- American children prefer the expression that shows an excited smile to the expression that shows a calm smile. Taiwanese children do not show this same preference.
In other words happiness should never be the goal itself, rather it is just the temporary reward for achieving a goal and the motivation to set another. Goals should be tangible. Making happiness a goal when a perpetual positive mood is near impossible to achieve only makes one more vulnerable to falling into a depression through disappointment in the self any time one is feeling down. Western society, with it's valuing of happiness, is more prone to this than the far East, which instead values contentment. This article comes to many of the same conclusions I have over the years in learning the in and outs of my mood states and immediately reminded of something Louis CK nailed on the head (though not as clearly) in a late show appearance. Let yourself be sad occasionally. People are so desperate to put sadness off that it can spiral into the mind states the article highlighted.