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Daily writing prompt

What’s a common misconception people have about happiness?

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What do I mean when I say “happiness is not just a feeling”?

Well, for me, happiness is knowing that where you are right now is where you need to be to end up where you want to be.

There were times in my past where I thought I was happy, but really, I was only happy with what other people wanted to see me as. Then I realised that happiness isn’t the feeling of being loved, and it’s not the feeling of being happy either. It’s the understanding of what I want to be, and actually living that, without having to do what people expect, without having to make myself smaller so others can accept me. It’s the ability to do what you love, or do what you need to do, but in the way you want to do it.

This question can go a million different ways. Where I am right now in life is not necessarily where I want to be, but I have everything I need.

I have a wife who stands by me, even though I can’t give her the life I promised her yet, but she’s with me, knowing I’m doing everything I can to build towards it. I have a best friend who gave me the opportunity to build something great with him, even though I started with very little experience, and he’s put in so much effort teaching me and working through all my fuckups. And I have a family who might not always agree with what I’m doing, but who support me no matter what.

When I look at these things, even though, if I listed out all the problems I have right now, they could easily make these good things look like nothing, this right here is still why I am happy, and why I am grateful.

So, if you ask me what the biggest misconception about happiness is, it’s this: people think happiness is a feeling. Something that shows up when life is good and disappears the moment it’s not. But it’s not a mood, and it’s not a high you chase. For me it’s a direction, knowing who I am, where I’m trying to go, and being grateful for the people walking that road with me while I get there.

I wasn’t unhappy back then because life was hard. I was unhappy because I was living a version of myself that was never really mine. The day I stopped performing happiness for everyone else was the day I actually started feeling it.

So no, happiness is not just a feeling. It’s choosing, every single day, to keep building the life you actually want, your way, with the people who actually matter. Everything else is just noise.