There's More To Life Than Being Happy

There's More To Life Than Being Happy

There's More To Life Than Being Happy and I'm NOT about to downplay this chart of the HAPPIEST COUNTRIES [from Pinterest] which confirms that the HAPPIEST Index is at its peak in Australia, the Americas and Nordic countries.  And this eggs me to share as to how Australians can claim to be some of the HAPPIEST people in our planet.  In my business trip Down Under, my hosts surprised me with a Barbeque Party right at noontime in the middle of Prince Albert Park in Melbourne.  If you won't agree with me that Australians are that HAPPY, I can't argue more.  But for today's thread, we WON'T debate about the levels of HAPPINESS but instead ask ourselves if that is the end of all our pursuits in life❓❓❓

To reference Gallup data, the happiness levels of Americans are at an all-time high and that nearly 60 percent of them feel HAPPY, without a lot of stress or worry.  On the other hand, according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control, about 4 out of 10 Americans have NOT discovered a satisfying life PURPOSE.  Forty percent either do NOT think their lives have a clear sense of PURPOSE or are neutral about their whether their lives have PURPOSE.  This offers us a picture worth dissecting💊💊💊

Indeed, having PURPOSE and MEANING in life increases our overall well-being and life satisfaction, improves our mental and physical health as well and in the end, it even enhances resiliency, self-esteem and conversely, decreases the chances of depression.  On top of that, the single-minded pursuit of HAPPINESS is ironically leaving people less HAPPY.  To quote Jewish-Austrian psychiatrist Viktor Frankl, "IT IS THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS THAT  THWARTS HAPPINESS❗❗❗

This explains why many research studies are cautioning us against the pursuit of more HAPPINESS.  Day-in Day-out, I've witnessed many people doggedly in pursuit of HAPPINESS.  Cautious as NOT to be accused of getting into another person's turf, I have desisted from articulating my thoughts that HAPPINESS should NOT be the end point of our life.  Instead, HAPPINESS should be that vehicle  to bring us forward📌📌📌

Now, things get trickier with meaningful life vs HAPPY LIFE. In fact, in some ways, they do overlap but are ultimately different.  Leading a HAPPY LIFE is associated in being a 'TAKER' while leading a MEANINGFUL LIFE corresponds to being a GIVER.  While NOT having enough $$$$ decreases how HAPPY we are, it has a much greater impact on HAPPINESS.  The icing on the cake?  A HAPPY life is also defined by a lack of STRESS or WORRY✅✅✅