Page 19 - The Truth Landscape Format 2020 with next section introductions-compressed

Even with a natural instinct and our best efforts, it seems all too easy to create emotional chaos and unhappiness instead. How does this pursuit of happiness
get so distorted and take us in the wrong direction at times?

While it is easy to distinguish between the physical sensations of pleasure and pain, emotions are not always so readily identified. We often have a layer of
beliefs in the mind that tend to complicate our sense of enjoyment and pursuit of happiness.

The pursuit of happiness, or feeling emotionally good about the choice, is the principle motivator that is met with different means. Each person has different
assumptions and beliefs to get to that emotion. For these people it isn’t the choice of a nice car or clothes that makes them happy. They feel better because
they have satisfied the beliefs in the mind. If they can meet the basis in their mind they will reward themselves with pleasurable emotions, at least in the
short term. Later, their beliefs may change and then they have to go looking again.

A large part of feeling good in the mind is about avoiding what we believe feels painful, or potentially painful. This includes using compensating
strategies like buying a large car to keep emotionally painful fears and beliefs at a distance. Compensating strategies don’t eliminate fear based
beliefs, but people rely on them a lot to keep their fears managed.

Where do most people go to satisfy their pursuit of happiness?

They try to satisfy the question in their mind that asks them what they have to do in order to feel good. That might also mean doing things to compensate
for fears and beliefs of something painful happening. The end goal is happiness and all the beliefs, fears, assumptions, and perceptions in the mind dictate
the path. You can find these beliefs hiding behind thoughts or comments like, “Ill be happy when…” or, “I would feel much better if..”

In the pursuit of physical enjoyment we get direct feedback. With emotional enjoyment we often have a barrier of beliefs and assumptions that filter our
efforts.

Is there a problem in seeking happiness according to assumptions and beliefs? Not really, unless you have followed the criteria in the mind and your pursuit
led to unhappiness. Is it possible that what our mind assumes will make us happy isn’t 100% accurate? Disillusioned career choices, broken hearted
relationships, and mid-life crisis indicate that our assumptions about happiness often miss the mark. Most of what we have embedded in our mind about
what makes us happy and unhappy comes from other people or marketing agencies and doesn’t address our individual inspirations.

There are other problems with the approach of chasing the mental assumptions of what will make us happy. What happens when our mind tells us what
we have to do to be happy but we haven’t met the mental criteria yet? Suppose we believe we will be so much happier if we lose 15 lbs.

Our mind can set up the thought to be less happy with our body because we haven’t met the requirements for being happy yet. When we let our belief
system determine the criteria for being happy, we also unconsciously define more reasons to be unhappy. Page19