FW: DailyOM: Guilty Pleasures - Feeling Guilty about Being Happy

[Guest guest]

January

19, 2011

Guilty Pleasures

Feeling

Guilty about Being Happy

Some people feel guilt over

being happy or feel they don't deserve to be happy; it is our birthright

to be happy.

Happiness

is an experience we all long for and deserve in our lives. We may wish for the

happiness that comes with a much-needed vacation or an exciting new love

affair, yet when the actual experience of happiness emerges, we may be too

overcome with guilt to enjoy it. If guilt is interfering with your ability to

feel joy, you may find relief in looking at the beliefs you hold about yourself

and what it means for you to be happy.

Guilt about feeling happy can arise for different reasons. Deep down you may

believe that you don't deserve to be happy because you hurt someone in the

past, had more than others growing up, or maybe you received a mean comment

from someone you admired. Perhaps it once seemed that painful experiences

always followed happy ones; now whenever you begin to feel happy, you find

yourself waiting for the other shoe to drop. Happiness may even just feel

uncomfortable because you've gotten so used to feeling down.

The

truth is that when you feel too guilty to let yourself enjoy positive emotions,

you are denying a part of yourself that has a right to exist. By limiting your

life experience to just the negative feelings, you are cutting yourself off

from the fullness of life - which includes all of the positive emotions as

well. Fortunately, you can begin to shift the way you respond to happiness even

in this moment.

From now on, when happiness begins to blossom in your heart, try to accept it,

relish in it, ask it to stay. It's okay to feel happy even if you believe

you don't deserve it. Feeling good is an expression of your wholeness and

your connection with life. The next time happiness appears for you, try not to

feel guilty about it. Instead, welcome your happiness in like a long-awaited

friend.