Eternally Happy?

 

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Is it possible to be happy all the time?

What if you frame your happiness with the means to success and not in the outcome of success itself?

I really think if you seek satisfaction and happiness in an end goal, a singular point in time, one particular outcome, you’ll only get the dopamine hit for a moment. After that, you’ll need to seek more and more “outcomes” to feel happy.

While constantly striving to reach some goal is necessary for living a productive and forward moving life, there is something to be said about enjoying each step of the way.

My hypothesis is this: 

Reframe where you find happiness to be the activity that successful people do (whatever the arena), and your happiness—dopamine hits—will spring forth continuously.

For instance, I know that journaling—writing out my thoughts on the epiphanies I get—is an immensely useful habit.

Not only will it create clarity, but it will also lead to future content whether in written or video form, a personal record to look back on, and a better self-awareness than before.

It’ll help me make better decisions in the long term, and, most importantly, it is a habit held in common by nearly every successful person I’ve come across.

That all being said, I get the most satisfaction from the very act—writing words in sentences and paragraphs in a meaningful, comprehensive, and impactful way.

The funny thing is, though, when I write, I don’t think about the person it will make me. Instead, I am completely immersed in the process, thoroughly enjoying every second.

I am happy.

That’s what I want for everything. Every goal. I want it to reach this level.

And I do mean “reach” this level.

It takes time to go from “I need to do this thing” to “I want to do this thing” or even “I crave doing this thing.”

The truth is, I didn’t start out loving it this much.

In fact, there was a time I struggled to journal like this.

I thought, “I have nothing to say. Nothing to write about.”

But I started with a little.

A small easily attainable goal that quickly grew into the never-missed-a-Sunday habit it is today.

What’s even happening more and more now is longer spells of writing where I have a thought that I want to go deep on.

So I want to be a millionaire.

What would a millionaire do every day?

Maybe long stretches of focused work.

So my first step: “have a dedicated time for focused work every day”

The great thing about this habit, too, is it’s pretty attainable.

It could also be converted into a more SMART articulation, but it’s a great starting point.

This approach will be beneficial in many ways. It’ll help me reach my goals for one. It’ll also make working hard for these things second nature after a while. It’ll help me to develop into the person who can maintain the outcome it eventually brings.

And, ultimately, it will feed my soul. And isn’t that the best goal in life?

~Niquey