Happiness is like an emotional pendulum
Our emotions are continuously moving, shifting and swinging. And the same for our happiness levels. As Einstein said: ‘The only constant in life is change’.
If you compare your emotional movements with a pendulum, then you will understand that the higher it swings into happiness, the higher it swings into the opposite of sadness or unhappiness.
Does that mean you should aim to have your pendulum as still as possible?
What colours life are emotions and people with a rich emotional world will know both sides. It is impossible to experience deep happiness without having been in the dark place of huge unhappiness. Compare it to the sun: the brighter the sunshine, the darker the shade it creates.
Sometimes it seems appropriate to withdraw from feelings and emotions, as they can be too painful. Dulling the pain by not addressing issues, protecting yourself from situations that might cause negative feelings or being driven by fear for disappointment or betrayal is understandable. Especially after a traumatic event or loss, your system needs to retreat to process and get back on track. That is a healthy response.
But ultimately, holding yourself back from emotional experiences will get in the way of reaching your full potential and the happiness you deserve.
Happiness is an internal job. And it involves all your internal energies and processes: the positive and easy ones and the negative and challenging ones. Embracing every experience without the judgement of good or bad, but with an attitude of ‘there is a richness in every emotion’.
Positive emotions which are connected with happiness are: love, joy, hope, gratitude, open mindedness, trust, inspiration, amusement, pride and serenity. The opposites are: hate, sadness, desperation, unappreciative, opiniated, low in confidence, bored, critical, arrogant and restless.
How is your pendulum of emotions swinging?
The organization Conscioused ‘A university for life skills’ has published an interesting article on happiness, which addresses similar ideas from another perspective.
If happiness seems unobtainable for you, maybe you would benefit from a free consultation with Mariette. It is easy to book, just click here.
