Since starting my journey with Happiness Experiments, I have been on an emotional rollercoaster. Sometimes I want to high five myself. Sometimes I want to scream at myself. Sometimes I pat myself on the back. And frequently I ask, in my best Carrie from Homeland ugly cry…
I’m supposed to be the happiness scientist here, right? Doesn’t that mean I should pretty much have sunshine shooting out of my ass at all times? Well, no. And as it turns out, it’s not because I’m a failure! Hooray! In fact, I’m going to share with you why looking at my negative emotions has helped me make my GREATEST HAPPINESS DISCOVERY YET.
And here it is: We struggle to feel and maintain deep happiness because we fear or focus on the hurdles we must conquer first.
There is no elevator to happiness. For that kind of meaning, ya gotta take the stairs.
For every desire I have, there are “happstacles” (happiness obstacles) that we must first overcome. I hope that by identifying some of the most common happstacles, I can help you appreciate the journey even when it feels more agonizing than fun.
I wanted to explain it further, so I thought I’d bring you into my living room and let you listen while following along with the Desire/Happstacle Chart below!
Deep happiness often lies on the other side of your happstacles. So instead of feeling daunted in the face of discomfort, EMBRACE IT. Change your mindset. The happstacle you’ve happened upon is not a roadblock, it’s your yellow brick road. Follow it!
