The Molecule of More

THE MOLECULE OF MORE

WHO’S IN CONTROL OF YOUR BRAIN?

At some point, everyone asks the question, why? Why do I do the things
that I do? Why do I make the choices that I make?
On the surface, this seems like an easy question: we do things for
a reason. We put on a sweater because we’re cold. We get up in the
morning and go to work because we need to pay the bills. We brush our
teeth to prevent tooth decay. Most of what we do is for the sake of other
things; things such as feeling warm, having money to pay bills, and to
avoid being scolded by the dentist.
The problem is that you can ask this question as long as you like.
Why do we want to stay warm? Why do we care if we pay the bills?
Why do we want to avoid the dentist’s scolding? Children play this
game all the time: “It’s time to go to bed.” Why? “Because you need to
get up for school in the morning.” Why? “Because you need an educa-
tion.” Why? And so on.
The philosopher Aristotle played this same game, but with a more
serious purpose. He looked at all the things we do for the sake of some-
thing else and wondered if there was an end to it all. Why do you
go to work, really? Why do you need to make money? Why do you
have to pay bills? Why do you want the electricity to stay on? Where
does it end? Is there anything we seek for itself only, not because it
leads to something else? Aristotle decided there was. He decided there
was a single thing that lay at the end of every string of Whys, and its
name was Happiness. Everything we do, ultimately, is for the sake of
happiness.
It’s hard to argue with this conclusion. After all, it makes us happy
to be able to pay our bills and have electricity. It makes us happy to have
healthy teeth and  educated minds. It  may  even make us  happy to  suffer 
pain, if we’re doing it for a worthy cause. Happiness is the polestar that
guides our journey through life. When faced with a range of options,
we choose the one that leads to the most happiness.
Except we don’t.
Our brains aren’t wired that way. Think of how many people you
know who just “fell into” their careers, or who chose their college based