MOTIVATION
DON'T WORRY! You don't have to BE HAPPY all the time
WHEN THE RELENTLESS PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS BECOMES TOXIC POSITIVITY – HAVING THE REVERSE EFFECT AND MAKING YOU FEEL WORSE
By LEE-ANNE CARTER Chasing happiness. Sounds like a plan, right? Who doesn’t want to be happy - isn’t that what we all strive for? I’ve written stories on how to manifest positive change, that is how much faith I have in positive energy. And therein lies part of the problem: we are all (myself included) so vested in becoming happy that we can lose sight of everything else. Today, much is made of Happynomics, and the need for positivity in all aspects of life, said to be achieved through life-changing affirmations, gratitude lists, vision boards, mindfulness etc., all of which I believe in - to a point. You will find happiness front and centre of nearly every agenda these days. In India they even teach happiness classes to primary school-age children. 36 | THRIVE #3
Annually, we receive a list of the Happiest Countries in the World from the World Happiness Report survey - an arm of the United Nations - which looks at the state of global happiness in 156 countries, incorporating six measurement factors. The report is very serious – remember, depression and other mental health issues cost governments billions on a global scale. For those wondering, in 2020 the happiest country in the world is Finland, for the third year in a row, followed by Denmark, Switzerland, Iceland, and Norway. Anyone else see the correlation? March 20, 2021, has been assigned International Day of Happiness. Newspapers have (s)ad blockers. The lists go on.
