Make Happiness the object of pursuit and it leads to a wild goose chase. – Nathaniel Hawthorne
Finding bliss is centers around not looking for it. Pursuing feelings is a road to nowhere.
Fixating on yourself is a recipe for an unsatisfactory life.
The Philosopher John Stuart Mill spoke about this concept in the 1850’s.
Mills stated, “Those only are happy who have their attention fixed on something other than their own happiness.”
This makes a ton of sense. I recently heard a story about someone who chartered an expensive vacation to an exotic locale. One of the essential requirements for this person’s well-being was having gluten-free condiments available at every eating establishment the family attended.
Will this vacation be a euphoric experience with standards like these? The odds don’t look so hot.
This type of mentality causes infinite wants. What’s next?
Taylor Swift look alike drivers for every destination?
People are entitled to spend their money on whatever they desire but don’t expect happiness to follow such egocentric requests.
Modern behavioral science backs up the failure of the pursuit of happiness through endless pleasure.
Arthur Brooks speaks about a 2011 experiment.
In one widely cited 2011 experiment in the journal Emotion, a group of participants was prompted to try to feel happier when shown a happy film clip. Afterward, they were less happy than people who instead saw a sad film clip—because they were disappointed that they didn’t feel as happy as they thought they should. In a similar study, some participants were instructed to “try to make yourself feel as happy as possible,” while others were not. Those told to maximize their happiness reported a less positive average mood than the others.
It turns out being altruistic or pursuing something greater than your self engages the brain’s reward systems. An example would be giving money to a charity.
Conversely this is why paying taxes sucks. Forced or requested contributions are Kryptonite for the brain’s pleasure centers.
Don’t count on your mind to bring joy. It often thinks you out of happiness more often than not.
This weekend I had my own personal experience with his type of happiness sans the gluten-free ketchup.
We are trying rewild our Beach Associations property by removing native species and planting native plants to restore the balance of the ecosystem.
This involves much research and manual labor. After numerous cleanup trips and consultations with experts, I ordered the plants and they arrived last week.
Over 500 individual plants needed to get in the ground. With the help of a friend, I spent 6 hours planning beds and digging holes in the soggy leaf mulch.
It was a ton of work for no pay.
Guess what? It was awesome!! Taking back land and providing homes for millions of insects, birds and mammals is a rush,
Better yet, it’s continuous dopamine rush and benefits the whole community hopefully for generations to come. Of course, I won’t see this but maybe they can bury me here as part of the compost.
This project isn’t about using self focus as a tool to pursue happiness . It’s all about the greater good, not bragging on Instagram posts.
There are a lot of unhappy people in this country, many with a 7 figure net worth.
Our culture defines happiness on what you have rather than what you give.
We have it backwards.
Arthur Brooks adds the period to this post.
The Pursuit of Happiness, is something very simple: Don’t pursue happiness in the way today’s culture advises. Pursue virtue, generosity, piety, integrity, and kindness. Your happiness will come from the love you give.
Happiness isn’t found in a 5 star resort.
They’ll just make you hunt for a sixth.
