There's an old saying. If nothing gets you down then you just don't really understand the situation. Is life today so bad that it's better to worry than be happy?

Is it even possible for happiness and worry to peacefully coexist? Granted, they coexist, but it isn't always peaceful. Most of us have periods of downright worry about what is going on in the world, and that exercise in futility prevents many of us from being as happy as we could.

Does looking on the bright side of everything prevent us from thinking critically? Management consultant Susan Webber says yes. Remember, too, what Andrew Grove, the founder of computer chip giant Intel, said-- Only The Paranoid Survive.

Thinking negatively sometimes has benefit, but the chorus of Don't Be Happy, Be Worried is an extreme, and like full-on negativity, should be avoided in favor of a balanced view of happy vs. critical thinking.

Does that mean that half our time should be spent trying to be happy while the other half is devoted to finding the dark lining in silver clouds? That's not what balance means.

For example, exercise is good for us. Exercising all the time has negative effects, so a balance is required and it's not 50-50. It may be that as little as 20-minutes of good exercise a day is sufficient to maintain health and body tone.

So it is with our desire to be happy all the time. It won't happen, it isn't natural, and there's too much in life to worry about. A measure of critical thinking is more beneficial than negative thinking.