The Art of Happiness - Misconceptions
Happiness is so much wanted by everyone that it is natural for people to develop misconceptions about it. Happiness is not always what we think of what it is because our perceptions and experiences with the world mold our opinion of happiness and at times, we develop delusions regarding happiness. Let us now go through the common fallacies that man has with regards to the concept of happiness.
Misconception 1: Suppressing negative emotions
Happiness is certainly not about suppressing one’s emotions, especially the negative ones. Happier people on the earth are as vulnerable to sad moments and moments of dejection and grief as anyone else in the world is. However, what matters is what a person does with those moments and how he or she responds to them that defines happiness levels.
Happier people have been found to focus more on the solutions, rather than the problem and this is what makes them happier than others. If an individual tries to suppress his negative emotions, those emotions will keep eating him and hollowing him from inside. The happier people allow themselves to feel sad at times, so that all the negative feelings can be let out. It is also okay to cry at times. However, once the negative phase has passed, the happier people focus on the next steps to be taken to address the situation, rather than just lamenting over what has happened.
Misconception 2: Happiness is all about goals
It is a common adage that the ‘journey matters more than the destination’. It is important to have goals in life. However, goals are not the only things that make us happy. End is important, but means are even more important. Only accomplishment of goals does not make an individual happy.
Most of the people in the world think that once goals are achieved, they will be happy. However, it is the struggle in the accomplishment that makes the human being happy. One needs to understand that goals and struggle are both important and necessary, but happiness comes from the journey and not from the attainment of tangible goals.
Misconception 3: Happiness is about getting big things right
Many people in the world indulge themselves in the race for wealth, fame and materialistic things. It is their belief that such big things will make their life happier. However, such things in life increase the greed and discontentment levels, forcing the individual to involve oneself even more for such a pursuit. What matters in cultivating happiness is the cultivation of habits like gratitude, kindness, empathy, and compassion. Such attributes of humans make them happier and also spread happiness around them.
Misconception 4: Happiness is all about selfishness
Happiness is not about being self-centered. Happy people acknowledge that their emotions are a result of the relationships they have with other people in their circle. Having a healthy relationship with friends, relatives and family members and helping others — all these raise our happiness levels. The happy people don’t let other priorities come in the way of their relationships.
Misconception 5: The best times are over for us
It is not a rarity to find people who believe that their best times were when they were a child. Every one of us may be in a belief that childhood was the most fun-filled time of our lives. However, we don’t realize that happiness does not compulsorily decline with age. In fact, there is no relation of age with happiness. It has been found that at times, older people are happier than the young dynamic people. It is important for each person to realize that the best times of life are created by us and they can be created anytime.
Misconception 6: I cannot recreate happiness
There come situations in life which leave us dejected; it becomes quite difficult for most of us to stand up again and smile. The lack of resilience is what most people suffer from. It is crucial for each one of us to realize that our happiness is our creation and we can create it whenever we want to. Even if sad times have just gone by, we can still reclaim happiness in our lives. Sad moments come not to stay but to pass by.
