Happy for no Reason

 Happy for no Reason

In Happy for no Reason, Marci Shimoff

recommends assuming that the universe is

friendly and has your best interests at heart,

and everything that happens is for your good.26

When I first read this, I thought it was naïve

and silly, not to say blatantly untrue, but she

recommends trying it for a week. You don’t

have to believe it for real, just assume it for

the sake of argument, the way something is

assumed at the beginning of a math proof.

Then go about life and see how you feel.

Although I thought it was ridiculous, I tried it

anyway. I couldn’t believe how much better I

felt! The more I looked at things this way—not

even from belief, just from exploration of how

it could be true—the more it seemed to be

true, the more benevolent and nurturing the

universe felt to me, and the easier I found it to

be happy.

In reality, the universe could be benevolent,

malevolent, or neutral, but it almost doesn’t

matter. If you assume that everything happens

for your benefit somehow, and use that

assumption to look for the good or something

to learn in each situation, then you really do

get something good out of every situation.

Who wouldn’t want that? It’s like magic with no

magic required.