More To That

Happiness Is a Serious Matter

Positive emotions are an unreliable indicator of real joy

Next time you see your parents, ask them what they want most in life.

Okay, shit. Maybe ask them for the next best thing.

Chances are they’ll say some variation of that. The thing they want most is for you to be happy.

It’s as honest of a response you’ll get, and one you don’t have to question much. After all, you want to be happy as well, so it’s nice to be in agreement on the one thing you care about so much in life.

But, like all shared goals, it raises some interesting questions: How will your parents know whether or not you’re headed in the right direction? How will they know if you really are happy?

Is it enough to just tell them that you are?

Or do you have to put a big smile on your face every time you see them?

Or do you just go about your daily life, and hope that they pick up on your vibe?

There’s no straightforward way of getting the message across. Whether you explicitly tell them you are happy or make it implicit in your actions, it’s hard for them to know if your life is imbued with the happiness they want you to have.

This is because everyone’s definition of happiness is different. The things that make you happy can be nonsensical to another. For a state of mind as universally desirable as happiness, we are woefully unequipped to pinpoint what it even is.