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> 15. Avoid the pursuit of happiness. Seek to define your mission and pursue that Well put. Happiness is a byproduct not a goal. Lack of happiness can be a
by Swizec 1y ago
> 15. Avoid the pursuit of happiness. Seek to define your mission
and pursue that
Well put. Happiness is a byproduct not a goal. Lack of happiness can be a signal to change things up.
- wutwutwat 1y agoIsn’t that pursuing happiness? Your saying if you’re not happy than change your goals to something with happiness as a by product. Or, pursue happiness.
- Swizec 1y agoThere’s a nuance here that matters. Pursuing happiness means you use happiness as a leading indicator (I think). You do things that you predict will make you happy. This is commonly preyed upon by advertising, sales, managers, bosses, etc. I’m suggesting you use happiness as a trailing indicator instead. Pursue other goals and happiness comes on its own. If you perceive yourself to be unhappy over a long period, that is a symptom and you should look for underlying causes then go fix those. You pursue fixing the causes, not the happiness. See also: once a metric becomes the goal, it stops being useful. To use a silly analogy: No amount of painkillers will fix a broken leg. Or to share an example – I once got into gratitude journaling and mindfulness stuff. It kinda helped. You know what really helped? Quitting my job and getting a job I enjoyed. No mindfulness or gratitude journaling needed. Feeling like I need a gratitude journal was the symptom that something’s gotta change.
- michaelbarton 1y agoFWIW there’s evidence around this: > Researchers have now found that people who pursue happiness often feel like they do not have enough time in the day, and this paradoxically makes them feel unhappy. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180312104036.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180312104036.h...