Freedom from Unhappiness: In our search for authentic happiness, we need to start with freedom from unhappiness.

Do we really know what makes us happy? We’ve been conditioned to believe that the wrong things will bring lasting happiness. In turn, our efforts are directed toward things that we think will make us happy but won’t. Think for a moment about milestones you were certain would bring you complete happiness.  When you reached them, were you happy?  Did that joy last?

This holds true for our pursuit of money as a source of happiness.  One happiness researcher pointed out that “we think money will bring lots of happiness for a long time, but actually it brings little happiness for a short time.” This is true of many of our perceived sources of happiness.  And in our pursuit of such dead-end pleasures, we end up ignoring more effective routes to our well-being.

Most people begin their lives pursuing high grades, athletic achievements, and/or prestigious jobs.

But often these goals fail to provide us with an experience of sustained well-being.

While levels of material prosperity are on the rise, so are levels of depression.  So, we need to ask ourselves, “When this generation is wealthier than previous generations, if we are so rich, why aren’t we happy?”

For many of us we get stuck in a place called the waiting game, meaning “one day I’ll make it”.

If this becomes our thought pattern, no matter what we achieve, the future will always seem better.
It’s a perfect recipe for permanent dissatisfaction and non fulfillment.

Journal:
So take a moment and ask yourself, how much of your life do you spend waiting?