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Mind Cafe

Relaxed, inspiring essays about happiness.

The Happiness Trap: Why chasing joy never ends well

Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life

4 min readAug 26, 2025

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If I get that job, I’ll finally be happy.

If I buy this car, my life will be better.

If I just move to that city, I’ll feel connected.

If I’m in the “Perfect” relationship, I’ll be complete.

Every thought feels true for a brief moment. We often convince our minds that happiness is just next door or a mile away.

Sometimes when you reach your goal, you feel a rush in your body and a sense of joy.

But then. Boom! It fades.

The happiness slips from your fingers. Your job becomes a daily monotonous routine.

Your car becomes another car, the city you desired becomes a background, and even the “perfect” relationship calms and settles into routine.

We keep running behind the happiness wagon, hoping that the next achievement, the next car, the next purchase, and the next chapter will bring long-lasting happiness.

But every time it slips further away. Every win resets the race. It is like chasing our shadow, which runs ahead of us.

It feels like a cycle, right? We all have felt this cycle.

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Mind Cafe
Mind Cafe

Published in Mind Cafe

Relaxed, inspiring essays about happiness.

Rabinder Kumar
Rabinder Kumar

Written by Rabinder Kumar

Finance | Investing | History | Psychology| Physiotherapist | MedTech MSc 📖 Exploring markets, minds & history. . For gigs: rabinderkumarr@gmail.com

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