Thank you, Destiny Diaz. I took a comment I was going to make and turned into a post.
I'm probably one of the most happiest people (is that right?) you could come across. I didn't consider The Happiness Advantage because I knew this. I know how to be happy. It's effortless. The times I'm only unhappy is when something discourages me or challenges my joy for even a moment- I push myself into a mood and try my hardest to keep it consistent. But the world around me, God bless, always has something to giggle at or smile about, and I'm a sucker for it. I can't stay upset unless I really truly try. That may be a small personality trait or some crazy science or that may just be the fact that I haven't trained myself to be forced into unhappiness enough to be perfect at it.
But, coming back full circle to Destiny's post about her drive for success over her happiness, that may just be the difference between myself and those of you that chose The Happiness Advantage. I chose Outliers because I wanted to learn if there was a way for me to find success in my life without obsessing over it, and Destiny and others like her most likely chose The Happiness Advantage because they wanted to find out if somewhere in their obsession for success they would find happiness. I told myself in Middle School I was to be in some kind of leadership position. I was to take majority honors classes and join Mariners or Journalism, but I chose to be happy instead, because that's what I prefer, Now I find myself casually wondering if I'll even be accepted to a college of choice because I'm not at my best, and Destiny just made a post telling us she's unsure whether she's capable of being entirely happy herself. There's a line between what you want you want and what you need that I can't seem to find. B's, C's, and a broad smile may be enough for the time being, but I can only hope future regret doesn't ruin it for me.
Now I have to try and finish an Academic Genre because this weekend I chose to pause my work to watch my dad dance to awkward music, and rather than learning the appropriate format for multi- voiced arguments, I chose to giggle at him. Ignorance is momentary bliss.
I was surprised to see your post was in response to mine. (People actually read my posts!)
ReplyDeleteI see where you're coming from and I just want to assure you that it's not like I'm NEVER happy. I myself am a pretty happy person. I try to look at the brighter side of things. I'm happy with what I have. I meant that when I am overworked I become so frustrated and irritated with everything. I become unhappy at those times. I'm not unhappy with life. I'm unhappy with my study habits and the pressure sometimes. I'm unhappy when I know I've procrastinated and know I could've done better. And at these times I begin to think negatively, only because I know I'm better than that and can do better.
I meant that if I stopped being negative during my times of frustration (or just stopped procrastinating so much) then maybe I'd have even more times of happiness.