The Mountain Is You

STOP TRYING TO BE HAPPY
Happiness is not something you can chase. It is some-
thing you have to allow. This likely will come as a surprise 
to many people, as the world is so adamant about every-
thing from positive psychology to motivational Pinterest 
boards. But happiness is not something you can coach 
yourself into.

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THE MOUNTAIN IS YOU
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BRIANNA WIEST
Happiness is your natural state. That means you will re-
turn to it on your own if you allow the other feelings you 
want to experience to come up, be felt, be processed, and 
not resisted. The less you resist your unhappiness, the hap-
pier you will be. It is often just trying too hard to feel one 
certain way that sets us up for failure.
ARRIVE INTO THE PRESENT
There’s a saying that if you’re anxious, it’s because you’re 
living in the future, and if you’re depressed, it’s because 
you’re living in the past. When you’re living in the pres-
ent moment, you realize that both the past and future are 
just current illusions in the infinite, eternal “now” and that 
they are actually ways in which you can avoid being in 
your body.
The only place to find happiness is in the present because 
that’s the only place it truly exists. Trying to find happi-
ness by focusing on what could or might happen in the 
future is actually a process of disassociation. Practice ar-
riving into today by focusing on taking life one day at a 
time and doing the most with what you have in front of 
you currently.
There’s a fine balance between living for the moment and 
taking care of your future self.

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THE MOUNTAIN IS YOU
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BRIANNA WIEST
STOP TRYING TO ASSERT DOMINANCE
In his book on Hygge, the Danish art of coziness and 
well-being that many attribute to the nation’s staggeringly 
high happiness rates, Meik Wiking explains that connect-
ing with others is not just spending time with them; it 
has to do with not trying to dominate, impress, or create 
an emotional reaction in someone.
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You find a lot more 
happiness by not trying to prove yourself.
People who want and need to assert their dominance in 
relationships are the ones who are always in arguments 
over hypothetical things, creating drama at important 
holidays or events, or otherwise finding that the very peo-
ple they are supposed to love and cherish most receive the 
worst of their behavior.
In order to find greater happiness, you need to see yourself as 
an equal to those around you. When you view yourself in a 
position to constantly learn from all those you know, you are 
no longer compensating for fearing you are “beneath” them.