We all want to be happy, right? It’s that universal goal we all chase, from reading self-help books to trying every new happiness hack, striving for that perfect life. But here’s a truth no one really talks about: the harder we try, the more we might be sabotaging our own happiness.
I learned this the hard way. A few years ago, despite checking all the boxes of a “successful” life—dream job, a relationship that seemed straight out of a rom-com, a bustling social calendar—I felt something was missing. I couldn’t pinpoint it, but there was a constant, gnawing feeling of dissatisfaction. Why wasn’t I happy? I had the life I thought would lead me to joy, yet I woke up every day feeling like something was off. And the more I tried to “fix” it, the more it eluded me.
