We are now into Spring, a time when many celebrate all that Spring gives us and what it represents. It is a time when we reflect on the beauty and life giving aspects of Spring, the fact that we have left the dark, cold days of Winter behind and we look to the bright, warm days of Summer that lie ahead of us. Much like the beginning of the year, to me this feels like a good time to be setting goals, or perhaps re-evaluating the goals we set at the beginning of the year.
Like many people I set myself goals at the beginning of the year, things I intended to do to improve or enrich my life. I’m sure many of you did this too, or at least thought about setting goals for this year. The general impetus is usually the improvement of ourselves and our habits, but underneath all of our goals, I think, is the drive to try and become happier; happier with ourselves and with our lives. We intend to try harder and to do better, to get closer to happiness.
For as long as human beings could conceive of such things, people have been in search of this thing we call happiness, this illusive state that underlies the motives behind much of our thoughts and actions. Aristotle said that “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” However, it is often something that we experience only in fleeting moments, in brief periods of time that come and then go as we venture on into the future of our lives.
This is often the case because we are seeking happiness out there in the world. We often make the acquiring of things the way in which we try to find happiness. Whether it is a new car, a new TV, recognition for an achievement or becoming wealthier than we currently are, the failure is always going to be in the hope that the things and people in the world are going to match our expectations. Things rarely work out as we expect them to, life is not like that.
If we look at the many religious and philosophical writings of the world we will find a recurring idea, that the route to happiness is to be content with what we already have, rather than the acquiring of worldly things. Also that the best way to make yourself happy is to try and make others happy. In giving you will receive, in many ways. I would advise setting goals that align with your values and that enrich the lives of others. This could be helping your colleagues do better, working better as part of a team or just smiling more. The by-product will be, I think, a happier life.
The Fullfilment Project 