You don’t need to look very far to realise that the correlation between happiness and success isn’t what you might’ve guessed.
It’s super rare to bump into millionaires who are happy. They can buy all the things they want. Yet we see many who kill themselves, even with money in the bank.
In fact, accquiring things almost never gives us happiness because we stop desiring it immediately. The things become part of our life; we forget about it. We move on and look for the next thing to desire.
And almost as rare, are the people in poverty who are depressed. The kids in Thailand and Cambodia playing in the dirty river, are some of the happiest kids I’ve ever seen in my life.
What we are taught in school is a linear direction of desire. Good grades, great college, a high paying job, a car, a partner, and a house.
What happens when you get to the top? Maybe a bigger house? More friends; cooler friends?
If you want to find happiness, there are two questions:
1) What is happiness to you?
2) Is that sustainable?
External things are unrelated, except for one reason: have enough till you’re comfortable. The thrill of a next level disappears quickly, but the pain of not getting what you want lasts a very long time.
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The photo was taken in Manazura, Japan – where I learnt the design code of the town.
