{"id":1309,"date":"2017-11-07T06:01:49","date_gmt":"2017-11-07T06:01:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.destinymiracle.com\/blog\/?p=1309"},"modified":"2018-06-14T01:21:04","modified_gmt":"2018-06-14T01:21:04","slug":"is-happiness-overrated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/destinymiracle.com\/blog\/is-happiness-overrated","title":{"rendered":"Is Happiness Overrated?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Author of <strong><em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.destinymiracle.com\/go\/video2\">Manifestation Miracle<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><em><strong>Do you want to unlock your inner power to <strong>manifest the life<\/strong> you&#8217;ve been dreaming of? Don&#8217;t forget to check out the\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><strong><em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.destinymiracle.com\/go\/video2\"><em>Manifestation Miracle<\/em><\/a>\u00a0program&#8230;<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n<h2>Is Happiness Overrated?<\/h2>\n<p>Like everyone else, I&#8217;ve had my share of ups and downs. Life takes you on an emotional journey as you go through those character-building moments.<\/p>\n<p>For every step in my <strong>evolution<\/strong>, I&#8217;ve experienced a series of incredible highs and humbling lows. Sometimes I&#8217;ll feel like I&#8217;m on top of the world, sometimes I&#8217;ll be down in the dumps.<\/p>\n<p>But that&#8217;s all part of the game. I&#8217;ve accepted that<strong> I can&#8217;t feel the same always<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>As much as I&#8217;d like to be happy all the time, that&#8217;s not realistic. Or <em>healthy<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;d rather go through a myriad of emotions if it means growing as a person. A little drama makes things more interesting, don&#8217;t you think?<\/p>\n<p>Besides, that&#8217;s where the growth is. I know that I wouldn&#8217;t be the person I am today if it weren\u2019t for those \u2018trial by fire\u2019 moments.<\/p>\n<p>I certainly didn&#8217;t feel awesome during those rough patches, but that <strong>doesn\u2019t<\/strong> mean I\u2019m not grateful for them.<\/p>\n<p>I was mulling on the concept of the role of happiness in the human condition when I came upon a TED talk by Emily Esfahani Smith.<\/p>\n<p>Entitled <em><strong>\u201cThere&#8217;s more to life than being happy\u201d<\/strong><\/em>, she dissected the idea of what it means to be happy \u2013 and why it\u2019s making people <strong>miserable<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Watch it here:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/y9Trdafp83U?showinfo=0&amp;iv_load_policy=3&amp;rel=0\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>In her quest to find out what truly made people happy, she discovered an <strong>ironic truth<\/strong>. Emily says the data reveals that those who pursued happiness were more likely to go through depression.<\/p>\n<p>She pointed out that suicide rates are going up in the United States (higher than they\u2019ve been in the last three decades) despite the rising standards of living.<\/p>\n<p>Clearly, there\u2019s something wrong with this picture. According to Emily, there\u2019s an emptiness \u201cgnawing away\u201d at people.<\/p>\n<p>Then she dropped this revelation on the audience:<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">\u201cAccording to the research, what predicts this despair is NOT a lack of happiness. It\u2019s a lack of something else \u2013 a lack of having MEANING in life.\u201d<\/h3>\n<p>So it got me thinking. I wondered why so many people desperately chase those fleeting moments of happiness in their lives.<\/p>\n<p>Now, there&#8217;s nothing wrong with wanting a baseline level of stability. Needlessly defining your life with pain and suffering isn&#8217;t exactly an ideal way to live.<\/p>\n<p>But some folks treat that specific emotional state as the end-all, be-all of their existence\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2026and <strong>GIVE UP<\/strong> a deeper sense of <em>meaning<\/em> in their life in the process.<\/p>\n<p>And what like Emily says, this is where the gaping emptiness comes from.<\/p>\n<p>Like her, I\u2019m of the opinion that chasing perpetual happiness is the path to <strong>misery<\/strong>. If I were a betting woman, I wouldn&#8217;t put my chips on whether I felt great or not at a <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">given moment<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>On that note, let me ask you something:<\/p>\n<p>If you had the power to choose, would you rather have a so-so life &#8211; but devoid of any sadness and conflict&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;or would you prefer an interesting, more meaningful life filled with extreme ups and downs?<\/p>\n<p>Chances are you&#8217;re <strong>already<\/strong> living the latter. And I&#8217;m guessing you&#8217;d rather wear those battle scars <em>proudly<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>They&#8217;re proof that you&#8217;ve come out <strong>stronger and wiser<\/strong> from the lessons you&#8217;ve learned along the way.<\/p>\n<p>More importantly, it\u2019s proof that you\u2019re living a life of <strong>PURPOSE<\/strong>. According to Emily, this is one of the four pillars of meaning in life.<\/p>\n<p>With a sense of purpose, you have something to <strong>LIVE<\/strong> for. And that beats any <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">temporary<\/span> feelings that fluctuate over time.<\/p>\n<p>True happiness is <strong>NOT<\/strong> just about seeking <strong>PLEASURE<\/strong> or material comforts. That\u2019s only icing on the cake.<\/p>\n<p>Being genuinely happy is getting up in the morning to <strong>serve a higher purpose<\/strong>. Even if you go through hell every now and then, a deep-seated sense of meaning will keep you on your course.<\/p>\n<p>Look back at everything you\u2019ve gained and lost. Think of the learning experiences you\u2019ve had the <strong>privilege<\/strong> of going through.<\/p>\n<p>Those <strong>priceless<\/strong> nuggets of wisdom you\u2019ve picked up are reminders of the meaningful life you have. The value you\u2019ve put in this world came at a high price, but it was <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">worth it<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>You might lose your way and feel absolutely terrible every now and then. The next time you get into that funk, think about all the things you need to do, and the people you live for.<\/p>\n<p>This is the fuel to your fire, the spring in your step. Living up to the role that only <strong>YOU<\/strong> can fill is full of challenges.<\/p>\n<p>Yet, it\u2019s the process of solving those dilemmas \u2013 both big AND small \u2013 that give your life meaning. And it enriches the lives of those around you in a multitude of ways.<\/p>\n<p>Let this be your guiding star. Let meaning and purpose drive your life, then allow happiness as you can manage it.<\/p>\n<p>Walking this path isn\u2019t all sunshine and rainbows, but it\u2019s a fun ride you won\u2019t regret.<\/p>\n<p><strong>By the way, if you want to learn how to manifest wealth, success, love, and happiness the Universe has to offer&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Then make sure that you join my flagship &#8216;Manifestation Miracle&#8217; program if you haven&#8217;t already.<\/p>\n<p>Follow this link for the full details: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.destinymiracle.com\/index-written.php\">Manifestation Miracle<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Love and kind wishes,<\/p>\n<p>Heather Mathews<\/p>\n<h3><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.destinymiracle.com\/go\/video\">Learn how to FORCE the Universe to give you everything you&#8217;ve ever wanted\u2026and MORE!<\/a><\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.destinymiracle.com\/go\/video\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2436 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/destinymiracle.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/MM-Video-v2.jpg\" alt=\"Manifestation Miracle Video\" width=\"933\" height=\"420\" srcset=\"https:\/\/destinymiracle.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/MM-Video-v2.jpg 933w, https:\/\/destinymiracle.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/MM-Video-v2-300x135.jpg 300w, https:\/\/destinymiracle.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/MM-Video-v2-768x346.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 933px) 100vw, 933px\" \/><\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Author of Manifestation Miracle Do you want to unlock your inner power to manifest the life you&#8217;ve been dreaming of? Don&#8217;t forget to check out the\u00a0Manifestation Miracle\u00a0program&#8230; Is Happiness Overrated? Like everyone else, I&#8217;ve had my share of ups and downs. Life takes you on an emotional journey as you&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1312,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiration","category-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/destinymiracle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1309","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/destinymiracle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/destinymiracle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/destinymiracle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/destinymiracle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1309"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/destinymiracle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1309\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3010,"href":"https:\/\/destinymiracle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1309\/revisions\/3010"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/destinymiracle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/destinymiracle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/destinymiracle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/destinymiracle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}