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Does Everything Have to Be About Happiness?
Some days it feels like that whole world is out to get you. Specifically, to get you happier. Too bad the world doesn’t seem to know what it’s doing.
Happiness is the romantic’s holy grail, the supreme emotion, the shining star that brings us warmth as we stumble through life. We don’t just want to feel happy, we want to be happy — not in the moment, but in general, to allow happiness to be the defining feature of our existence.
This isn’t new. The pursuit of happiness has been at the center of philosophical debate since the beginning of philosophy — and at the center of human behavior since the dawn of humanity.
What is at least somewhat new is that happiness is now both an essential commodity and the lodestar of our decision-making process. We know it’s important, we try to seek it, we want more of it in our lives, everyone is trying to sell it to us — but at the same time, we don’t really know what it is.
Happiness and the “gospel of me”
It may just be me and the circles I’ve gotten myself into, but I have the feeling that nowadays every other conversation is about happiness. Are you happy at your job? Are you happy with your life? Are you happy in your relationship? Are you happier now that you’re not in a relationship? Honestly, I never quite…
