Our Dissatisfied Happiness
Our Dissatisfied Happiness
A conflict between success, happiness, and fulfillment.
There´s this quote by Naval Ravikant that caught my thinking almost instantly:
“Happiness is being satisfied with what you have.
Success comes from dissatisfaction. Choose.”
I had so many encountered feelings, doubts, questions. Can it be possible? Can it be true? Where lies the thin line between the two of them?
You might ask, isn´t it possible to be happy with the success you have developed? I think it´s possible, but this would only contradict Naval´s words, as success somehow (and according to him) involves a level of dissatisfaction.
Naval would be happy to hear this contradiction; as he knows there´s no better learning than to discuss, share, and come up with new ideas, with more questions than before.
So why don´t we break down these 3 words: happiness, fulfillment, and success?
Happiness and Fulfillment
Happiness is peace in motion. In other words, it´s the constant state of satisfaction, of balance. You being happy requires just 3 things:
Present moment
Meaning
Mind presence
Enjoy laughing with your friends? A good meal? A fun 1-hour block for spread dopamine? All those things if lived with a present mind can lead to happiness.
That happiness can perdure as long as you continue in that present state. What makes happiness the ultimate sought feeling is: meaning.
If you give happiness the quality of meaning, you get fulfillment. And this sense of fulfillment will help you construct your overall happiness in life.
That´s why happiness is an internal process, and that’s why it needs of constant care because meaning is the source, the spark that ignites the fire.
You can be happy and have no fulfillment? No, you can´t. Because then you are a confusing joy with happiness. One is momentary and has a low level of meaning. The other one is a constant that has an overall higher meaning.
Sure, a present mind, as we talked about before, leads to happiness, but before reaching happiness, that presence of mind goes through feelings like joy, excitement, etc. It´s only when our joyful or exciting moment encounters meaning, that our happiness is developed, and furthermore, fulfilled.
Success
Success does not earn happiness or at least not the traditional definition of it.
That´s all that is said about success, isn´t it? Although it´s true, there´s nothing bad about wanting “normalized” success.
We expect and want many achievements. Many outcomes. Will that be our doom? Probably. But we aren´t talking about it in this life chat.
When you have the opportunity of experiencing real happiness, you realize that´s success on its own, too. Success inevitably searches for the fulfillment stage. It craves meaning, constructs some kind of legacy.
Sadly, this meaning isn´t for once: constructed, it´s sought most of the time. Second, this meaning is misguided. We lose the notion of why we wanted that success in the first place.
So, if you want to know how to guide your success, first give it a try to build your story, your happiness. It can be as simple as regarding a paisage, or talking to a dear friend at your special time and location.
There´s no better way to reconnect with the meaning you once had than going back to the memories, thoughts, and feelings that you treasured the most.
Looking outside for success, and furthermore, fulfillment is the fundamental delusion.
Do not make a truce with it.
⤴️ The Weekly Update
📚 There is beauty in our actions. We can decide the meaning intended for them. That is our true power of reasoning, giving not just value, but meaning. Value your achievements, and ask if they were obtained for the right meaning.
💡 Would love to be less complicated. It´s not easy. My past is heavy. Heard this statement once every time. Broadly speaking, is not something I can be proud of. I have told this to myself from time to time. We can´t escape our past. Nor our present. But we can change our “future’s past”. It´s what we make from our stories, not how we see them or tell them. Think about this when you feel down too.
🎙️ Episode 230. of DEEP QUESTIONS by Cal Newport - How well are you living? That´s the core message of the pod. It won´t matter how well you can do in one area of your life, but how well you are in all of them. You can focus on improving yourself, but what about others? You can think about leveling up your academic or fitness performance, but will the cost be too high for the rest of the spheres?
⚔️ What I´ve worked on this week
You can find the journey here =)
✏️ Previous Life Brew
Hey, you might want to check it out =)
💭 The Lonely Reflection
Your goal should be to be someone.
Not something. Not anything.
Choose you.
Thanks for tuning in. Let´s make this time a great one.
See you on the next life brew, until then: