Misconceptions About Happiness

The misconception about happiness is that people believe they need to put in more effort to be happy. However, the issue is not the lack of effort, but rather the misconceptions about what truly brings happiness. People have the intuition that certain external factors, such as getting the perfect job, a higher salary, or academic achievements, will make them happy. While these things may provide a temporary happiness boost, lasting happiness comes from something else. This leads to the phenomenon of 'happy if or happy when' people, who believe they will be happy in the future when certain conditions are met. However, this mindset is flawed, as studies show that even when people attain these desired outcomes, the happiness is not as long-lasting as expected. This bias, known as the arrival fallacy, leads to the misconception that happiness is dependent on external circumstances. In reality, true happiness requires identifying the right factors that genuinely bring joy and fulfillment.