01 Mar Finding happiness amidst the gloom
I recently stumbled upon this great quote which I love but which I couldn't, unfortunately, find a source…
“Don’t ever lose hope; when it gets darkest the stars come out”
I've previously heard and posted a similar quote, which I believe is attributable to Dolly Parton, that does something like…
Enjoy the storm because without the rain we'd have no rainbows!
What these have in common is an acknowledgement that life's full of ups and downs…and we can use the downs to learn how to enjoy the ups!
Positive psychology, or the science of happiness, has focused for some time now not just on positive emotions such as happiness (and joy and satisfaction and pride and contentment etc) but also on resilience and the ability to bounce back, or bounce forward. Increasingly, something known as "post traumatic growth" is being acknowledged and it's recognised, more and more, that although working through adversity is impressive, using adversity and challenges to actually grow and improve is even better.
Here at The Happiness Institute we've been saying for some time now that happiness is not just about enjoying the good times…it is; but it's just as much about working through and bouncing forward from the tough times.
So next time life knocks you down; acknowledge the pain and allow yourself to experience distress or suffering. But remember, that depending on what you do and how you respond you may well end up in an even better position at some stage in the future!