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Do You Have The Courage To Be Happy?
It takes work but the rewards are worth it
Happiness is an elusive topic.
Just trying to define that little 9-letter word has sparked many philosophical debates. In their book, “The Courage to be Happy,” authors Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga conclude that when we choose to be happy, we are willing to put in the work of happiness. The work required to truly and deeply love others, which in turn adds to our own happiness.
“Happiness is a feeling of contribution, and if one has a feeling of contribution, one can find happiness.” — Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga
Love is the key to finding that happiness but where you focus that love matters.
According to Kishimi and Koga,
“This is because you are (choosing) living with “me” as the subject. When you know love, and live with “us” as the subject, that (one’s way of living) will change. You will gain real feeling of an “us” that includes the entire human race, in which people are contributing to each other simply by living.”
As a people-pleaser, I am well acquainted with that feeling. Others mattered more than me. Yet, I know that I am truly happy when I can make another smile.
