« Do or do not | Home | Your life’s a journey! »
Happiness - do we really want it or are we just full of bull?
By Lee Ann | January 19, 2009
I call this the happiness paradox because it’s my blog and I can.
We want to be happy and yet if we’re too happy and content there’s the danger that it will be BORING!
WTF?
Well, here’s my baseball analogy. On October 27, 2004 in the wee hours of the morning I was jumping up and down with my son yelling and screaming because the Boston Red Sox reversed the 86 year old Curse of the Bambino and won the World Series. Hell, they didn’t just win it, they swept the Cardinals, actually, not only did they sweep the Cards, but the Cards never even had the lead in one of the 4 games. And that was the problem.
I hate to admit that I was a bit bored because the team played so well. But there it is. The Happiness Paradox. We want to be happy and we want things to go well, but if success comes too easily. Well, I believe that it has less meaning. As much as we want success, we crave the drama, the uncertainty, the suspense. It’s that adrenaline rush from tension to relief that we crave. Or do we?
Hmmm.
This has been a lifelong struggle for me that I am finally getting under control. I am learning to be happy in the moment. It’s not easy and to be honest there aren’t those dramatic high/low swings - and I was afraid that I would miss them. And, I do, from time to time.
So, I slip back into experiencing something that will give me that uncertainty, that thrill of the chase. But, the outcome isn’t always good and I really don’t enjoy it when things don’t go the way I had hoped.
So, I’m learning to be happy with the way things are right now, at this very moment. Right now, I’m working on a big project. I’m writing a book and for months I have been stressing out about the outcome. How will I publish it? Who will read it? Will people like it? How am I going to get it done? And for months I haven’t been enjoying the process - and it showed in the way I wrote.
So, now, I’m just happy with what I’m writing in the moment. I’m not thinking about whether or not the book will be a best seller and get me on Oprah -although that would be great.
I’m just thinking how much fun it is to write. To see the words and their meaning take shape on the page. To be happy with the process and the joy of the process - regardless of the outcome. And, for the first time in a long time, I’m enjoying writing again.
So, while I still crave that discomfort with my comfort - I’m learning to save that craving and feed it with a good film. There’s my build-up of tension and release and if there’s popcorn involved even better, hold the fake butter- thank you very much.
Now, I can’t wait for baseball season… Batterrrrr up!!
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Topics: beliefs |