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What is the opposite of happiness? For the purposes of this blog, the answer is not what you may think, which is sadness. Sadness has a temporary quality to it. Feelings of depression and melancholy however, are considered to be more permanent states of mind. So, for the purposes of this blog, the opposite of happiness is depression, and the opposite of sadness is joy. You could make dinner plans with an attractive person on Monday, and that will bring you joy. Those same dinner plans could be canceled by Wednesday, and that will bring you sadness. The emotions of sadness and happiness alters with the changes of circumstances. Happiness and depression however, are less easily swayed. The difference between a depressed person and a happy person is with a happy person, bad things have difficult time bringing them down, and with a depressed person, good things have a difficult time bringing them up. 

Think of happiness, depression, and joy in terms of the biblical parable of the wise man who built his house on a rock. If you are familiar with the story, you know that the wise man who built his house on a rock did not see his house perish when the floods came. The foolish man’s house however, came down with a great crash when the floods came because he built his house on a foundation of sand. If you are a depressed person, and you rush to replace those empty feeling with joyous things, like partying, a new car, a new job, a new boyfriend or girlfriend, you will see those things washed away with the first floods. However, if you first seek to build a foundation of happiness, then the joys you build on top of it would not be washed away. We see this all the time when observing people. Some people seem to have it all, the nice car, the rich house, the beautiful family, yet they always manage to find something to upset about. Then there are those you have much less than us, and we envy them for their contentment and happiness. 

You’re reading this blog, so I can assume that you already believe what I have said to be true. This blog is not a how to on how to pick up girls or make quick money or make more friends. The readers of this book already know that those things can only bring temporary joy, but it can’t bring that more eternal state of happiness. You are searching for what I have searched for in my life. I have read many books, and experimented with many techniques and philosophies on myself. After many years of hard work and study, I am beginning to see a change. Most days I wake up happy and optimistic. This gives me the energy and wisdom to seek out, find and cultivate things that will bring me more joy. My happiness gave me the strength to write this, which I write for a reader who I imagine is much like myself. The exercises throughout this blog are purposely simple, and easy to follow. They are procrastination and anxiety proof. So, please join me on your journey to a more happy life.