According to the "World Happiness Survey 2024", the United States of America is no longer one of the 20 happiest countries in the world. This is pretty grim news, but not necessarily surprising.
But according to experts, there is something misunderstood about happiness: the fact that happiness is seen as the ultimate goal. In reality, we can cultivate happiness every day before our goals are fulfilled. But why do we see happiness as the ultimate goal?
"Our society has turned achieving happiness into a way to measure success," says therapist Aurisha Smolarski. During everyday life, people order after jobs, commitments, family and children and "bill" happiness only during the weekend when they can feel freer and have more time for themselves.
Visualizing true happiness as something to come, rather than something measurable is actually what gives people hope. In many ways, it is easier to live in the future because if you are not happy in the present moment. So all you have to do is think about how your life will be better when you lose weight, earn more money, have a partner, own a house, etc.
Why it is useless to think of happiness as an end goal
For starters, this kind of thinking makes us more prone to feeling unhappy (and when happiness is so there!). Therapists say that many people think they will be happy after fulfilling their responsibilities in life, at a time when this approach "robs" the joys of the moment and leads to an abundance of negative emotions.
"We end up being more anxious, depressed and less satisfied in our lives," says therapist Hayli Evans. "Chronic postponement of gratification increases our impulse to numb ourselves when we feel overwhelmed or too stressed to function."
This kind of mindset can prevent us from having full and acceptable relationships in every aspect of life.
So this mindset prevents you from living life in every dimension of it. If you want to experience more happiness, then you must live in the present and as little as possible in the future.
Knowing that happiness is not a goal and being grateful for the smallest moments naturally increases feelings of contentment and joy.
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Source: Huff Post
