If only we'd stop trying to be happy we'd have a pretty good time. -- Edith WhartonThey use such quotes to suggest that you shouldn't even be reading books on happiness. So what happens when you read a study about how exercise elevates mood, and then go exercise? Do you necessarily become unhappy because you've made the dire mistake of "trying to be happy"?
Of course not. Such quotes only make sense in the context of dwelling neurotically on your happiness, or trying to affect it in some direct way.
So there you have it: it's okay to read about this stuff...
1 comment:
I also think there is nothing wrong with "trying" to be happy. The power of positive thinking is often taken for granted. Take an upcoming school exam as an example. What is the difference between the phrases, "IF I pass the exam I will..." and "WHEN I pass the exam I will..." Although the difference seems slight, the person with the right attitude increases her chances of passing. Although the quotes you mention cast negative light on "trying" to be happy, I think those pessimists are overlooking a key ingredient to happiness. What is wrong with striving for such a great goal? I am a happy person, but not necessarily that way by nature. I am happy because I want to be happy, I try to be happy, and I recognize that life is too short to not be happy.
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