If Your Pursuit is Happiness, Find Happiness in the Pursuit

Get lost in the process on the path to fulfillment.

2020. The craziest year in almost two decades. The last six months have essentially been a standstill, wreaking havoc on the world’s mental health: uncertainty, fear, economic struggles, and an unwavering stagnancy with no end in sight.

We are all feeling it, nowhere to go, no one to see. Slight glimmers of hope suddenly blacked out as things reopen and close again. Stage 2 to stage 5 back to stage 3. Stage 27?

Happiness can be a fleeting pursuit when denied some of life’s simplest pleasures. Human interaction replaced with force-fed statistics — endless numbers on death tolls, case numbers, unemployment rates, and now election arguments.

So what is there to do when joy has seemingly been sucked out of our very existence?

For me, the way out was discovering my true passion, breaking down what was required to make those dreams a reality, and getting lost in the process.

Since the Dawn of Time

We, humans, are strange creatures. Since the very beginning, our species has been obsessed with topping itself. We are always iterating on things, always improving, forever churning out better, faster technology.

Every year people run out and buy the new Galaxy or iPhone. Your 2019 Tesla became obsolete the second the clock struck midnight on new years eve. Why would you play last year’s call of duty when the new one came out this week?

It seems to be human nature to want to progress and innovate. We have all heard the cliché of death and taxes being life’s only guarantees, but if there were to be a third, it would be making better stuff.

This mentality seems to come ingrained in us right out of the box, so why wouldn’t it apply to human beings emotionally?

Some Get It, and Some Don’t

I find analyzing the success of others to be extremely motivating. Over the years, I have built an inspirational Rolodex of sorts, several role models scattered throughout social media platforms. These are people I try to emulate when crafting the blueprint for my life.

They tend to be high energy, driven individuals, former Navy Seals, athletes, and business moguls. Their success usually comes with making a great living, but that isn’t the sole reason I look up to them. I don’t believe money goes hand in hand with happiness. There is no shortage of people who are filthy rich yet somehow miserable.

What I crave is the whole package. These role models have all built a comfortable life for themselves. Still, they also appear to be fulfilled and carry a genuine enthusiasm for life, excited to get out of bed every morning.

Each of them has varying beliefs and perspectives, but there is one common denominator, the pursuit. Even after they reach the top of the mountain, so to speak, they continue to strive for more, re-invent themselves, take on new challenges.

They just seem to get it.

There is a reason these personality types can become depressed post-retirement. The pursuit can be like a drug. Those that recover usually do so by re-directing that drive into new endeavors.

Alternatively, those with the most time on their hands struggle to find happiness. Complacency enables mental health issues to thrive. The more time to think, the easier it is for thoughts to run wild.

Some turn those issues inward; others hit social media to vocalize their frustration, lashing out at others. You know the type.

I have noticed similar tendencies within myself. I spent a few years in quite an unhappy place. Those years were also my most stagnant, filled with anger, lacking drive, working dead-end jobs, and feeling like a loser.

Ironically at that time, my only desire was to be happy. I thought it would come if I had no responsibilities. Wishing I could win the lottery and quit my job forever. Then I’d be happy. Then I could do what I wanted all day. Failing to realize what I needed was the opposite.

I just didn’t get it.

Find Your Niche and Go With It

It doesn't matter what age you are or what level of success you have achieved. If you are not progressing towards a goal, your mentality will suffer.

There is no better time than right now to analyze your current situation. Whether it’s a career shift or zeroing in on what’s important to you, if you have a passion or burning desire inside, I urge you to listen to it.

Your goal doesn’t have to be career-related. It could be as simple as a new hobby, building birdhouses, or shaving a few strokes off your golf game.

Figure out what it is that makes you tick, your goal, your niche. And go with it.

Life Has No End Credits

There is no such thing as an end game in life. We like to envision this metaphorical finish line, sitting on a couch after the race, marveling at our accomplishments.

Taking time for yourself and appreciating your successes is essential. Everyone needs to stop and smell the roses once in a while. But there needs to be a cap on the amount of time you spend in that garden.

There is always something more on the horizon, always a new endeavor to chase, an interest to find.

Do the possibilities of each new day excite you? Or do these last few months feel like one long monotonous existence? If this year has taught us anything, it’s that life is too damn short to not live it to the fullest.

I’ve come to understand the road to happiness and fulfillment is paved with passion and incremental progress. If you feel like something is missing, now is the time to take action.

Find your “it.” The thing that makes it difficult to sleep at night and avoid hitting snooze in the morning. There is a passion like that in all of us. It’s up to you to wake it.

We are human, and we crave the pursuit, whether we know it or not.