So where is the bloody Manual of Happiness?

Forgive me if i steal this from Leunig

I quote from the BMJ Vol 331 Dec 2005 in an article by Bowling & Dieppe "It has been postulated that.... having a happy outlook is a skill that can be cultivated."

A skill. Thereby implying that it is something that can be learnt, practiced, acquired and be performed at different levels of competence. Like a violin per say.

It can therefore be deduced that it is a choice to not have a positive outlook. A choice to not learn, practice and acquire this skill. A choice to be miserable.

And 50% of the world who fall into the "pessimistic" spectrum of personalities are meant to buy that?

I personally, because i belong to that 50% of "pessimistic" people, find it really hard to swallow, at least at first glance.

Because here is some academic climbing the imaginary rungs of academia holed up in his/her stuffy office telling me that i'm in a situation which i perceive to be less joyous than others because i put myself there. Hello... does anyone actually consciously decide to be miserable. I think not.

On second thought, that "choice to be unhappy" actually describes a few people i know of. Some of them whom i've wanted to scream "GET A GRIP AND MOVE ON!" to.

Perhaps i'm having this reaction only because i didn't want to be in the same category as these individuals with less desirable traits. I'd inevitably become the hypocrite who needs to scream "GET A GRIP AND MOVE ON!" to myself.

They say (god knows who they refers to) to correct a problem, you first have to acknowledge it.

So there, i acknowledge that if i'm miserable i'm to blame for more than 50% of it, because the decisions i've made, conscious or unconsciously, have brought me down this path.

Right. *Twiddling my fingers*

Now what?