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If You’re Not Going to Be Happy Now, When Will You Be?
Exploring the psychology of happiness.
“If we do not have peace and joy right now, when will we have peace and joy — tomorrow, or after tomorrow? What is preventing us from being happy right now?” -Thich Nhat Hanh
Indeed, happiness, despite being a primary human motive, is a heavily misunderstood concept.
For example, most people mistakenly believe that happiness is on the other side of success — that they first must have or do something before they can finally be happy.
However, this is backwards. In his book, The Happiness Advantage, Shawn Achor explains that it’s actually happy people who become successful people, not the other way around.
It makes sense; you attract into your life what you are. If you think you’ll be happy when you’re “more successful,” then you’ll be happy then. Or never, because the goalpost of success always moves. Says Shawn Achor,
“If happiness is on the opposite side of success, your brain never gets there. We’ve pushed happiness over the cognitive horizon as a society.”
On the contrary, you can choose to be happy in the moment, right now. This article…
