works. Securing money or something we want can spike our
happiness meter—for a moment. Then it goes back down. Over the
ages, our greatest minds have pondered happiness, and their
conclusions are much the same: having money and things won’t
automatically lead to lasting happiness.
How circumstances affect us depends on how we interpret them
as they relate to our life. If we lack a “big picture” view, we can
easily fall into serial success seeking. Why? Once we get what we
want, our happiness sooner or later wanes because we quickly become
accustomed to what we acquire. This happens to everyone and
eventually leaves us bored, seeking something new to get or do.
Worse, we may not even stop or slow down to enjoy what we’ve got
because we automatically get up and go for something else. If we’re
not careful, we wind up ricocheting from achieving and acquiring to
acquiring and achieving without ever taking time to fully enjoy any of
it. This is a good way to remain a beggar, and the day we realize this
is the day our life changes forever. So how do we find enduring
happiness?
Happiness happens on the way to fulfillment.
Dr. Martin Seligman, past president of the American
Psychological Association, believes there are five factors that
contribute to our happiness: positive emotion and pleasure,
achievement, relationships, engagement, and meaning. Of these, he
believes engagement and meaning are the most important. Becoming
more engaged in what we do by finding ways to make our life more
meaningful is the surest way to finding lasting happiness. When our
daily actions fulfill a bigger purpose, the most powerful and enduring
happiness can happen.
Take money, for instance. Since money represents both getting
something and the potential to get more, it makes for a great example.
Many people not only misunderstand how to make money but also
how it makes us happy. I’ve taught wealth building to everyone from
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(coco)
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