Guide to Pursuit of Happiness
We will forever be in pursuit of happiness. Happiness is something that we aim for because it’s what we want but not necessarily what we need. When we get to the point where we achieve what we think should bring true happiness, we end up wanting more and thus, pursue a little further. To us, satisfaction may be the most difficult short term goal ever to be achieved.
Along with this pursuit, we have become experts that we’ve written down some guide to achieve true happiness. And one of the most popular ones is “The less you care, the happier you will be.” True. To some degree. But it should have been more specific or at least the receiver of the message would look deeper into what it really wants to convey. The less you care about what others think, the happier you will be. That would have been spot on. But to follow and accept the phrase “The less you care” at face value will lead you into a much deeper trouble. Possibly lead you to a lonelier place than where you are right now.
Does caring less for how other people around you feel really make you happy? Are you happy knowing that you’re laughing because you’ve hurt someone? If you answered yes to any of the two questions then there’s no point in reading this article any further. Because at this point you’ve mastered the easiest way to live in misery.
Thought is one thing, feeling is another. It’s different when you don’t care what your mom thinks about your choice of words when you talk to her and it’s different when you don’t care how your mom feels when you use those words to talk to her. Today if you say you are happy. I believe you. Because you are in that state where you know and feel that you are happy. But have you actually looked back without any fear, discomfort, regret, guilt? If you do, then congratulations and enjoy this moment.
If you’re still caught with the idea that happiness is inversely proportional to how much you care, it’s time you learn that happiness grows exponentially when you actually do care. Your happiness quickly adds up with every person you genuinely make happy but is easily divided by every single person you hurt along the way. Before saying, “I want my happiness” think about the people in your life who are affected. You do not necessarily have to listen to what they think but at least be a little sensitive to how they really feel. True happiness is easier to achieve when we know how to lead our hearts to seek out what’s best for you, what’s best for your family… for the rest of your lives.
