We don’t develop courage by being happy every day. We develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity.
– Barbara de Angelis –
I am glad to see this “pushback “around happiness. As with many good ideas that come into public conversation for good reason this focus on happiness is wonderful and questionable.
With the seeming acceptance of workaholism as a way of life it’s a good thing that being happy is given its due. Isn’t it great that the importance of building happiness into one’s life is gaining prominence? Dig a little deeper and is “being happy” the goal we are looking for? Or is it finding meaning? Accepting that difficult times and adversity are part of our human existence means that when the hard times come we don’t have instinctively begin our escape rituals.
We can pause, accept reality and look at our options. We don’t need to be happy about it. But we might be present, in touch with our core. And we might work on developing our courage. What a good habit this would be!