Answer this question for me… Yes or No: Is your happiness attached to your achievements?
Most personal development blogs will tell you that it absolutely should NOT be, but I am going to make the case that it doesn’t really matter if it is or not.
My case is attached to one major concept that could change your life forever.
This concept is that happiness is not a never ending state of being.
You are not living a happy life or an unhappy life.
You are having happy experiences and not so happy experiences.
If you are a big time achiever that is experiencing a ton of success in sports or your professional life, then go ahead and experience that happiness that comes along with those wins.
The key is to not fall into the trap of completely attaching your identity to these external events.
Why?
Because like I just said – those events are external.
Meaning – outside of you.
Meaning – oftentimes outside of your control.
If you are only attaching your current experience to things that are constantly outside of your control, then you will most likely begin to experience what many people refer to as an unhappy life.
How to Achieve Happiness
Want to find a way to turn the cheat codes on for life?
These two principles will help you do exactly that.
1) Understand the power of your blueprint
Your blueprint for your life is what ultimately decides how you feel about your life as a whole.
If your blueprint for a happy life includes a private jet, 10 figure income, 5 championship rings, a supermodel spouse and you don’t have any of that, then you’re not going to have many happy experiences.
Does that mean you should set super low standards for yourself?
No. What you do is create a blueprint that allows you to experience happiness in the present moment, but also leaves room for personal growth. Personal growth is a sneaky way of saying “pain”.
When you experience a ton of growth, it is oftentimes associated with a ton of pain.
Think about breaking down and building up a muscle. Though weight training can be very satisfying, it is also viewed by many as a painful experience.
Without that painful experience, you cannot grow.
Life is much of the same, which brings me back to your blueprint.
You want to live an epic life full of growth, but want to experience happiness for the majority of your life.
What Should You Do?
You create a blueprint with rules that gives you permission to embrace the present moment.
You can have a vision of what your ideal life will be like to keep you moving forward, but you also need to understand that your vision is temporary and will soon be replaced by a new vision once the old one is achieved.
So have that vision you are moving towards to trigger you to participate in activities that allow you to grow, but your all-encompassing blueprint for happy experiences should be much more simple.
Your blueprint can be as simple as when you are being who you say you want to be, you are going to experience happiness.
The beauty about this blueprint is that it is controlled from within.
As long as you have integrity with who you say you want to be, you have given yourself permission to be happy.
Sure, no one is perfect; so you may fall into the trap of confusing your vision with your blueprint at times, but that’s just part of the human condition.
That is why I think it’s so important to apply the second principle to your life as well. Here’s your 2nd principle:
2. Choose to live by the motto that everything is happening for your best interest.
This is very simple to say, but it can be difficult to implement.
Decide that everything that is in your world right now is there to position you to live the happiest life imaginable.
Given the pessimistic nature of modern society, this motto is going to take some serious work to buy into.
Most people would rather fall into victim mode. AKA “Why me?”
It’s much easier to say that you have been hit with some unfortunate circumstances that are working against you than to take ownership over what happened in your life and decide that this is the best thing that could have ever happened to you.
This motto is not for the weak-minded.
It’s only meant for someone who is ready to step up and start living like the courageous leader they truly are at their core.
Unlock Your Potential
You can be this leader. It all starts with the choice. The choice to see every obstacle as a stepping stone. The choice to see every seemingly unfortunate circumstance as an opportunity to grow.
The choice to know that no matter how bad the event is that just occurred in your life, it has occurred to help you experience something greater than you ever could have imagined in the future.
Some may view this outlook on life as idealistic, but in my opinion, that’s nothing more than a cop out.
Why can’t you decide to perceive everything as happening for you?
This CAN become your new default setting if you decide to condition your mind to think this way by reminding yourself of this truth on a daily basis.
We live in a world where being a victim is the default setting, which is exactly why we live in a world where most people don’t get to experience nearly as much happiness as they would like.
If you want to start to step into living a fulfilling life full of happy experiences, all you need to do is two things.
1. Make your blueprint for happiness something that you can internally control.
2. Decide that everything that happens is for your best interest.
Life is simple. Not necessarily easy, but simple.
Now ask yourself: “What have you experienced in your past that at first seemed to be catastrophic, but ultimately turned out to be one of your greatest areas of triumph and joy?”
Could you be living through one of those experiences right now?
If you want more tips on achieving happiness, check out the following Total Human Optimization podcast diving in a little deeper into the question…Can You Create Sustainable Happiness? https://www.onnit.com/total-human-optimization-podcast/
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