My wife and I were traveling for our anniversary this week. Toward the end of the trip, we were enjoying breakfast in the open air looking out over the water on a perfect day where the air touching my skin was a delight. Sitting there, I was completely content. I wanted for nothing. Live was good. I just let it soak in, desiring nothing more than this moment. It felt great! I reflected on that as we traveled home. We had a wonderful trip and life is good overall. And not that much had changed in my overall life except my mindset.
Most unhappiness is caused by the gap between what we have and what we want, our current life and career situation and our ambitions. Especially in the western world, we pride our selves on having big dreams and goals and then working hard to achieve them. When we achieve them, or just before, we reset them to even higher levels, recreating that gap, creating more unhappiness or not-enough-ness. I have and usually do look to the future and want to create or accomplish many things and then push myself hard to achieve them. There is nothing wrong with that as long as we enjoy the ride and don’t think the achievement itself will bring us happiness. And it is hard work and we often, I know I did, damage my health and relationships in the work to close the gap. We make ourselves miserable.
This week when I was feeling completely content, it had nothing to do with working hard to achieve more. I simply was satisfied with what I had in that moment. I wanted what I had. We can close the gap in two ways, working hard to move our life to our ambitions or reduce our ambitions to our current life. That is what I did, and it felt great. This is the simplest way to happiness. Love your life the way it is, which will bring contentment and gratitude, delivering happiness. How do I still contribute then?, you ask. You contribute because it is what you are meant to do, it is what you like to do, what life asks of you, not because it will make you happy when you reach some arbitrary goal. You love your life along the way and do your work because it is what is yours to do.
Whatever you are working toward in your life right now, want for nothing as you go. Your enjoyment will increase much faster than if you work hard to see if you can make that goal and hope that will make you happy.
This weekend, practice loving what you have, wanting for nothing, and see how that makes you feel. It makes me feel great!
Have a great weekend,
Art
#happiness #ambition #goals #wantfornothing #gratitude #loveyourlife
