Happiness versus the Pursuit of Happiness

Being happy and pursuing happiness aren’t the same thing

Photo by: Stocksnap via Pixabay

Happiness, in one form or another, is the focus of every living creature. We all want to be happy. Every single one of us.

Interestingly, there are many different ways we choose to pursue happiness. A corporate-raiding billionaire and a preschool teacher are both pursuing happiness in their own way.

While there are great differences between the lifestyles of happy people, there are many things they share in common, too.

See why pursuing happiness directly is ineffective:

1. Happiness isn’t a thing that can be pursued. You can pursue a specific model of car or 6-pack abs. You can’t pursue happiness because it’s not a tangible thing. It’s like trying to pursue the wind — you’ll never catch it. Happiness is the result of living life in a particular way. The particular way is different for everyone, but there are guidelines you can follow.
2. Happiness is internal. Happiness is already inside of you. It’s your natural state. It’s not something you need to find out in the world and capture. You only need the right circumstances to permit yourself to feel it. And truthfully, sometimes you don’t even need the right circumstances —…