Being Happy is the New Craze!
From "feel good" playlists on Spotify, to journaling posts on Social Media, to Humans of Bombay's inspirational posts on Facebook, to stories of real-life heroes on Instagram, to my new "How to think Positively" book, it seems like the world is saturated with ideas on how to be happy? The importance of being happy? And How are others happy?
Is there pressure on people to be happy even when they're not because of this bombardment of happiness posts and stories? It is turning worse to pretend that we are happy.
So I happen to see this theatre piece that was inspiring, sensitive, heartbreaking, self-aware, and most importantly, honest. We all were crying. Not just crying, I mean CRYING. So why were we crying?
The act was about cancer patients. It criticized the videos online that show cancer patients being brave, strong, resilient, and happy. The act made us admit that cancer is not like this all the time. There are times when you don't want to be brave. You want to let yourself feel low, broken, do not hold back, and cry it hard.
Doesn't this apply not just to this issue but to everything?
Are we forced to be happy? The importance of 'being happy' is being delivered to us in our daily WhatsApp msgs, FB posts, Insta stories, everyone around. It seems as if social media platforms have taken charge of feeding us the impact of happiness through their Public Happiness Campaigns and Wellbeing Agenda. I am not against this. It's good to be aware of the importance of being happy and finding your own happiness. It also makes me rethink the extent to which the world (through 'social media) around me shapes my desire to be happy. I wonder to what extent, the desire to be happy has shaped me too.
What does happiness mean to me?
When the syndrome for 'being happy' entered my brain, all I was concerned about was my A grades, in academics, extra-curricular, did my post-doctorate (as considered the best education in the family) just about everywhere. I was becoming hyper-aware of my 'desire' for happiness. Then I realized my body's response in the name of stress.
Having been in a stressful time, I came out with a thought process of being easy on myself. The definition of my happiness can be different than anyone else's. I need not necessarily be happy but to be the best and happiest version of myself. And this thought process has persisted since then.
I recognized that 'stressed' was not who I wanted to be—complaining, being jealous, procrastinating. And do not want to be like that. But I was becoming one.
Over few years (sounding I am old and wise, I am neither old nor wise), I discovered that I absolutely love loving others, and this has significantly shaped how I have grown up (though I am not yet fully grown). Anything that I can do without an intention to seek attention makes me feel happy too.
There's nothing profound about it. It's just little things like being friendly and high on energy. Random exchange of smiles with strangers. List goes on .... None of the things I do daily are great gestures. I just have to be my own true self, and being self gives me much more happiness than constantly putting an attempt to "stand out "gives.
Yes, I am happy, but at the same time, I am aware that I have low times as well, when my self-esteem, and I am often somewhat pessimistic too. I guess my positive and happy face can sometimes be mistaken for me having a positive and optimistic outlook on my own life.
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