Happiness

Happiness seems to be something that we are continually chasing. Online we are

bombarded with ads and influencers telling us that if we buy this we will be happy, if we do this

we will be happy, and if we go there we will be happy. Happiness is the most elusive of creatures.

Much like Bigfoot and the Lochness Monster, it appears that it can never be found or caught. We

feel like we have to continually be doing something or going somewhere in order to achieve this

state of happiness that everyone else seems to have. We can even pick ourselves apart and change

nearly every aspect of what makes us special in an attempt to be more like the people we see that

have the happiness we crave.

Shawn Achor explains this phenomenon that happens when people achieve a goal, and

experience success. He explains that after accomplishing what a person had set out to do, the

victory does not taste so sweet. The feelings of gratitude, relief and pure happiness we hope to

feel, never come. This is due to the fact that the world we live in is constantly making us believe

that the grass is always greener. We accomplish a task, we get a harder one. We complete a

project, we get a bigger one. We find a job, we need a better one. And there is never an end. We

are constantly caught up in the idea that if we do this then we will be happy.

The reality is, as Shawn explains, happiness can be found all around us in our everyday

lives if we look for it, and let it find us. He spoke about a study on the lasting effect of journaling.

He explained that it was proven that those who took the time to write down three things that

made them happy that day, would relive those same moments. Not only that, but after a period of

time they will have trained their brains to look for the good in everyday life. How great would it

be if everyday we lived like it was truly our last? We would literally savor every moment, finding

the silver lining that is within all human life.