“50 Ways to Be Happier!”

You’ve probably seen a similar title somewhere on the internet and clicked on it and learned absolutely nothing useful about what happiness is or how exactly you can be happier. You’ve also probably seen something similar to, “5 Things Successful People Do Every Morning,” which you also read and obtained no useful information from.

Everyone wants to be happy, and everyone wants to be successful, right? So how exactly do these two abstract things relate and how do we obtain them.

We are taught that happiness comes after success. That in order to be successful, we must work hard to achieve some goal, and once we reach that goal, we will be granted a fleeting moment of happiness. But Harvard Professor Shawn Achor says we have this backwards. He says that success, rather, is a byproduct of happiness.

However, even if we get this formula correct and live our lives based on this ideal, our idea of happiness as a whole is incorrect. America is undoubtedly one of the most materialistic societies in the history of the world. When compared to Americans 55 years ago, we own twice as many cars and eat out twice as much per person, but we don’t seem to be any happier. We equate happiness with material things, but yet even when we have these material things we are unhappy, and this is a product of a society that puts so much value simply on “stuff.”

So even if we know some job is not going to make us happy, we often feel the pressure to pursue it because it will give us a certain lifestyle. While we don’t necessarily need or want this lifestyle, we often feel pressured to have it.

There is currently a cultural obsession with the pursuit of happiness, but many argue that there are more important things in life than being happy, such as leading a meaningful life, and that by pursuing happiness we are being selfish. One writer states that people seeking happiness are “takers” whereas people seeking meaning in life are more often generous and “givers.” But I think happiness allows us to seek meaning, and gives us the desire to discover our purpose.

Having a happy life is so important, arguably the most important quality of life, but happiness is not simply satisfying a need in the present moment. It is something you are able to create for yourself, and when you do, you realize that it lasts longer than the feeling you get when you get a new car or a new pair of shorts. I’m not telling you never to buy anything again, I like clothes too, but material items don’t sustain lasting happiness. Happiness allows you to find meaning, and it makes you want to get out of bed in the morning and achieve your goals. Although we cannot always be happy, and beauty and growth are often found in unhappy moments, we should always strive toward it.

So, do what you want to do with your life, not what you think you should do or what someone else wants you to do. Do the things that make you happy and if you don’t yet know what that is, go find it. Because life isn’t something that just happens to you, you can create what you want your life to be. Maybe that career you want might not allow you to live a lifestyle full of material wealth, but if you are doing something every day that makes you fulfilled, then that’s even better.