You Can’t Demand Happiness from Other People

Acceptance is the key

A while back, I read a WSJ article about how companies started tracking the happiest of their workers. The article concluded:

“Employers are turning to sentiment-tracking software, daily surveys, and apps to monitor workers’ mental states.”

One CEO says that the reason they track happiness is because, “I want everyone to be happier every day, more than they were before.”

But demanding a happy face doesn’t work. We can’t demand happiness. We can only create an environment that makes people feel comfortable so they can be themselves. Which would eventually lead to happiness.

We’ve all been in situations where we felt obligated to put on a facade. Maybe it was a family gathering where you had to pretend to be more successful than you actually are.

Or maybe it was at work, where you felt the need to appear more enthusiastic about a project than you genuinely were. These instances are not only emotionally draining, but they also strip us of our authenticity.

Anthony de Mello, a spiritual teacher, once said:

”When I know that I am nothing, that’s wisdom. When I…