A permanent state of happiness is impossible. This is one of the major cultural differences between America and the rest of the world.
Most other nations never had any kind of expectation that all of their needs would be met and that they would ever have the luxury of just living in a state of perpetual happiness. Most socieities in world history understood that the main goal was survival with the least amount of suffering possible.
It is only because we EXPECT to be happy, all the time, that there is such a mental health crisis in America. It isn't that we're a broken society or culture. It is that we have ingrained into ourselves this undeserved sense of entitlement to constantly feel fulfilled and stay happy all the time, and when we aren't, we feel like we are being robbed of something that we think someone else has.
NO ONE HAS IT.
It doesn't matter what part of the world you come from, how much you are loved or how much money you have. Happiness is a subjective concept, completely beholden to our own personal sense of expectation. It is a unique part of American culture to DEMAND happiness from life, or to feel entitled to it. It's quite literally part of our Constitution. It's ingrained into our cultural identity, and I think it is a double-edged sword. It might motivate some of us to greater glory and higher heights, but for most of us peasants, it only makes us feel worse when we aren't the rockstars and idols and millionaries that the media we grew up with promised us that we deserve to be.
In most other parts of the world, people don't expect to always be happy. They EXPECT life to suck, so they are more adaptable to it, better able to respond to it, and when life actually stops beating their ass, they are able to fully appreciate it without any sense of entitlement to get in the way.
I am learning. I am trying to unlearn. I am trying to set realistic expectations of myself and develop a better understanding of the world around me. I want to live more fully in each moment that I have, with neither fear nor selfish desire.
I do not want to base my present state of being on an unfulfilled expectation that I DESERVE to be happy just because I am alive. I want true happiness to come from accomplishment. From achievement. From precious moments. From BEING in the moment to be able to appreciate those fleeting opportunities when they happen.
I want to be happy. I do not feel that I am just entitled to be happy because I am here. I want that happiness to mean something, and not be diluted or tainted by my own selfishness.
I hope that I can find happiness tomorrow, and I hope the same for all of you.
Most other nations never had any kind of expectation that all of their needs would be met and that they would ever have the luxury of just living in a state of perpetual happiness. Most socieities in world history understood that the main goal was survival with the least amount of suffering possible.
It is only because we EXPECT to be happy, all the time, that there is such a mental health crisis in America. It isn't that we're a broken society or culture. It is that we have ingrained into ourselves this undeserved sense of entitlement to constantly feel fulfilled and stay happy all the time, and when we aren't, we feel like we are being robbed of something that we think someone else has.
NO ONE HAS IT.
It doesn't matter what part of the world you come from, how much you are loved or how much money you have. Happiness is a subjective concept, completely beholden to our own personal sense of expectation. It is a unique part of American culture to DEMAND happiness from life, or to feel entitled to it. It's quite literally part of our Constitution. It's ingrained into our cultural identity, and I think it is a double-edged sword. It might motivate some of us to greater glory and higher heights, but for most of us peasants, it only makes us feel worse when we aren't the rockstars and idols and millionaries that the media we grew up with promised us that we deserve to be.
In most other parts of the world, people don't expect to always be happy. They EXPECT life to suck, so they are more adaptable to it, better able to respond to it, and when life actually stops beating their ass, they are able to fully appreciate it without any sense of entitlement to get in the way.
I am learning. I am trying to unlearn. I am trying to set realistic expectations of myself and develop a better understanding of the world around me. I want to live more fully in each moment that I have, with neither fear nor selfish desire.
I do not want to base my present state of being on an unfulfilled expectation that I DESERVE to be happy just because I am alive. I want true happiness to come from accomplishment. From achievement. From precious moments. From BEING in the moment to be able to appreciate those fleeting opportunities when they happen.
I want to be happy. I do not feel that I am just entitled to be happy because I am here. I want that happiness to mean something, and not be diluted or tainted by my own selfishness.
I hope that I can find happiness tomorrow, and I hope the same for all of you.