02/22/2024

How the Pursuit of Happiness May be Making Us Miserable

The more we pursue happiness, the more elusive it can become

America’s infatuation with happiness goes back to our founding fathers and the U.S. Constitution, which promises “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” 

In that fairy tale, reality stepped in and yanked off the Band-Aid that was supposed to heal all our hurts and problems. If we’re not happy, does that make us losers? Maybe for some, but most of us feel battered by our culture’s continued obsession with our inalienable right to be happy. 

Has our obsession with being happy produced the opposite — unhappiness? While that sounds logical, experts quickly point out that happiness and unhappiness are not opposites. Instead, research conducted by psychological scientist Ed Deiner found that the two emotions operate independently and are activated in different regions of the brain. When we rid ourselves of some unhappiness in our lives, it does not mean we will become happier.

Please select this link to read the complete article from SmartBrief.