{"id":881,"date":"2008-12-16T10:00:15","date_gmt":"2008-12-16T17:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2008\/12\/16\/its-okay-to-be-unhappy\/"},"modified":"2018-04-04T02:57:43","modified_gmt":"2018-04-04T09:57:43","slug":"its-okay-to-be-unhappy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2008\/12\/16\/its-okay-to-be-unhappy\/","title":{"rendered":"It’s Okay to be Unhappy"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the most destructive myths is believing you need to be happy all of the time. Abraham Lincoln fought depression for most of his life. Mark Twain suffered from bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression. Happiness is important. But it\u2019s not a prerequisite for success.<\/p>\n

I think this is especially important to remember around the holiday season. With so many commercials filled with smiling faces of flawless people living perfect lives, it\u2019s no wonder so many people get depressed. When unhappiness is culturally viewed as a source of failure, it causes a negative cycle where people are unhappy because of their depression.<\/p>\n

Other People Have More Fun Than You<\/h2>\n

In most college surveys, most students grossly overestimate the amount that their peers drink alcohol and have sex. Happiness is a form of social status in Western culture. Many people put on smiling faces to cover up mild discontent. If you\u2019re basing your expectations for life on the faces of other people, then you\u2019re going to come up short.<\/p>\n

Stop basing your expectations off the people sitting around you. Because chances are, they\u2019re basing their expectations off of you.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t Drive in Circles<\/h2>\n

Your emotions are the dashboard gauges in life. They let you know if you\u2019re running out of gas or if you\u2019re driving too fast or slow. But, you got in the car with a purpose to drive somewhere. The gauges can give you corrective feedback, but they can\u2019t be your reason to start the car.<\/p>\n

Negative feedback is just an internal warning that you need to make an adjustment. It\u2019s not a grander sign of failure, it\u2019s just a speedometer that\u2019s running a bit high, or a fuel gauge showing you\u2019re almost empty. Unhappiness is a push for you to recognize a truth about your situation and make a change to fix it. The only people who never experience unhappiness are the people who’ve decided not to drive.<\/p>\n

Respect Your State<\/h2>\n

I\u2019m having a happy December this year. I also know people that aren\u2019t, and in the past, I\u2019ve definitely been one of them. Whatever case you might be, respect your state<\/a>. Don\u2019t ignore it or avoid it, but realize it\u2019s also not uncommon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the most destructive myths is believing you need to be happy all of the time. Abraham Lincoln fought depression for most of his life. Mark Twain suffered from bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression. Happiness is important. But it\u2019s not a prerequisite for success. 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