I could bang on about how you only have this one life. There’s no dress rehearsal, and that is true. You only have this one life and what counts is what you do with it, And there’s plenty of evidence that suggests the one thing we human beings want more than anything is to be happy.
And being happy is about choice; you can be it at any moment. There’s no rule book or permission required. Happiness is about being present in the moment. So, no, I’m not going to go all “Mindfulness” on you. But how many of us actually are happy with our lot?
For me, being happy is about family and friends. It’s about love and connection. As human beings, we all crave it. We all feed off each other.
Do you remember those terrible 9/11 phone calls home from people trapped in the World trade centre, knowing they were about to die? And telling their loved ones how much they loved them and reminiscing about a BBQ on the beach and how the kids buried him up to his neck in the sand? They never mentioned, “Make sure you look after my BMW and share portfolio!”
So, It’s never about something you go down the shop and buy. It’s not a transactional experience of when I get this thing – car, house, watch, trophy partner- it will make me happy.
Unfortunately, we buy into feeding the happiness hamster wheel, buying into the belief that things purchased on the outside will make our-self happy on the inside. It’s like putting a sticking plaster over an infection instead of treating it.
And for some, happiness is a power they give away. A lifetime thinking the path to it is derived by people and invitation pleasing. Saying yes when inside, they yearn to say no.