Be Brave, Be Happy!

Last week, my pastor, Steven Furtick, gave a message on “the hard work of happiness”. He had been on summer vacation for a few weeks and this was his first Sunday back. I found this message particularly useful because I don’t really consider myself a naturally “happy” person. Pastor [Furtick] said he didn’t consider himself one either.

I thought it was funny that this topic came up because in the meditation app that I use, The Tapping Solution, one of the topics is about bringing more happiness into your life. Again, I don’t really consider myself a naturally happy person, so the thought of bringing more happiness into my life seemed foreign and uncomfortable to me. When these feelings came up, I wondered why I would feel this way. After all, isn’t happiness something that we should all want for our lives?

After thinking about it more and going through the meditation, I came to the conclusion that I was afraid of being happy on some level. When you’re “happy,” you’re vulnerable. You’re vulnerable to criticism, disappointment, and failure. If you’re angry or sad all the time, you’re already emotionally closed off. It’s almost like a guard to anything that may disappoint you or catch you off guard.

When I realized this, it began to make sense why I, and probably others, would be afraid of being “happy”. While I believe this to be true, I don’t think it’s a reason to not strive to be happy. It may feel uncomfortable at first, and it definitely takes courage, but if it can benefit others and help with our own mental state, I think it’s worth it.