Last July, I read Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project and her similarly titled blog. In her book, she has a chapter on career growth, the importance of constantly exposing yourself to criticism, and how she was inspired to start her blog. Reading the fear she overcame in starting her own blog was really what tipped me over the edge and put my writing public.
On said blog, she occasionally profiles different writers and asks her the following questions about happiness, to discover more life truths that other people have discovered. I thought it might be fun for me to attack these questions myself. Anyways, some thoughts:
What’s a simple activity that consistently makes you happier?
Showering. It just feels like a moment of quiet, peace, and cleanliness. I hate feeling sweaty and sticky, so it feels good to be clean and smell good. I can’t really explain why this makes me feel better, it just does and I love it. Let’s move on.
Is there anything you find yourself doing repeatedly that gets in the way of your happiness?
I love being busy, challenging myself to become better, and stretching myself as far as possible. That always comes with taking on too much, and at the end of it, I just don’t have the mental and spiritual energy to appropriately deal with that stress. I’ve let that affect my relationships in the past, so I want to be aware of how far into fatigue debt I am.
Is there a happiness mantra or motto that you’ve found very helpful?
It goes on. A few summers ago, I spent my life on a ranch in Wyoming. That summer I memorized several Robert Frost poems. I like him because of his understanding of life’s transitoriness (not a word, but should be). Anyways, Frost was quoted,
“If there is one thing I’ve learned about life, it is this: it goes on.”
This may be one of the most important things I’ve ever learned. Life has ups and downs, but usually, it goes on. It’s prevented me from letting myself get paralyzed and dwelling on the downs.
Do you work on being happier? If so, how?
Yes, always. I always try to find ways to relieve my stress, find ways to optimize my general outlook towards life. I recently read Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life by Karen Armstrong, a book about what religious history tells us about compassion. One of my favorite parts was about Buddhism.
When Siddhattha Gotama (the Buddha’s real name, thanks Wikipedia for making me look smarter than I am) attained enlightenment and inner peace towards the suffering brought on by life, he didn’t just sit by himself and enjoy his enlightened state. Rather, he took it upon himself to spread his newfound understanding and empower others to enjoy the relief that came with such peace.
My guess is that it’s not a zero/one question of do you have peace or not, but I think this is the purpose of life. To endure suffering, gain peace, and help others through their suffering. I think “happier” is analogous to “peace.” So yes, I do work on being happier.
I cut out some questions in the interest of length, but those are some thoughts I had on happiness.
from ken
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