Have you heard about the happiest person in the world? Well, that’s what some media outlets called him when they found out he surpassed some other participants in a study in the happiness level. His name is Matthieu Ricard and he is a funny, kind, and compassionate monk.
In a TED talk he did, he talks about how some people responded to an essay he wrote with anger or resistance. They don’t want to be happy all the time, he said. They enjoy life’s ups and downs.
We Can Be Unhappy Sometimes – But Why Be Unhappy The Majority Of The Time?
We are human and we have emotions. But, if we could find a way to be happy most of the time, wouldn’t that be something we would want?
When I heard him say that some people were fighting the notion of being happy, I thought of my mother-in-law. She believes that life is supposed to be hard… very hard. So much so that she told her daughter that her abusive relationship is just a part of being married.
Is that really the mentality that you should have about life? How does that serve your life and do you any good?
When I go out, and people engage me in conversation, 99% of the time it is about negative stuff.
- This rain sucks!
- This line is so long!
- That guy is weird!
Everybody wants to focus on the negative aspects of life, and it almost seems like the ‘right’ thing to do. Doesn’t it?
- If you go to work, people complain.
- If you go to your family’s house for dinner, they complain.
- Friends complain.
- TV actors complain.
- Reality TV people complain.
Complaining is a way of life. And it makes people miserable.
But I believe I have the right to be happy.
I don’t have to complain just because someone else is. Sure, complaining may make me fit in with them for a few seconds, but it will affect me in a negative way, and I don’t want that!
You Have A Right To Be Happy
Just because everyone around you is miserable, doesn’t mean you have to be miserable. You have the right to seek out people, hobbies, habits, and circumstances that make you happy. You have the right to pursue happiness. You don’t need to fit in with others as badly as you need to feel good about yourself and your life.
The best thing to do is to find other like-minded people who believe that they deserve to be happy too. When you find them, life gets much more fun and you start to really believe the affirmation – I have a right to be happy.
