Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Even Happier - Week 7

I'm behind. I am going to try to play catch-up.

This week's chapter is called "Learning from Painful Experiences."

This has to be one of my favorite chapters. In the words of Viktor Frankl, "What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for some goal worthy of him. What he needs is not the discharge of tension at any cos, but the call of a potential meaning waiting to be fulfilled by him."

I have had my share of painful experiences. I still have an amazing life and some people have been through much worse. It is unrealistic for any person to be happy all the time. I think this was my biggest struggle. I am not happy all the time nor should anyone be.

The book says, "We should remember that going through difficult times can augment our capacity for pleasure: it keeps us from taking pleasure for granted, reminds us to be grateful for all the large and small pleasures in our lives."

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