Devotional #3: Happiness
Happiness is a huge, huge topic, so I should probably clarify here that what I'm really talking is happiness when it comes to socialization.
Disclaimer: I honestly don't know for sure if I'm an introvert or not. I'm hard to persuade to go out places (unless it's a friend whom I rarely see and actually really want to see) and when I do come out, I tend to be really talkative. I enjoy talking with people, and think venting to a close friend helps me feel better... but I also find myself longing for a good book after too long talking to someone. Either way, whether or not you're introverted or extroverted, I think this advice can apply to everyone.
Be very careful who you rest the weight of your happiness on, and how much.
It's tempting to let all of your happiness fall on one person. It's easy to fall into the orbit of a popular, perfect-looking friend. It's easy to hand of your life for them to take care of; times spent hanging out, birthday parties, texts, become the center of your world. Their friends are your friends. After all, they're so perfect they can easily make sure you're happy, right?
This decision (for me at least) has never been a concious one. I never have thought, "I will rely on the help of this person to make me happy". I've never even realized how much happiness they gave me until something- a fight, drama, whatever- occurred to take it away from me, and I scrambled, deeply hurt at the wound they had inflicted.
People cannot carry the full weight of the responsibility for your happiness and their own. Only God can carry that.
I'm not saying you shouldn't take advice from people or hang out with friends. I'm just pointing out how you should be very careful what your happiness is relying on. I know it's not fun to think about, but you should be careful who you're resting the responsibility of keeping you happy on.
Disclaimer: I honestly don't know for sure if I'm an introvert or not. I'm hard to persuade to go out places (unless it's a friend whom I rarely see and actually really want to see) and when I do come out, I tend to be really talkative. I enjoy talking with people, and think venting to a close friend helps me feel better... but I also find myself longing for a good book after too long talking to someone. Either way, whether or not you're introverted or extroverted, I think this advice can apply to everyone.
Be very careful who you rest the weight of your happiness on, and how much.
It's tempting to let all of your happiness fall on one person. It's easy to fall into the orbit of a popular, perfect-looking friend. It's easy to hand of your life for them to take care of; times spent hanging out, birthday parties, texts, become the center of your world. Their friends are your friends. After all, they're so perfect they can easily make sure you're happy, right?
This decision (for me at least) has never been a concious one. I never have thought, "I will rely on the help of this person to make me happy". I've never even realized how much happiness they gave me until something- a fight, drama, whatever- occurred to take it away from me, and I scrambled, deeply hurt at the wound they had inflicted.
People cannot carry the full weight of the responsibility for your happiness and their own. Only God can carry that.
I'm not saying you shouldn't take advice from people or hang out with friends. I'm just pointing out how you should be very careful what your happiness is relying on. I know it's not fun to think about, but you should be careful who you're resting the responsibility of keeping you happy on.
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