On Finding happiness
Happiness is not a destination; it is the journey!
Many times, we say to ourselves, once I get a job I will be happy. sure enough you get a job. Next, you want a promotion, then you want to be in a relationship, and so the list goes on. The thing is, satisfaction is hard to get. To give us a reason to get out of bed every day, we constantly need to be pushed by the nagging want of something. Sometimes this is something physical, sometimes it’s the need for affection or even the need of a partner to share your life with. So we pin our happiness to that one thing, convince ourselves that once we acquire it, we will be happy. And when we finally get it,we are still not happy; we feel somewhat cheated and empty. So we sit down and find something wrong with our life and imagine once we solve it, we will be happy. That’s not how life works; happiness is not a destination but the journey.
The thing with life is that it is uncertain. Things could change at any given moment. Without warning your life could be turned upside down. I was reading a story about a famous blind athlete. He was born without any disability. In his story, he describes how he was living the life of an average young man. Probably going on and on about things like unemployment, how he felt misunderstood and how the village beauty will not give him a chance. Then one day he woke up in total darkness. That’s when his life began, in my opinion. He set up a foundation in his name, he has his own marathon and he now has his purpose all figured out.
Unfortunately or fortunately, not all of us go through such life changing experiences that will open our eyes to what we have. So we might spend our lives unhappy, each day pinning our happiness on something we may never achieve. When you watch documentaries on the prey habits of carnivores, mostly we are shown the chase. Once the lioness is comfortably lying with its cubs feeding, nobody finds that intriguing. That’s because the chase is the most interesting and important part of the preying habits. So, whatever it is you are chasing, enjoy the chase. Enjoy the process and you definitely will love success even more. Looking for a life partner? Enjoy each of those dates. Enjoy meeting new people and take that time to work on yourself. Looking for a job? Take your time and enjoy the interviews and the time you have to do things that you love. Waiting on a new car? Enjoy your last few days using public transport means. Remember, it isn’t about how fast you get to your destination, it’s the climb that matters.
