Eudaimonia Quote by Oliver Burkeman
““...it pointed to an alternative approach, a ‘negative path’ to happiness, that entailed taking a radically different stance towards those things that most of us spend our lives trying to avoid. It involved learning to enjoy uncertainty, embracing insecurity, stopping trying to think positively, becoming familiar with failure, even learning to value death. In short, all these people seemed to agree that in order to be truly happy, we might actually need to be willing to experience more negative emotions—or, at the very least to learn to stop running quite so hard from them.””
About This Quote
Source Book: The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking, 2012
True happiness may require embracing negative emotions, uncertainty, and failure rather than constantly pursuing positivity.
In simple terms: Accept negativity to find happiness.
Key Takeaway
Allow space for discomfort and uncertainty.
Themes
happiness
negativity
acceptance
Mood
reflective
serious
Type
philosophical
advice
When to use this quote
- therapy
- personal growth
- mindfulness practice
Key Concepts
psychology
existentialism
Questions to Reflect On
- What negative feelings have you avoided?
- How might embracing uncertainty improve your life?
A Different Perspective
Overemphasis on positivity can lead to denial of real feelings.
![“as architect of choosing... choose. to. live. awakened. entirely. wholly. wildly powerful, deeply masterful, authentically creative, thriving. this is not a hoped-for possible self. [reminder: this is an immutable Law of your being] needing not to learn the skill of being whole, the antidote is to…” quote by LaShaun Middlebrooks Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/21a/lashaun-middlebrooks-collier-1_aristotle_as-architect-of-choosing-choose-to-live_338016.jpg)
