Can You Really Choose Happiness? (Yes, Sort Of, But Only After A Lot Of Work)

An idea that floats around many spiritual circles is that happiness is a choice you can make. That, in any moment, you can choose to be happy, and thus, any unhappiness is entirely your responsibility. I think most sensible people can immediately see the absurdity of this maxim of toxic positivity, but like many clichés, there is some truth to it. The fact is, it is possible to “choose happiness,” but it’s not as easy as the glib tone of the trite sentiment makes it sound. For most of us, especially those of us with pronounced mental health issues, it takes a lot of work to get there.

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