for a while i was miserable because i thought life was supposed to be happy that i was lacking in what was supposed to be a joyous life as i got older i realized that the constant pursuit of “happiness” is what contributed to my misery in reality, the best parts of my life were where i was neither elated nor miserable just living life with a consistent and tempered contentedness and as my life got worse, id continue to yearn for what i had interpreted as a “better” time, even if that “better” time wasn’t actually a good time i guess my point is not to chase after some abstract concept of happiness just strive to not be miserable try to eliminate misery, as opposed to pursuing happiness if that makes sense at all