Summary

The article suggests that the phrase "This too shall pass" can provide comfort and perspective during times of sadness, aiding in the transition from sorrow to happiness.

Abstract

The article titled "The 4 Words That’ll Make You Happy When You’re Sad" discusses the importance of maintaining perspective during difficult times. It tells the story of a king who sought a ring to bring happiness in sadness, which was inscribed with the phrase "This too shall pass." This message serves as a reminder that sadness is temporary and that perspective can help one move past it. The article emphasizes that while it's normal to feel sad, it's unhealthy to remain in that state due to a lack of perspective. The author suggests that repeating the mantra "this too shall pass" can provide comfort and facilitate healing. Additionally, the article introduces the "2–2–2 method" from anger management techniques to help evaluate whether current concerns will matter in the future, thus reducing the intensity of sadness. The author concludes by acknowledging the normality and healthiness of experiencing sadness while advocating for the use of perspective, represented by the magical ring's phrase, to overcome it.

Opinions

Sadness is an inevitable part of life, but it's important to not remain in a state of sadness indefinitely.
A lack of perspective contributes to prolonged sadness, making it difficult to see beyond immediate circumstances.
The phrase "This too shall pass" is presented as a tool to regain perspective and remind oneself of the transient nature of sadness.
The "2–2–2 method" is recommended as a practical approach to gauge the long-term significance of current sources of sadness.
The author believes in the value of providing feedback to improve the quality of content shared on platforms like Medium.

The 4 Words That’ll Make You Happy When You’re Sad

“This Too Shall Pass”

The Ring of Happiness

A powerful king once brought together a group of wise men and posed them a question.

He wanted them to forge him a ring that could make him happy when he was sad.

And so the wise men thought and thought and came up with an idea. They went to a blacksmith and had him forge a ring with a message engraved in it.

They presented the ring before the king and he wore it. As he read the message and his eyes lit up.

The message was “This too shall pass.”

A Lack of Perspective

You probably have a number of reasons for being sad. Maybe a family member just died or maybe you just skipped your morning coffee. Whatever the reason is, know that it’s ok to be sad sometimes. What’s not okay is to stay sad.

So what keeps you sad? A lack of perspective.

In sadness, it becomes difficult to look at the bigger picture of life when you’re so caught up with the smaller moments. Sadness fogs your mind and soon you can’t see 2 steps in front of you.

Perspective is what helps clear the fog. It won’t heal the wounds, but it will make the process easier.

Now, throwing around the word perspective here and there is easy, what’s not easy is having perspective.

Luckily, there’s a phrase you can repeat to yourself when you’re sad to give you the perspective you need. (Hint, Hint)

This Too Shall Pass

The worst part about sadness is thinking that it’ll never end. You want to stop feeling this way but you can’t, you can’t stop being sad.

While it's a horrible feeling, your brain is wrong. It only thinks this feeling is permanent but it isn’t.

Think about any moment of your life when you’ve been sad. After a bit of time haven’t you’ve got past it? Someway or another you moved on, because that’s what we do right? We move on. But you may need that little push to get past the sadness.

In that moment of despair, repeating to yourself the mantra ‘this too shall pass,’ while also believing in it, can ease the tension and guide the healing process.

The 2–2–2 Method

A little bonus for you is another method to give yourself some perspective.

The method comes from anger management techniques. The 2–2–2 method essentially says that in that moment of anger, you should ask yourself, will this still be worth getting angry over in 2 days.

How about 2 months?

What about 2 years?

If the answer is no, then it’s not worth getting angry at. And the same applies to sadness.

While you can’t control whether something is worth getting sad over, thinking about whether or not what you’re experiencing will still be worth being sad over using the 2–2–2 method can extinguish sadness lake a fire hydrant.

Final Thoughts

While sadness is a tough negative emotion to beat, and it’s one that you’ll experience many times. Know that’s it’s not only normal but healthy to be sad sometimes. What’ll help you get through those sad slumps is a boost in perspective and maybe a magic ring or two.

(P.S. My goal of writing on Medium is to give as much value as I can. In order to do that I would love to get feedback from those I value most. That’s you! So don’t be afraid to leave a comment :)