We want that thing, That promotion, That money, That closeness with our friends and family. All the sudden. We get exactly what we wanted. And we still aren't happy. All the sudden there is a new problem. We dream about the day we get to move onto the rest of our life, Where things are easy. Where everything has fallen into place. That moment when we can finally be happy.
It's difficult to know what you want When you've never had it before. Some stuff is obvious, Many of us want to shelter and food to eat. And if we have that we can be somewhat happy. But some of the larger things, Like your career or lifestyle. We may think we want it, And it will be good for us, But it's easy to "get it" And realize it's not actually what we wanted after all.
The media we indulge in, And our peers help carve those things that we may "think" that we want.
Sometimes the reality is we don't even know. SO we live everyday fighting for that thing, When it may not even bring us the pleasure we think it will.
Many things bring short term happiness. You get new clothes, And you may feel like it was the best day ever, But that can quickly fade. Every shirt you wear was once new, Was once exciting. Now you are used to it And don't care about it anymore. Most things seem to give us the little bursts of happiness. There is nothing wrong with that Unless of course, you rely on those extra boosts on a regular basis. Then we have problems.
Many of us feel better about ourselves when we are doing better than people in a similar workplace, A Similar age range. I'm guilty of this one. I often find myself comparing myself to other people at the same age. This often brings me down, Because even though we are the same age, It's an unfair comparison. Our life situations and opportunities dramatically vary from each other. There is no "fair" comparison. One of us could have had much better opportunities.
If you are feeling severely insecure about yourself. It's been proven that if you are surrounded by people who are not doing as well as you, you'll feel happier. This is not a good tactic for your growth though. It's often best to be the "dumbest" in the room, That way you can focus on constant growth.
GIving is a great happiness booster. It's funny that when you give with no expectations, You lose resources, Yet that feeling on your brain just feels so good. Because of you, Someone has food to eat Or clothing. Giving has been proven over and over again to make a person feel better about themselves.
So many people spend a lifetime looking for happiness.
