I would like to clear up a potential misunderstanding about “all this happiness stuff”. Yes, I am teaching Happiness 101 weekly. Yes, I am a mental health therapist specializing in Happiness. We definately strive to be Happy but you were born with a wide range of emotions, including sadness and anger. There are times when these emotions are very appropriate and should be felt. For instance, if someone just died and you were smiling broadly brushing it off as “just a part of life”, this would be a concern. There are expected “stages” of grief – sadness and anger to name a couple. So, trying to rush through the process to hurry up and be Happy may actually be counter-productive to your overall mental health. I’m not suggesting you wallow in it. Some professionals (myself included) recommend setting aside some time each day to feel your feelings or at least check in with yourself to make sure you are feeling what you are really feeling. So, yes, please do paint with the color of Happiness but my hope is that you won’t categorically dismiss all other feelings as negative – they have their place too.