Happiness, like any emotion is never constant but will likely come and go as will boredom and dissatisfaction. Happiness is a state of being content, in good cheer and generally experiencing feelings of optimism. It is a state of mind which ebbs and flows and has highs and lows.
Most people can feel happy for at least a short period of time (unless a person is clinically depressed, having feelings of sadness, upset, discontent or anxiety as they are all part of the human condition). As humans we are capable of experiencing the whole spectrum of emotions and can do so depending upon the circumstances in our lives at the time.
Also: We’re giving away an iPad Mini and entering is, like, super easy.
Despite this fact we are driven to believe that we have a “right” to be happy; as if someone or something is in charge of all the happiness in the world and is keeping it from us, we seem to believe that finding happiness requires great effort but are not sure how or where to acquire it. It is as though happiness can somehow be collected, like a trophy.
So, what is this incessant search for happiness about?
It would appear that some of us believe that finding happiness is akin to having some great epiphany or religious experience, as if a great white light enters your body and suddenly you are at last happy! So, we search frenetically to find it hoping for some type of powerful, amazing and magical experience.
We look for the experience of a lifetime hoping that it will bring us happiness. We buy faster cars, eat at fancier restaurants, search for the “perfect” love partner, purchase more expensive clothes, take more extravagant vacations, and it’s all in the hope that having or doing more will bring more happiness.
Our society has shown every sign of having placed greater value on not being satisfied with what we have and therefore always wanting more. The emphasis we place on getting more creates an atmosphere of low level dissatisfaction in having less. Therefore, despite what we do we are always in a somewhat quiet state of unhappiness or disharmony.
Unless we can find a sort of peace in “just being” (some achieve in the practice of meditation) we are always going to feel that we are at the lower end of the happiness continuum, feeling restless and discontent.
Find out what other happiness myths are BS: Common Happiness Myths You Must Start Ignoring Today
