Happiness is there, You Just don’t See It.

The problem with life is that it does not come with an instruction manual. With no clear idea of what we are supposed to do or how we are to do it, we turn to society for advice. But societies’ goals may not be the same as your goals.

Ask most people what they want out of life, and they will tell you that they want to be happy. However, society wants us to be productive. Society wants us to pursue achievement and wealth because society thinks that is what it needs. So it convinces us that the way to happiness is to achieve a lot and be productive.

Achievement does not Equal Happiness

The problem is that there is little correlation between achievement and happiness. Although being in poverty will make you miserable, further achievement does not correlate with more happiness once you leave poverty. The added work and time away from home may harm wellbeing. You may dream of a beautiful home theater with a giant TV, incredible sound system, and reclining chairs, but if working to pay for it means you never get to use it, did you win?

If you find that you are not getting where you want to go in life, it may be time to recheck those instructions. Imagine you are trying to drive to a party in an unfamiliar part of town. You have programmed your phone’s GPS with the destination…