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Happiness is a great feeling. It’s uplifting, empowering, energizing…the list could go on and on and on. All things being equal we would all rather feel happy than just about any other feeling. The desire to feel happy is at the heart of virtually every goal we set for ourselves. Even those aimed at avoiding pain still point towards the potential for feeling happy. The trouble is we tend to depict happiness as a state of being, a fixed one at that, and as an absolute. It’s none of those things.
Feelings Are Reactions
All of our emotions are internal responses to stimuli from our environment. They are not a status we obtain or a method we apply, they are reflexive reactions. We cannot simply will ourselves to feel them at random, nor can we simply will ourselves not to. The stimulus triggers the response.
We can’t control or eliminate the responses but we can have power over the triggers.
Our attitudes and approaches can greatly influence our experiences, shaping them to favor certain responses over others. A positive attitude does not make us automatically happier but it does focus our attentions and energies on finding…