I have noticed this growing trend among self help books and gurus of all kinds whatsoever advocating the steps to achieve total bliss. This obsession to be happy all the time has garnered a new name in popular media as " toxic positivity ". So, the simple question arises as to why there is a market ? Are people unhappy in this day and age? Yes, would be the answer. Happiness is a commodity these days. And as we are stuck in an end less loop of misery, craving for that commodity,  any self proclaimed " motivational speaker" or " happiness coach" with their nonsensical sermons could easily drain the wallets of the most incredulous of people. Albeit I have never fallen prey to such drivel, I have to admit , more often than not, such schemes that offer a temporary way out of mental abyss , has enticed me sometimes. The more I thought about it, the more I began to question , Why are we obsessed with being happy?  And the simple answer is this.We are in such a state of pessimism,  that our only defence against it, is to fight it with weapons of " joy" and " smiles". We oppose this stale matter of affairs with contrived and almost unnatural happiness. We are faking smiles just to prove otherwise. I am not advocating to spend the entirety of our lives in misery. But let's be honest, these hardships that we are facing won't last forever. So, instead of trying to be happy , we need to accept our emotions as they are and be content with the fact that someday things would be better. So, if you are feeling miserable or sad or lonely, acknowledge those feelings and don't try to hide beneath carpets of " I'm fine". If we could accept the fact that our minds are not programmed to be joyous,  and let our emotions , either positive or negative , rule our minds, then the so called preachers of happiness would throw in the towel and quit. But alas, as long as unhappy people are willing to spend money to drink that exilir of eternal bliss, this market is here to stay. And so are the wallets of ignorant people going to drain.