We don’t laugh because we’re happy, we’re happy because…

Page 87. We don’t laugh because we’re happy, we’re happy because we laugh. The action itself is enough to bring about a particular affective state.

— from Enjoy the Flight (Living/Balance/Happiness/Passion) · Sick Souls, Healthy Minds- How William James Can Save Your Life by John Kaag

In the book

The truth is we learned to be miserable, learned to expect disappointment, and the work of a happy adult is partly the work of unlearning it and recovering a child's easy joy. And don't wait to feel like it: we don't laugh because we're happy so much as we become happy because we laugh — the action itself summons the feeling. When you are truly absorbed in the moment, time changes texture — there are stretches when I feel fully alive and fully focused, where each second is a ripe fruit bursting with juice. — Enjoy the Flight (Living/Balance/Happiness/Passion)

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