Being happy, satisfied, comfortable and present are important in life, but it can also be misleading.

And, quite frankly, isn’t always indicative of a true, quality life. 

That might be hard to hear and some of you might not agree, but when you take a step back and look deep down within yourself, you realize how easy it is to be wrong. 

Or, at the very least, misguided.

Sure, you very well could be happy, satisfied, comfortable and present. And I hope you are.

But, the truth is, sometimes, we’re happy for the wrong reasons. 

Sometimes, we’re satisfied with the wrong outcomes. 

Sometimes, we’re comfortable in the wrong situations. 

And sometimes, we’re present at the wrong moments. 

I feel like we often tout these ‘positive’ emotions as the be-all and end-all. We rarely question them and prematurely celebrate them because we’re told to pursue them. 

To reach for them. To strive for them.

But I believe taking any emotion or feeling — even the positive ones — at face value can be dangerous.

Why?

Because we often ignore the why, the what and the how behind those ‘positive’ emotions. And while they are often positive, sometimes they’re not.

Sometimes we’re just misleading ourselves.

I like to compare those ‘positive’ emotions to a sunny day. 

Sure, sunny days are fun. It’s what most of us hope for when we wake up in the morning. It makes us feel good, it gives us energy and it literally and figuratively lights up our day.

But we still need to protect ourselves from a sunny day — after all, the sun can be dangerous.

That’s why we have sunscreen to protect our skin, sunglasses to protect our eyes and antiperspirant deodorant for those of us that can’t control our sweat.

Yes, a sunny day can be (and usually is) a good day — until it isn’t. And we need to be mindful of that.

On the other hand, we often do whatever it takes to avoid the negative side of those emotions. 

We try so hard to avoid feeling sad. 

Avoid feeling dissatisfied. 

Avoid feeling uncomfortable. 

And even go out of our way to avoid being absent — as if we don’t gain anything from it.

But we do. 

At the very least, we gain perspective — and it builds character. Those ‘negative’ emotions are what make us stronger. 

They make us smarter. 

And they make us more aware of just how lucky we are when things are going right. 

I like to compare those ‘negative’ emotions to a rainy day.

Yes, rainy days might be hard to cope with. They might make you feel down, force you to change your plans and leave you waiting for another sunny day to appear.

But that’s why we have umbrellas — to help make those days a little easier.

Windproof clothing, rain boots, ponchos, water-resistant phone cases — we have these things not to give us reason to avoid rainy days, but rather to help us fight through them. 

I guess what I’m trying to say is…

Sunny days and rainy days each come with their own set of pros and cons. 

We should appreciate everything that comes from both sides of that spectrum.

And let’s not forget that most rainy days are accompanied by a rainbow. 

Eventually, a sunny day will come.

Plus, what good is a sunny day if we don’t have a rainy day to compare it to?