I've said to myself, "If had a house, then I'd be happy." I've also said, "If I lost a few pounds, then I'd be happy." Then of course I've thought, "If I had more money, then I'd be happy."
Well, I've got some news. Those thoughts are not happiness itself. They are goals. You can set a goal to buy your own home or lose a few pounds. You can even set a goal to work a little harder for that promotion or cut down your expenses for a big purchase. These things are NOT happiness. Happiness is the feeling you get when you reach your goals.
Nobody needs to wait around to "end up happy". Happiness is something you feel. It comes and goes like all of the other emotions. We seem to grasp the concept that sadness or sorrow is an emotion. We tell each other, "This too shall pass" or "there's a light at the end of the tunnel". We understand that struggles and sadness, for the most part, are temporary.
Happiness is the same. We wish it was permanent and so I think we confuse it with an end result. We want to believe, someday we will just be happy. It sounds great doesn't it! A time and place when all there is, is happiness.
The problem presents itself when we become so fixated on the "someday", that we forget about the now. How much happiness did you miss out on while looking toward that someday? Do we realize that once we achieve that "someday", life will continue to happen? We all know life is messy. Life has many ups, downs, sideways, overs and under. It's crazy! So why would we think that someday it will just be happy and nothing else?
I'm not insinuating that we should stop working toward goals. It is indeed a happy feeling we get once we've accomplished something we set out to. What I am saying is, let's include happiness in the present. Let it be a part of the many other emotions we feel.
I leave you with this, and yes it's a line from a show. I won't say which, but if I ever actually take anything of value from a television show, I'd be happy it was this.
"Happiness is not a destination. It is a mood, it is not permanent. It comes and goes and if people thought that way then maybe people would find happiness more often."
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