By Ahsan
Have you ever heard of someone famous, wealthy, and influential who was not happy?
It’s almost predictable that successful people who are put in the spotlight will at some point implode or have an inciting event that causes them to change their philosophy about life and all the goals they achieved.
Achieving your goals is not the most crucial thing in life, and it will most certainly not make you happier.
I am sure you have said to yourself things like, "If I get into that university or get that job, I will be so happy," or something like, "If I earn that much money or live in that kind of house or marry that type of person, I will be so happy."
Don't get me wrong. Setting goals and achieving them is one of the best things you can do to create an exciting life. Just don't bank on being happy when you reach them.
As Steve Perry from the band Journey says, “Don’t stop believing. Hold on to that feeling."
To me, that song was all about achieving your dreams and staying in the right frame of mind regardless of the obstacles along the way.
Why is it then that reaching goals do not necessarily make us happy?
Think about it this way. We live in a society that sets us up to think that if we are rich, famous, or loved, we will be happy. All of these conditions are external causes of supposed happiness. This is why you can reach the top, feel exhilarated for a while, and then feel nothing special soon after.
It’s not that you are being ungrateful for your blessings or that you are neurotic. It is simply because you are looking at the external world to make you happy.
What should you do instead? You know the answer!
Start from the inside out. Look internal. Be inner-focused. Get deeper knowledge of yourself and start from there.
But wait, you say, isn't that getting a bit too "out there" and "woo-woo?"
Yes, it is, and if you think about it more, you might agree that you need to start from the inside out and not the outside in.
I will not lay out a technique for you to follow. Instead, what I will point out is a few truths for you to consider:
All happiness is a thought that you create and then feel. In other words, you feel your thinking.
That is how it works.
So, if you set a goal and achieve it and have fleeting happiness, you can examine your thinking.
Let’s say you set a goal for being successful in your career or business. Let’s say you become President of your division or finally hit 7 figure business revenues and then realize you are not as happy as you thought you would be. Here is what you might do:
Focus on the person you became while you worked on achieving your goals. You could focus on the internal feeling of growth and pat yourself on the back for how far you have come and all the things you learned along the way.
You could focus on an internal feeling of security, knowing that your abilities and mindset are a source of riches more than your bank balance.
It's all internal, not external.
When you look at it this way, you might conclude that you are better off without goals.
I am not saying we don't need goals, just don't hitch your happiness wagon to achieving them to feel fulfilled internally.
We should have goals so we have a reason to get out of bed every day. Striving and working on your goals is healthy and gives us purpose. In a way, whether you achieve your goals as you pictured or not doesn’t matter.
Keep striving towards your goals; accept the results but look inward for your reward.
“Don’t stop believing!” “Hold on to that internal feeling!”
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