Lewis Howes argues that true happiness requires being willing to disappoint others. Chasing external approval through a prescribed education or career path leads to self-disappointment and chronic stress. Following your own passions, even when they clash with what friends and family expect, is the path to feeling alive and fulfilled.
Chapters
I wish someone told me this a long time ago, that the amount of happiness you will have is directly related to the amount of disappointments you make in others. Now, I'm not talking about breaking the law or hurting people intentionally, but I'm talking about doing things that others don't approve of or others don't like because they're afraid of your success. They're afraid of you actually doing something that they don't think is right for you. And when you're willing to pursue the thing that you enjoy, that you love, that excites you, the thing that makes you feel alive, you're gonna upset people. People are not going to be happy. They're going to want you to go to school, get a certain degree that makes them feel good. But when you do that, you're disappointing yourself. You're letting yourself down from your dreams, from your desires, from what you want in life that's going to make you feel alive the most. So make sure you are willing to learn how to disappoint other people in your life. It's not fun, it's not enjoyable, it doesn't feel good, but you will always be let down and letting yourself down if you're not willing to disappoint others just to keep the peace in their life. You'll be creating stress, overwhelm, and a lot of unhappiness the more you disappoint yourself.
