Happiness is Overrated

In my opinion, happiness is overrated.  It's confusing.  It is a topic of millions of quotes, telling us to "choose happy" and "turn our frown upside down".  But, to me I don't think it is happiness we should seek, but a fulfillment of feelings in our lives  We should seek to explore all that life has to offer and that includes all the emotions we can express.  Life gets boring pretty fast without a little sadness, anger, and stress.  That is not to say that there shouldn't be joy too.  That is not to say that you shouldn't live for the good days either, however, I feel that happiness is overrated.  Countless times we are told to cheer up, but what we really need is some better, less confusing advice.
After all, happiness is not meant to be a stagnant state.  It is meant to be a journey.  A journey full of ups and downs and growth and change.  A journey in which we learn about ourselves, a journey that leaves us content with the person we are. 
So, instead of telling others to "Be happy", I think better advice is to tune into your emotions, to be kind to others, to stay humble, to smile, to never stop learning, to be grateful, to love, to explore, and to grow.  I think better advice is to give back, to be loyal, and to most of all be yourself.  I think that is much better advice than simply telling someone to be happy.  After all, you don't want them to stay in one state of mind, but to experience all of the wonderful emotions life has to offer.  And finally, consider this: how much more beautiful is a rainbow after a little rain?