Happiness

This episode is about a somewhat illusive concept called “happiness”. Many times, our pursuit of this is an adventure in missing the point. So, we’ll bring a bit of a counterculture (roguish!) perspective to cultivating a happy life. And, as always, our conversation will be roguish, as we weave in our core values and, as always, we’ll share a mystic MacNugget. Let’s strap in… Hey Stu… “Namaste, all of you beautifully, exotic cocktails… Comment on Facebook, email us, we want to more of these stories! Great Instagram stories this week! Manifesto points to consider: Wise evolves from me to we. Wise measures effectiveness against faithfulness. Wise Goes beyond what happens to what matters. THE SETUP-Happiness. Basis for this discussion comes from an article in Thttps://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2021/01/checklist-achievements-happiness-boxes/617756/ (he Atlantic by Arthur C. Brooks,) entitled, “True success is more than checking boxes.” Definition A state of well-being and contentment. A pleasurable or satisfying experience (life). Bliss, joy, delight. Beatles vs Rolling Stones: Wanting to hold your hand vs getting satisfaction. Ha! Should it even be about our happiness? My story about the “no”. THE ISSUES In our western society we are “checklisters”. Accomplishment and ambition don’t drive happiness. It’s misbegotten to think so. Birthdays are milestones to check our progress. Scorekeeping makes us dependent on external rewards, and it sets us up for dissatisfaction. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. Relying on external rewards lowers satisfaction. Why does happiness seem so elusive? Or is it? If your happiness depends on an escalating list of worldly accomplishments, you might soon find that your fear of failure supplants your ambition. THE SOLUTION-WHAT DOES BRING HAPPINESS? WHO HAS INTRINSIC CHARACTERISTICS THAT I ADMIRE AND WANT TO EMULATE? WHAT DO PEOPLE MOST NEED FROM ME, AND HOW CAN I PROVIDE IT? WHAT IS MY LIFE’S PURPOSE? Asking life’s “why” questions. If you can’t say that you have a happy life, shoot for just some happy moments. String them together and amazingly you get a life filled with happiness. Happiness comes from the illumination of your greatest virtues, thus showing the way for other people, and making visible to yourself your true purpose. MYSTIC MACNUGGET "Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action." —William James