20 Jan Happiness is…expecting the unexpected
Yesterday I was involved in making a decision, along with a couple of colleagues, that we knew was going to have a huge impact on the lives of several people (positive and negative).
It was an extremely difficult decision, with many pros and cons either way, and to be perfectly frank we changed our minds several…no MANY times.
In the end, however, we made what we thought was the best decision we could make, with the information we had available to us at the time. And that decision surprise us, and those affectted, and pretty much all of the observers upon whose lives this decision was also going to indirectly impact.
Why am I writing about this?
Because the fall out of our decision included tears and sadness, relief and joy, happiness and … well, pretty much every emotion you could possibly imagine.
And all these emotinos were totally normal and in their own way, appropriate.
And so, to come back to my previous question – why am I writing about this today? This sort of thing happens each and every day. The unexpected happens; surprises happen; life's unpredictable and in some ways that's what makes life great!
So what does this have to do with happiness?
Well, if we can revel in the unexpected, prepare as much as we can for the unexpected, try not to have unrealistic or unhelpful expectations…then we're less likely to experience some of the more extreme and more intense forms of negative emotions. We'll still have them, but they're less likely to last as long and we're more likely to tend towards the more positive emotions like…happiness.
So prepare for what might and for what might not happen…and in some ways you'll then be preparing for happiness!
What do you think? Does this resonate with you? Let us know your thoughts HERE on The Happiness Institute's Facebook Page