Happiness Entitlement

Why do we feel so entitled to happiness? Where did that come from? Think about it. Do you really think that you should feel happy all the time? We probably don’t consciously think that but the belief programing is playing in the back of our minds for sure. I know this because any time we feel anything other than happy, we think that it’s a problem and we need to fix it.

We also think that any time any of our kids are feeling anything other than happy, it is a problem and we need to fix it.

We don’t!

Feelings are feelings. They are just emotions that we experience in our bodies that come from thoughts we think in our heads. No big deal. Not a problem. We are designed to be able to handle any and all emotions. They don’t all feel good but why do we think we are supposed to feel good all the time? Where is the growth in that?

Life is supposed to be hard- that is the whole point! We are here for growth and growth is not easy. But suffering is optional. Suffering comes from resisting the discomfort of growth.

We rob our children of the richness that the fullness of the human experience can provide when we try to keep them happy all the time. It’s not realistic and it drives us crazy. There are hundreds of emotions that they can feel at any given time and when we try to control them back to a fragile state of happiness, we are in for an uphill battle that never ends. You know what I’m talking about. We all do it.

Think of the last time your kid was upset about something. Did you try to “fix” the situation so that he could feel better? I’m sure you did, that seems like a logical thing for a loving mother to do. But if you cut off his emotion before he’s finished feeling it, it gets stuffed in him emotional backpack and will need to be released later. That’s where break downs come from.

Let’s support ourselves and our kids through any and all feelings we need to have and recognize that they are just emotions, not emergencies!