“The pursuit of happiness” — the sacred cow of Western ideology — has become the millstone around our necks. The problem isn’t the desire for happiness itself. It’s the delusional expectation that happiness is a permanent state, a goal to be achieved and maintained indefinitely, like abs after a juice cleanse.

The Myth of Permanent Happiness

Imagine telling a Stoic philosopher that you’re chasing happiness. They’d laugh in your face. The ancient Stoics didn’t talk about happiness as an endgame but as a fleeting byproduct of not being an insufferable jackass. Seneca once said, “True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future.” Translation: stop whining, start dealing.

But modern culture took that advice and ran it through a self-help juicer. Now, happiness is the emotional equivalent of a six-pack — endlessly flaunted on social media and aggressively marketed as a state you must achieve to be considered successful. This shift wasn’t accidental. It was deliberate — and profitable.

The self-help industry is a $13 billion behemoth. From Tony Robbins to Instagram “mindset coaches,” the message is clear: If you’re not happy, it’s your fault. You just haven’t bought the right book, attended the right seminar, or chanted the right affirmation yet. Research published in “The Journal of Consumer Research” shows that people who constantly pursue happiness through material goods report higher levels of anxiety and lower life satisfaction. Why? Because happiness, unlike a new iPhone, isn’t something you can purchase and keep.

The Existential Perspective: Life Is Suffering

Existentialist philosophers like Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus took an even grimmer view, one that serves as a sobering counterpoint to our happiness-obsessed culture. Sartre argued that life is fundamentally absurd, and happiness is just the fool’s carrot on a stick. Camus famously wrote, “There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide.” What a buzzkill.

For Camus, the absurd hero was Sisyphus, endlessly pushing a boulder up a hill only to watch it roll back down. That’s the human condition — the daily grind, the constant slog, the relentless cycle of working and waiting, striving and failing. According to a 2022 study in “Psychological Review,” those who accept life’s inherent absurdity without expecting it to be pleasurable report lower levels of depression. The takeaway? Happiness isn’t a state — it’s a fleeting blip. And the more you chase it, the more elusive it becomes.

The Science of Unhappiness

Modern psychology backs this up. A study published in the journal “Emotion” found that people who prioritize happiness tend to feel more lonely and depressed. Why? Because they set impossible standards for how they should feel, and when reality doesn’t comply, they spiral. It’s like running a marathon and expecting a parade every mile marker. The more you expect happiness, the less likely you are to feel it.

Meanwhile, the “happiness industry” — self-help books, wellness retreats, life coaches — keeps selling you the lie that happiness is a destination. Newsflash: it’s not. It’s a scam. And the more you chase it, the more obvious it becomes that the finish line doesn’t exist. In 2023, the World Happiness Report found that despite the exponential rise in self-help consumption, overall global happiness levels have remained stagnant since 2018. The report suggests that the relentless pursuit of happiness may actually be contributing to rising anxiety rates.

The Cult of Positivity

The modern obsession with positivity is another trap. In “Bright-Sided,” Barbara Ehrenreich calls out the relentless push for positivity as cultural gaslighting. If you’re unhappy, clearly you’re just not thinking positively enough. Your house is on fire? Well, at least it’s warm!

This cult of positivity isn’t just annoying — it’s dangerous. According to a 2021 study in “Journal of Applied Psychology,” people exposed to toxic positivity felt more isolated and less understood, leading to higher rates of social disconnection. The cult of positivity demands that we ignore reality, plaster on a smile, and pretend we’re all thriving — even as the world burns. It’s a psychological Ponzi scheme that keeps us chasing the next motivational mantra, the next feel-good seminar, the next dopamine hit. Meanwhile, life keeps happening — and it’s rarely as photogenic as our Instagram feeds suggest.

Embracing Discontent: The Stoic and Existentialist Alternative

So, if chasing happiness is a dead end, what’s the alternative? Instead of obsessing over happiness, the Stoics and existentialists suggest embracing the full human experience — the good, the bad, and the utterly tedious. Viktor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor who definitely wasn’t selling essential oils, argued that meaning, not happiness, is the true goal of life. “It is not the pursuit of happiness that makes life meaningful but the pursuit of meaning,” he wrote. In other words, quit chasing dopamine hits and start focusing on something that actually matters.

Marcus Aurelius — the Roman emperor and ancient life coach — once said, “Accept the things to which fate binds you.” Translation: Stop waiting for the universe to hand you a happiness trophy. It’s not coming. The Stoics weren’t about chasing happiness; they were about enduring reality without falling apart. That’s the game.

In 2020, a study from the University of California found that people who focused on purposeful living rather than happiness reported higher life satisfaction and lower rates of depression. The researchers concluded that “striving for meaning provides a psychological buffer against life’s inherent struggles.” Translation: Stop chasing unicorns. Start digging trenches.

Conclusion: Stop Chasing, Start Living

The modern delusion of happiness is that it’s a state to be achieved, a finish line to be crossed. But life isn’t a sprint to bliss; it’s a never-ending game of whack-a-mole. The sooner we accept that, the less power happiness has over us. Instead of chasing happiness, embrace the full spectrum of human experience — joy, pain, suffering, and the occasional existential crisis. Life is absurd, so stop trying to make sense of it. Just grab a mallet and start swinging.