Want more meaning in life?
You’ll find it at the bottom
Only one-third of Americans surveyed said they were happy. In the nine-year history of the Harris Poll Survey of American Happiness, the highest index was 35%. This means a cloud of perpetual grayness overshadows two out of three people.
Here is where it gets interesting. According to one author in FastCompany, “It’s no longer about personal happiness. That happiness is narcissistic and comes at the expense of the world.” To redefine happiness, you have to explore who you really are.
“Too many of us get caught up in the 10,000 ad messages that bombard us every day, and we start wanting things we don’t need,” says author Colin Beavan. “Things are at the surface of who we are; deeper inside, you find passions. Ask yourself, ‘What do I care about?’”
Getting to the bottom
Colin makes a great point; the road to happiness is connected to what we care about most. OK, that sounds warm and fuzzy, but what the heck do we do with this? For starters, we have to get comfortable with being brutally honest with ourselves. I’ve seen your Facebook and Instagram feeds. Yes, you look awesome and are doing some amazing things. But who do you talk to about the parts of your life that suck? What about the parts of your life that are dark?
What it means to be that honest
Honesty is a huge part of self-improvement and overcoming delusional thinking. Being honest with ourselves can sometimes be painful, but it’s a necessary component to long-term happiness and success in our lives. And without an experienced guide, we can miss important clues that can lead us away from delusion and into more fertile places.
Answer this one question. When was the last conversation you had where you felt absolutely naked and gutted for the sake of moving any area of your life forward? Wisdom or courage takes us to this place without being in a crisis.
Don’t wait for the crisis – make that call. Yes, it is going to scare the bajeezus out of you – but think of the relief and the rewards that are on the other side. Beyond that, this is where you will discover meaning. Meaning is at the bottom. Meaning is in the conversations that you fear having most.
“Our lives improve only when we take chances and the first and
most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves.”
~ Walter Anderson.
If you are interested in how to even START a conversation like this, then click here and let’s set up a conversation.