For the longest time, I believed that there\u2019s only purpose of life: And that is to be happy.
\nRight? Why else go through all the pain and hardship? It\u2019s to achieve happiness in some way.
\nAnd I\u2019m not the only person who believed that. In fact, if you look around you, most people are pursuing happiness in their lives.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why we collectively buy shit we don\u2019t need, go to bed with people we don\u2019t love, and try to work hard to get approval of people we don\u2019t like.<\/p>\n
Why do we do these things? To be honest, I don\u2019t care what the exact reason is. I\u2019m not a scientist. All I know is that it has something to do with history, culture, media, economy, psychology, politics, the information era, and you name it. The list is endless.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s just accept that. Most people love to analyze why people are not happy or don\u2019t live fulfilling lives. I don\u2019t necessarily care about the why<\/a>. I care more about how <\/em>we can change. Just a few short years ago, I did everything to chase happiness.<\/p>\n But at the end of the day, you\u2019re lying in your bed (alone or next to your spouse), and you think: \u201cWhat\u2019s next in this endless pursuit of happiness?\u201d Well, I can tell you what\u2019s next: You, chasing something random that you believe makes you happy. It\u2019s all a facade. A hoax. A story that\u2019s been made up.<\/p>\n Did Aristotle lie to us when he said:<\/p>\n Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I think we have to look at that quote from a different angle. Because when you read it, you think that happiness is the main goal. And that\u2019s kind of what the quote says as well.<\/p>\n Happiness can\u2019t be a goal in itself. Therefore, it\u2019s not something that\u2019s achievable. When I talk about this concept with friends, family, and colleagues, I always find it difficult to put this into words. But I\u2019ll give it a try here.<\/p>\n Most things we do in life are just activities and experiences.<\/p>\n Those things should make you happy, right? But they are not useful. You\u2019re not creating anything. You\u2019re just consuming or doing something. And that\u2019s great.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t get me wrong. I love to go on holiday, or go shopping sometimes. But to be honest, it\u2019s not what gives meaning to life.<\/p>\n What really makes me happy is when I\u2019m useful. When I create something that others can use. Or even when I create something I can use.<\/p>\n For the longest time I found it difficult to explain the concept of usefulness and happiness. But when I recently ran into a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson, the dots finally connected.<\/p>\n Emerson says:<\/p>\n The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n And I didn\u2019t get that before I became more conscious of what I\u2019m doing with my life. And that always sounds heavy and all. But it\u2019s actually really simple.<\/p>\n Did you do useful things in your lifetime? You don\u2019t have to change the world or anything. Just make it a little bit better than before you were born.<\/p>\n If you don\u2019t know how, here are some ideas.<\/p>\n That\u2019s just some stuff I like to do. You can make up your own useful activities. The last thing I want is to be on my deathbed and realize there\u2019s zero evidence that I ever existed.<\/p>\n Recently I read Not Fade Away<\/a> by Laurence Shames and Peter Barton. It\u2019s about Peter Barton, the founder of Liberty Media, who shares his thoughts about dying from cancer.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a very powerful book and it will definitely bring tears to your eyes. In the book, he writes about how he lived his life and how he found his calling. He also went to business school, and this is what he thought of his fellow MBA candidates:<\/p>\n Bottom line: they were extremely bright people who would never really do anything, would never add much to society, would leave no legacy behind. I found this terribly sad, in the way that wasted potential is always sad.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n You can say that about all of us. And after he realized that in his thirties, he founded a company that turned him into a multi-millionaire.<\/p>\n Another person who always makes himself useful is Casey Neistat<\/a>. I\u2019ve been following him for a year and a half now, and every time I watch his YouTube show<\/a>, he\u2019s doing something.<\/p>\n He also talks about how he always wants to do and create something. He even has a tattoo on his forearm that says \u201cDo More<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n Most people would say, \u201cwhy would you work more?\u201d And then they turn on Netflix and watch back to back episodes of Daredevil.<\/p>\n Being useful is a mindset. And like with any mindset, it starts with a decision. One day I woke up and thought to myself: What am I doing for this world? The answer was nothing.<\/p>\n And that same day I started writing. For you it can be painting, creating a product, helping elderly, or anything you feel like doing.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t take it too seriously. Don\u2019t overthink it. Just DO something that\u2019s useful. Anything.<\/p>\n\n
But here\u2019s the thing: How do you achieve happiness?<\/h3>\n
\nI believe that happiness is merely a byproduct of usefulness.<\/p>\n\n
It comes down to this: What are you DOING that\u2019s making a difference?<\/h3>\n
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\nYou see? It\u2019s not anything big. But when you do little useful things every day, it adds up to a life that is well lived. A life that mattered.<\/p>\nA different mindset.<\/h3>\n