Success and Happiness are Elusive... and Difficult to Keep

Just a brief late night post, as this mid-September weekend comes to a close.

Got an email from a friend earlier, and her signature line happened to be a favorite Gandhi quote:

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”

From time to time, I have written about happiness and success, and how elusive they can be... in part because they are "abstracts" we don't necessarily even know what mean.

Mountain view, near Flathead Lake, Montana

The more I think about it, the more I realize that "happiness" (and by extension, "success") aren't really things we can pursue and find... they are actually byproducts of a process, or ambitions pursued.

And yet?

Most people are out there pursuing this "thing." And we look to external cues and messages to define it... and as soon as we do that, we're actually doomed to failure, already. Because that "thing?"

For it to be authentic, it actually has to come from inside us. Which means we have to follow our own inner moral and creative compass... and very few people actually have the integrity and fortitude to do that. And so, authentic success and happiness tend to be remarkably elusive.

I use the word "authentic" again because simply parroting a collection of external clues we believe mean we've made it seldom turn out to mean much. As a silly metaphor, it's sitting there in your new Lambo, wondering "What's next?" because you've spent all this time busting your butt to accomplish something that wasn't your dream.

Last daisies of summer

Now, when I say "difficult to keep" what I mean by that is that there are SO many ways to get tripped up.

The most prominent and recognizable example I can think of is in the music industry, or among actors, where you have the feeling someone you really admired for their conscious choices appears to have "sold out."

Why does that happen?

It's a strange dynamic: When we're on the path towards something, and are charting our own course, we learn how to — quite simply — not give a shit and navigate by own own inner compass.

But then we accomplish something. At which point it suddenly feels like we "have" something. And even though we may not be consciously aware of doing so, we suddenly change our approach slightly to "keep" what we have. We fear that we have "something to lose."

Paradoxical, no?

And so, success and happiness can be very hard to keep, and only a very fee can keep that originality and authenticity going, in the long run.

Hope you've all had an awesome weekend! Comments and feedback are invited and always welcomed! Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- be part of the conversation!

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Created at 180917 01:15 PDT