The Root Cause of My Struggle with Happiness – Can You Relate?
I write about happiness often. So much so that happiness is now a major section on this site.
The reason for this is that I struggle with happiness. I’m the type of person who is motivated by satisfaction rather than happiness. However, this is not always a good thing. In fact, this mindset can sometimes be depressing.
No Happiness When the Present Moment is Just a Gateway to the Future
Happiness is felt in the present, while satisfaction is driven by future outcomes. Therefore, I often find it hard to center my mind and enjoy the moment. Instead, I often only see the present as a means of getting to my future.
This is the root cause of my struggle with happiness. It was brought to my attention while finishing up the groundbreaking book Flow in Sports. In the final chapter the authors make a profound observation:
When what you consider most important lies in the future, the present can become simply a means of getting there. Yet it is in the present that flow is found, so if the present is disregarded in an attempt to ensure the future, the quality of the experience will certainly suffer.
Of course the task must be completed before the goal is reached, but this can occur in a mindless fashion, where the present moment is nothing more than a time period to be passed through before the goal can eventually be obtained…
…if enjoyment is not part of the picture, a great opportunity for improving life will be lost.
After reading this I’m challenging myself to find happiness in everyday moments instead of waiting for the big milestones to celebrate my journey.
My question to you is can you relate to this? If so, are you willing to identify two or three everyday moments in life that you have written-off as insignificant and reframe them as moments to celebrate? Please share with me if you can.