Today I learned that there is a time to be stern. I’ve been the most happiest I’ve ever been. An overwhelming portion of that happiness stems from the fact that I see myself taking daily steps towards the things that I want. Those daily steps yield progress and the progress that I experience fuels me to take more daily steps. This higher level of happiness that I’ve been feeling is taken with me in every interaction I have with anybody. I was genuinely a happy guy before but with this even higher level I’ve been noticing particular patterns. I’ve noticed that when you express your gleeful feelings people are annoyed by them. People are bothered by somebody who laughs loudly or who makes a joke or two. If your in a negative place and you see somebody enjoying themself I could understand how one could be angered by that. I could see how somebody would be jealous of somebody who seems to have more than enough happiness, who seems to be headed somewhere. A pattern I’ve noticed is that after expressing my happiness somebody will find some way to express their contempt for me. People that I don’t even know will try to rain on my parade. Whether through micro-aggressions, clever taunting, or petty behavior. It’s unfortunate. But this has happened enough times for me to realize that this is the cost for being the type of person I want to be. You can’t be remarkable without being scrutinized. If you stick out and make waves this is just what you have to deal with. What I did in the past was just be a hermit. I choose to have as little as much contact with people I didn’t know in general. I choose to stay to myself. I couldn’t deal with being put down by people. It ate me up inside because it was always unwarranted. I was always nice to other people. So I said forget it and became a recluse. But that’s not an option anymore. That mode of action didn’t move me forward it moved me backwards. The better option I found is to be stern. To anticipate the negativity and put yourself in a mode to attack it. There more I keep setting and achieving my daily goals the more progress I’ll experience and the more happiness I’ll have. People are always going to be out to take a tiny bit of that happiness at a time. I’m that last guard when it comes to my peace of mind. I’ve learned this before it’s just that don’t practice it because it’s difficult at times. But it’s all about repetition. The only way I’m going to happily function in society is by recognizing that there’s a time to be stern. At work, in class, or just around people in general there always has to be a guard up for the contempt in other people’s hearts.