Happiness is not the answer...
For the longest time, I believed that there's only one purpose of life: And that is to be happy. Because, why else go through all the pain and hardship of life? It’s to achieve happiness in some way. Right? I know I'm not the only person who believed that. In fact, if you look around you, most people are pursuing happiness in their lives. That’s why we collectively buy shit we don’t need, go to bed with people we don’t love, and try to work hard to get approval of people we don’t like. Why do we do these things, I asked myself today? To be honest, I don’t care what the exact reason is. I’m not a scientist. All I know is that it has something to do with history, culture, media, economy, psychology, politics, the information era, and you name it. But let us just accept that we are who we are... most people love to analyze why people are not happy or don’t live fulfilling lives. I don't really care about the why. I care more about how we can change. Just a few short years ago, I did everything to chase happiness. But if there is one thing I realized is that at the end of the day, you’re lying in your bed (alone or next to your significant other), and you think: “What’s next in this endless pursuit of happiness?” Well, I can tell you what’s next now (10 years later): You, chasing something random that you believe makes you happy. It’s all a facade. A hoax. A story that’s been made up. I wonder if Aristotle lied to us when he said, “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” I think we have to look at that quote from a different angle. Because when you read it, you think that happiness is the main goal. And that’s kind of what the quote says as well. But here’s the thing: How do we achieve happiness? Happiness can’t be a goal in itself. Therefore, it’s not something that’s achievable. I believe that happiness is merely a byproduct of usefulness. When I talk about this concept with friends, family, and colleagues, I always find it difficult to put this into words. But I’ll give it a try here. Most things we do in life are just activities and experiences. * You go on vacation. * You go to work. * You go shopping. * You have drinks. * You have dinner. * You buy a car. Those things should make you happy, right? But they are not useful. You’re not creating anything. You’re just consuming or doing something. And that’s great. Don’t get me wrong. I love to go on vacation, or go shopping sometimes. But to be honest, it’s not what gives meaning to my life. What really makes me happy is when I’m useful. When I create something that others can use. Or even when I create something I can use. For the longest time I found it difficult to explain the concept of usefulness and happiness. But yesterday I read a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson, and the dots finally connected. “The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” And I didn’t get that before I became more conscious of what I’m doing with my life. And that always sounds heavy and all. But it’s actually really simple. It comes down to this: What are you DOING that’s making a difference? Did you do useful things in your lifetime? You don’t have to change the world or anything. Just make it a little bit better than before you were born. I know it's cliche, but it's really up to us to make this world a better place. We "humans" damaged it, we need to make it better! It’s not anything big. But when you do little useful things every day, it adds up to a life that is well lived. A life that mattered. The last thing I want is to be on my deathbed and realize there’s zero evidence that I ever existed. So just remember that being useful is a mindset. And like with any mindset, it starts with a decision. A few years ago I woke up and asked myself: What am I doing for this world? The answer was nothing. And that same day I realized I would at least leave my ART as my legacy, my only truth. My only passion. Don’t take it too seriously. Don’t overthink it. Just DO something that’s useful. Anything. S. 🙏🏻