If you don’t know how, here are some ideas. Just make it a little bit better than you were born. It comes down to this: What are you DOING that’s making a difference?ĭid you do useful things in your lifetime? You don’t have to change the world or anything. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”Īnd I didn’t get that before I became more conscious of what I’m doing with my life. But when I recently ran into a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson, the dots connected. Or even when I create something I can use.įor the longest time, I found it difficult to explain the concept of usefulness and happiness. When I create something that others can use. What really makes me happy is when I’m useful. But to be honest, it’s not what gives meaning to life. I love to go on holiday or go shopping sometimes. You’re just consuming or doing something. Those things should make you happy, right? But they are not useful. Most things we do in life are just activities and experiences. When I talk about this concept with friends, family, and colleagues, I always find it difficult to put this into words. I believe that happiness is merely a byproduct of usefulness. Therefore, it’s not something that’s achievable. But here’s the thing: How do you achieve happiness? And that’s kind of what the quote says as well. Because when you read it, you think that happiness is the main goal. I think we have to look at that quote from a different angle. “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” Well, I can tell you what’s next: You, chasing something random that you believe makes you happy. You go on holiday, and you think that makes you happy.īut at the end of the day, you’re lying in your bed (alone or next to your spouse), and you think: “What’s next in this endless pursuit of happiness?”.You get a well-paying job you don’t like and think that makes you happy.You hook up with people and think that makes you happy.You buy something, and you think that makes you happy.Just a few short years ago, I did everything to chase happiness. Most people love to analyze why people are not happy or don’t live fulfilling lives.

All I know is that it has something to do with history, culture, media, economy, psychology, politics, the information era, and you name it. Why do we do these things? To be honest, I don’t care what the exact reason is.

That’s why we collectively buy shit we don’t need, go to bed with people we don’t love and try to work hard to get the approval of people we don’t like. In fact, if you look around you, most people are pursuing happiness in their lives. Right? Why else go through all the pain and hardship? It’s to achieve happiness in some way.Īnd I’m not the only person who believed that. For the longest time, I believed that there’s only one purpose of life: And that is to be happy.

What is the point of existence