[Ailist] Achieve Happiness by Creating a Life Lie

[Stephanie West Allen]

Excerpt:

A Life Lie is a story we tell ourselves. A story we actually believe  
about our lives that lets us ignore reality and focus on a glorious  
future. Allow me to provide a background story.

I first learned about the Life Lie (in explicit terms) from reading a  
play; The Wild Duck by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The main  
character of The Wild Duck is a man named Hjalmar. By all accounts,  
Hjalmar is pathetic. His father was ruined by a shady business deal  
and he’s lived his entire life in shame. His poor family makes a  
living from a photography business. A business that his father’s arch  
enemy gave to him out of pity and that his wife runs for all  
practical purposes.

Useless old Hjalmar should be miserable, but in fact he’s quite the  
opposite. Despite his pathetic life, Hjalmar is happy because he’s  
created a beautiful Life Lie.

Hjalmar’s Life Lie is ingenious. He truly believes that he’s going to  
invent an incredible machine that will make his family wealthy and  
erase his shame. He doesn’t just tell himself this lie, he actually  
lives it. Each day he goes off on his own for a few hours, supposedly  
working on the invention.

Rest here:

http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/achieve-happiness-by-creating-a-life- 
lie/

My best,

Stephanie

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Stephanie West Allen, JD
http://www.idealawg.com
http://www.AllenInChallenge.com
Denver. CO USA