“Don’t depend on anyone to make you happy.”
……. Really? Hmmmm. This is a popular quote that many of us heard many times before, but I’m not sure life works that way. Anyone who has been keeping up with my essays and read my book knows my philosophy that the path to happiness depends on having and building strong relationships. I DO believe that this sentiment does have some validity though.
Right off the bat, in our day-to-day activities and events, it is possible that much of what we have planned depends on the reliability of others. We may be depending on them for their actions or their attitude. So this phrase may not hold up in our day-to-day moments of joy.
Sustained, long term happiness is something else entirely though, and I believe that is more the focus of this quote. As is, the phrase would lead us to believe that it is possible to live a happy life without interpersonal connection. Well I’m not buying this either.
Perhaps the phrase means “Don’t depend on any-ONE to make you happy” implying to not put all our eggs in one basket for the emotional support we need. That I believe. After all, the path to a fruitful life is in establishing many relationships, many connections.
I think in the end it’s just telling us that we must have a strong enough sense of “self worth”, or “self value” that we can more easily abandon a relationship that is not working, and have faith that we will establish NEW connections to make life worth living. And to that …… I couldn’t agree more. At least, that is what I choose to take from this phrase.
Please tell me your thoughts.