Hello, my name is Mike Gowen.

Against Happiness

My girlfriend Heather is a huge fan of The Secret. I however, am not. I am completely turned off and very skeptical of the glossy, Oprah-fied marketing campaign surrounding a very simple concept. Having said that, it may come as no surprise to you that I have often been labeled as negative. I’ve always argued that what seems like negativity is actually criticality. My actions are always in favor of the best desirable outcome in any given situation, but I achieve this by recognizing and attempting to eliminate the least desirable factors. I consider this my edge, and one of the foremost factors contributing to my regular success. My biggest fear in having a more “positive” attitude is that I will lose that edge. Theres a big difference between being negative, and never being satisfied. I consider myself to be in the latter camp.

To my surprise, I am not alone in this mindset. Heather forwarded me this article about Eric G. Wilson’s new book entitled “Against Happiness” knowing that it would get me fired up. While I haven’t read the book, I was sold by the excerpt. Here’s a snippet…

“With no more melancholics, we would live in a world in which everyone simply accepted the status quo, in which everyone would simply be content with the given. This would constitute a dystopia of ubiquitous placid grins, a nightmare worthy of Philip K. Dick, a police state of Pollyannas, a flatland that offers nothing new under the sun. Why are we pushing toward such a hellish condition?”