There's more to life than being happy | Emily Esfahani Smith
Our culture is obsessed with happiness, but what if there's a more fulfilling path? Happiness comes and goes, says writer Emily Esfahani Smith, but having meaning in life -- serving something...
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I used to thinkthe whole purpose of life was pursuing happiness.Everyone said the path to happiness was success,so I searched for that ideal job,that perfect boyfriend, that beautiful apartment.But instead of ever feeling fulfilled,I felt anxious and adrift.And I wasn't alone; my friends -- they struggled with this, too.Eventually, I decided to go to graduate school for positive psychologyto learn what truly makes people happy.But what I discovered there changed my life.The data showed that chasing happiness can make people unhappy.And what really struck me was this:the suicide rate has been rising around the world,and it recently reached a 30-year high in America.Even though life is getting objectively betterby nearly every conceivable standard,more people fe...
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I used to thinkthe whole purpose of life was pursuing happiness.Everyone said the path to happiness was success,so I searched for that ideal job,that perfect boyfriend, that beautiful apartment.But instead of ever feeling fulfilled,I felt anxious and adrift.And I wasn't alone; my friends -- they struggled with this, too.Eventually, I decided to go to graduate school for positive psychologyto learn what truly makes people happy.But what I discovered there changed my life.The data showed that chasing happiness can make people unhappy.And what really struck me was this:the suicide rate has been rising around the world,and it recently reached a 30-year high in America.Even though life is getting objectively betterby nearly every conceivable standard,more people fe...
