I remember when I first came to Shanghai, I felt a little stressed and wanted to go out to play.

Several friends finally chose to go to a KTV in the city center to sing karaoke all night. A few of us sang from night till the early morning of the next day, and there were still some unfinished things.

At dawn, my friends and I walked out of the singing place and prepared to go back to our residence.

When I stepped onto an overpass, I found myself suddenly exposed in front of this bustling and unfamiliar city, feeling so small.

Especially the early risers have already started a busy day, and suddenly there is a feeling of being thrown back into the real world.

The problem they want to escape surfaced from the bottom of their hearts. At that moment, the guilt and emptiness in my heart were intertwined, and the excitement of playing all night suddenly vanished.

The emotional memory of that time, that scene and that moment has not been forgotten so far.

Since then, I have no interest in going to a similar all-night carnival. Not because I am too old to sing, but because I am afraid that I need a person to face the emptiness of my spiritual world after this short excitement.

In fact, it is easy to get short-term happiness. Eat a big meal when you are hungry, maybe you will feel very happy; You may feel very happy when you enter the air-conditioned room in hot weather. After a busy day, you may feel very happy lying in bed and brushing your circle of friends.

But the problem is that these happy moments often don't last long.

No matter how delicious the food is, as long as people are full, it is difficult to arouse any interest; The air conditioner has been blowing for a long time, and the cool and comfortable feeling of entering the air-conditioned room for the first time is gone; If you waste too much time on social media, people will feel guilty and empty.

Personally, reading a book or writing an in-depth article usually takes a lot of time and willpower resources.

But every time I sit through a good book or try to update a very popular article on the WeChat subscription number, I will be immersed in a deep sense of happiness.

Therefore, it is easy to get short-term happiness, but it takes more efforts to get lasting happiness.

2.

When I was in college, I went to many places, but what impressed me most was the experience of climbing Mount Tai.

Several of our classmates together, in order to watch the sunrise the next day, started climbing mountains at night. After climbing all night, I climbed to the top of the mountain in the early morning.

The process of climbing the mountain was very difficult. I was so tired that I was panting and sweating. Especially when climbing the most dangerous section of Mount Tai-eighteen sets, I used my hands and feet, almost exhausted all my strength, and finally climbed to the top of Mount Tai.

But when I saw the sunrise, I felt that all my previous efforts were worth it. At that time, the whole person was surrounded by excitement and excitement, and at the same time there was a sense of pride that he could be "other mountains are dwarfed under the sky" And awe of nature.

After so many years, many scenes of climbing Mount Tai and that kind of happiness are still fresh in my mind:

I sweated when climbing the mountain, rented a dirty military coat to resist the cold wind at the top of the mountain, bought a delicious pancake fruit when I was hungry, screamed and excited when I first saw the sunrise, and so on. Every time I finish writing, the corners of my mouth can't help but tilt up.

Later, I have been to many scenic spots myself, but I seldom feel the exciting and wonderful high-level happiness of climbing Mount Tai.

Because most tours follow the relaxed mode of "getting on the bus to sleep and getting off the bus to take pictures", this kind of travel does not require extra efforts, nor does it have any challenges or excitement. This effortless trip can only be reduced to a show-off game in a circle of friends, but it cannot be an unforgettable memory.

In fact, the process of pursuing happiness is like climbing a mountain. The more you want to get this higher level of happiness, the more you need to work hard.

And relaxed happiness (such as eating a cup of chocolate sundae on a hot day) can only be counted as low-level happiness, and will soon be gone with the wind.

3.

Huang Xiaohu has a song called "It's not that simple". There is a lyric in this song that particularly touches my heart: "Happiness is not that easy, so it will be particularly charming.

As a teacher of a happy class, whenever I hear people around me say that "happiness is actually easy", there will always be some vague worries in my heart.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not worried that I will lose my job, nor that others will deny me the value of "spreading happiness".

What I really worry about is that when more and more people begin to believe that "happiness is actually easy", people are no longer willing to make more efforts in the pursuit of happiness, and instead rely on those accessible ways to get happiness, and then fall into the whirlpool of emptiness, confusion and even depression.

Why do you believe too much that "happiness is actually easy" will make people fall into the whirlpool of emptiness?

Think about it, because people don't want to make more efforts, they will choose to watch TV online to entertain themselves, instead of sinking down and reading a good book quietly; Because they don't want to make more efforts, people will choose to play online games instead of running hard and sweating in the gym; Because they don't want to make more efforts, people will choose to brush their circle of friends in bed instead of hiking, climbing and climbing to constantly challenge themselves.

However, the happiness that can be obtained without any effort makes people's lives less practical, people's potential can't be brought into play, and people lose their sense of existence.

In the best-selling psychological reading "The Road Few People Walk", the author mentioned a very important truth at the beginning: "Life is full of hardships". In fact, another meaning of this sentence is "happiness is not that easy."

Only those who believe that happiness is not so easy will cherish the happiness in life; Only those who believe that happiness is not so easy will have the courage to accept the inevitable suffering and setbacks in life; Only those who believe that happiness is not so easy will gain a more lasting and higher level of happiness experience through their own continuous efforts.

Happiness is not so easy, but hard work is the closest distance to happiness.