.

The barista who knows our order.

And what about the people we do not choose?

Bosses.

Coworkers.

Caseworkers.

Customer service representatives.

Strangers.

People on social media.

A thirty second interaction with one person can unexpectedly brighten an entire day.

Another thirty second interaction can leave us irritated for hours.

Why?

How much power do external influences actually have over our happiness?

How much power do we give them?

How much should we give them?

And when something or someone disrupts our happiness, how do we find our way back without pretending the frustration, anger, disappointment or hurt never happened?

As always, The Practice of Happy is not a lecture, a class or a group of people claiming to have figured everything out.

It is a conversation.

It is people sharing experiences, challenging themselves and one another, laughing, questioning assumptions and continuing to explore what practicing happy actually looks like in real life.

And Conversation Three sets the stage for where we go next.

In our next conversation, we move from discussion into practice.

Each member of the panel will lead the group through an exercise connected to one of the core concepts we have developed throughout Conversations One, Two and Three.

We have talked about happy.

We have questioned happy.

We have examined what happens inside us and what influences us from the outside.

Next, we begin putting some of it into action.

The Practice of Happy continues.

Not because we are trying to figure out how to be happy all the time.

We are figuring out how to make a little more room for happy when it shows up.

THE PRACTICE OF HAPPY

A Sunday Edition Special Conversation Series

Hosted by Anthony Corona

Featuring Lorna, Mark, Gabriel, Renae and Judy

For questions, comments or information about participating in a future conversation, email