I took a 2-day vow of silence and stopped using my phone—here’s the No. 1 thing it taught me about happiness

I think about happiness a lot.

Specifically, I think about what’s keeping me from being happy. Those obstacles can include delayed trains, dry contacts or ClassPass’ $28 missed workout fee.

More often than not, it’s my harsh inner monologue. My generation was raised on the idea that happiness is a choice, so I get mad at myself for feeling other emotions. That’s why, when I heard about the University of Pennsylvania’s “monk class” last spring, I wanted to test drive its curriculum.

The formally titled “Living Deliberately” course requires students to “observe a code of silence” and “abstain from using all electronic communications” for a month, according to the university’s website. Monks believe that silence frees up brain space, making you more available for religious epiphanies, Justin McDaniel, the class’s professor, told me in June.

The point isn’t to cure or prevent sadness, McDaniel said. It’s to feel less afraid of being sad, and more confident in your ability to navigate their emotions.

Thirty days would be hard: My job depends on my voice, phone and laptop. So at the end of August, I took a 48-hour vow of silence and no technology, ranging from a Sunday afternoon to a Tuesday afternoon.

At one point, I accidentally said “excuse me” to a neighbor doing laundry behind me — but otherwise, I made it the entire two days hours without speaking or using technology. And I learned something that upended my sense of happiness, and how to achieve it: Less is often more.

Here’s what that means.

Whenever I start to feel overwhelmed, I usually reach for my phone, turn on the TV or listen to something. I’m not entirely sure why — maybe it’s a hope that distracting myself for long enough will help me move past it.

Typically, the opposite happens: My thoughts multiply, and I go from overwhelmed to panicked.

I recently started seeing a new doctor who, when looking over my chart, paused when she saw I…