Happiness is overrated

I’m not saying this to be controversial and certainly not to be pessimistic. I just think the world’s gone a bit obsessed over the concept of being happy and what that means.

Today’s well-intentioned advice about how to be happier may actually be making us feel bad when we don’t feel “ecstatic, leaping out of bed in the morning, can’t stop smiling”, happy. If you don’t feel particularly cheerful, does that mean you are failing at life?

No, of course not. Imagine someone who is in the midst of their studies; stressed to the maximum. At that moment, happiness takes second place to hard work and accomplishment.

Happiness may be one great emotion, but it is not the only one that matters. Some other feelings you may come across on your journey that are of EQUAL value;

1. Sense of accomplishment

2. Sense of fulfillment

3. Personal growth

4. Sense of security/comfort

Maybe you have some more ideas to expand this list. But what I really want to say is that, you don’t HAVE to be feeling happy to be still absolutely winning at life 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

12 thoughts on “Happiness is overrated”

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  4. Thanks for your post. The search for happiness can be daunting! You might be trying hard to find something you already have…
    I read somewhere that a successful life is one when you have no regret when you die. That sounds less daunting to me.

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  6. I think you have the right idea. Focusing on whether you are happy or not really takes you out of being absorbed with life as it is happening, and it is the times I was absorbed that I look back on with contentment.

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  7. Your post made me realise that what happiness means to me may be different to how others view it. To me happiness is a quite warmth in my heart radiating out… Similar to the feeling of love.

    All feelings are valid and are an important indicator of how you are in that moment. I see them as a means of navigating through life.

    Thanks for the thought provoking post 🙂
    https://creativeveganspirit.wordpress.com

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  9. In my opinion and what I find true in my own experience is that many, and I was one, confuse happiness for elation or state of profound good feeling, be ready for the opposite if that is true for you. Life is like the tide or breath, it cycles and flows. Happiness for me is the way we are naturally in awareness, content and can wear the daily world events like a loose garment having a feeling that all is well. Seeing clearly and responding accurately. I agree with your point if it is the kind of happiness that is fleeting and impermanent

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  11. Happiness, waking to the sun shining, knowing your are unique (their are no copies of you) and appreciating that, “going with the flow” for life is not made to be calculated but lived. Sharing a smile with someone, laughing at a good movie, crying to a song that brings back memories. Happiness has a positive and negative side. When the negative side becomes positive, like remembering someone you loved with forgiveness, that is happiness. For me it is not jumping up and down. As “creativeevegannspirit” said “To me happiness is a quite warmth in my heart radiating out… Similar to the feeling of love.”

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  12. Completely agree with you – ups and downs are just part of the rich tapestry of our emotional lives. I believe that feeling happy is a by-product of living a life that has meaning, but even that doesn’t guarantee feeling happy 100% of the time, nor should it.

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