Is Happiness also becoming a Rat Race?
It has happened more often than I like. I start getting passionate or agitated while talking about something and people interrupt with “Why are you angry?” Or “Why are you getting so agitated?” And at some point of time “What is the point of being so unhappy?”
That usually succeeds in thwarting me. And I am left wondering: What is wrong in being angry, agitated or unhappy when there is something worth being angry, agitated or unhappy about?
What can I say, I am guilty of talking about happiness repeatedly in my talks on entrepreneurship. The gist being you don’t do what the decision-tree provided by the society asks you to do. You do what makes you happy.
But I would like to believe that I wasn’t advocating this strange fetish with happiness which delegitimizes any emotions that are considered negative. This isn’t a pursuit of happiness through your choices and actions. This is advocating closing your eyes to anything that can cause distress — sometimes couched in a language that makes it seem more profound than that — but essentially that. This is delusional. And worse, there is a peer pressure to embrace this delusion.
Anger, agitation, unhappiness are perfectly legitimate emotions. If we didn’t feel them, we wouldn’t be human. And feeling them might be the only way to being humane. When the world is unjust, unfair, unequal, exploitative — and smug in all of these — I think we should feel angry. And then perhaps by speaking out against it, doing something big and small to counter it, we may be able to find our bit of happiness in it. It may never be perfect. It may never come. But being delusional is definitely not more legitimate than being angry or agitated or unhappy.
So, now, I want to put my foot down. Why am I angry? Because of what I was trying to tell you about as I got angry. What is the point of this unhappiness? That it is for a legitimate reason that I am not closing my eyes to. Happiness can go to hell if a delusion is the only way to achieve it. Be angry, dear world. Be angry, because you should be. Too much is wrong with you. And then perhaps you can try doing something about it.
I don’t give entrepreneurship related talks these days. But if I have to, I will update it. Yes — don’t pick up a career because of peer pressure or rat race. And don’t force yourself to be happy because of peer pressure or rat race, either.
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Note 1: I hope it is clear but in case not — this article is not about wallowing in self-pity or self-loathing or being paralyzed by a sense of victimhood.
Note 2: It is also not about a situation where you may have a clinical problem like depression. If that is likely to be the case, I strongly advise seeking professional help. There is nothing wrong with that.
Originally published at jayajha.wordpress.com on September 6, 2018.
