Happiness = Expectations – Reality
I feel like a man exiled to Nebraska with passionate dreams of being a deep sea fisherman. For 28 years I have circled aimlessly towards the sea. I meander alone through the desolate plains accompanied only by my thoughts of failure and fleeting time.
As I traverse the beaten down waves of grain suddenly a beautiful fluttering wind arises. Lady luck swooshes in across my desolation, she flutters in close beside me and whispers in my ear a message of future prosperity, “Lower your expectations.”
—
Maybe I don’t want to be a deep sea fisherman.
Maybe I’m not stranded in Nebraska.
Maybe lady luck was really some guy who wrote a blog (with crude language at times) about why Generation Y Yuppies are delusional.
Maybe I stretched that fisherman analogy too far.
What I do know is that the equation from that blog (Happiness = Expectations – Reality) would breed a generation of uninspired half-wits. People widdling down their expectations (dreams and goals) in exchange for an obtainable watered down happiness.
Why plant a flag at the top of Mt. Everest when I could drink a Jamba Juice at the top of the stairwell?
The author of the post makes some solid points. He or she (I could not find who wrote this) also makes some critical and offensive generalities of a generation. That is why the post spread in the first place. It’s edgy, ignorant, and articulate at the same time. It’s worth talking about.
It leaves you thinking there are only two paths. Watered-down contentment or unhappy should’ve beens. In actuality there are limitless paths to choose from, it’s really up to you what you want to pursue.
I just hope we don’t all choose the diluted option because I’m pretty sure Neil Armstrong didn’t dream about riding his bike to work.
