The keys to what, you might ask?
Happiness, I guess.
I spend a lot of time thinking about happiness and the bigger picture of life.
Recently, I arrived on this idea: presence & purpose are all I need to be happy.
I define presence as the ability to be in a moment, not lost in thought or consumed with concern over previous moments or moments that have yet to pass.
I define purpose as something that gives justification to your actions in a way that makes it feel meaningful, either to you or to others.
Most things that make you unhappy disrupt either your sense of presence or sense of purpose.
Anxiety disrupts sense of presence.
A boring job disrupts sense of purpose.
Fear disrupts sense of presence.
Getting fired disrupts sense of purpose.
It's probably not that simple, but I think this might be a valid framework for identifying & eliminating things that detract from your happiness. Does it disrupt your sense of presence or purpose? Fix it, remove it, or reframe it.
Both can be equally difficult. It depends on how you're wired.
I'm very good at reframing things to make them feel purposeful, e.g. "I'm spending hours slogging through this spreadsheet because my boss is too lazy to do it themselves" vs. "I'm spending hours slogging through this spreadsheet to ensure my employees are credited the proper vacation days, which means they'll get to spend more time with their families this year." That feels much better than taking it at face value.
It's a bit harder with presence, because we're mostly trained NOT to be present as much as possible. We're so used to being distracted and out of the present moment that we've forgotten how to slow down and take each moment as it comes, in isolation, in all of its messiness and beauty.
Even if these cornerstones aren't all you need to be happy, they're probably a good start.
Here's to more presence & purpose in our lives 🥂.
Happiness, I guess.
I spend a lot of time thinking about happiness and the bigger picture of life.
Recently, I arrived on this idea: presence & purpose are all I need to be happy.
I define presence as the ability to be in a moment, not lost in thought or consumed with concern over previous moments or moments that have yet to pass.
I define purpose as something that gives justification to your actions in a way that makes it feel meaningful, either to you or to others.
Most things that make you unhappy disrupt either your sense of presence or sense of purpose.
Anxiety disrupts sense of presence.
A boring job disrupts sense of purpose.
Fear disrupts sense of presence.
Getting fired disrupts sense of purpose.
It's probably not that simple, but I think this might be a valid framework for identifying & eliminating things that detract from your happiness. Does it disrupt your sense of presence or purpose? Fix it, remove it, or reframe it.
Both can be equally difficult. It depends on how you're wired.
I'm very good at reframing things to make them feel purposeful, e.g. "I'm spending hours slogging through this spreadsheet because my boss is too lazy to do it themselves" vs. "I'm spending hours slogging through this spreadsheet to ensure my employees are credited the proper vacation days, which means they'll get to spend more time with their families this year." That feels much better than taking it at face value.
It's a bit harder with presence, because we're mostly trained NOT to be present as much as possible. We're so used to being distracted and out of the present moment that we've forgotten how to slow down and take each moment as it comes, in isolation, in all of its messiness and beauty.
Even if these cornerstones aren't all you need to be happy, they're probably a good start.
Here's to more presence & purpose in our lives 🥂.