it's strange to say that you are happy

And this is why

Look, we humans are always busy. Always tired. Always rushing. Are you simply happy? Is everything okay? Oops. Then you have to be careful.

Because actually, you only count if you are NOT happy. You are only cool if you have stress. According to some studies, 75 to 90 percent of people visit their doctor for stress-related complaints. Doesn't sound great. But we do it to ourselves, because secretly we love that stress.

We WANT that full schedule. We also want to go to that drink on the day we are moving. We want to spend a long weekend in France with a friend two weeks before our wedding. We want to do groceries, exercise, cook, have sex, do the laundry, walk the dog, and finish work all within an hour. Four evenings in a row without appointments? Oh my god. Then you are a loser.

How come we never take a break? Psychologists have known the answer for years. We humans are not good at doing little. Being busy gives us a complete feeling. A day off? Quick, fill it with a ton of appointments. An hour of ‘nothing to do’? That doesn't exist. We have to read books, keep learning, keep working, earn more money, be continuously social, have more friends, and spend more time with our families. It's in us to always be busy. To plan a lot. This is because it gives us more self-confidence when we always have something to do. Because only when you are exhausted and worn out from everything you have to do, are you an important person. At least, that's what we THINK.

Because it's obviously nonsense. When was the last time you were bored? And how did you feel then? It's really good for you to stare out the window for a while. Just like you did as a child and complained that something was ‘boring’. No television, no book, no magazine and no laptop. Just nothing for a moment. According to experts, it actually makes you more creative AND it helps you relax more. And you are just as important a person if you spend a day on the couch. Really.

Remember that being busy is fun, very fun, but it doesn't always have to be. Not all 365 days in a year. Otherwise, before you know it, you are also in the waiting room at the doctor's. And a burnout, that really makes you unhappy in the end.

FACTS

• At 23 and at 69, you would be the happiest in your life, according to science
• At least one million Dutch people suffer from burnout complaints
• It costs companies 1.8 billion euros annually to pay all employees who cannot come to work due to stress