LMTV #55: The Happiness Myth

The Pursuit of Happiness is an awful lot like Trying Hard to Let Go…an oxymoron!

As long as you’re trying hard, you’re never really letting go. As long as you’re pursuing, you’re never truly happy. And therein lies the lie in the pursuit of happiness.

The so-called American Dream, in which the pursuit of happiness is promised, sets us up on a never-ending chase. And when we buy into this dream, we enter a race that cannot be won.

Why?

Well if we’re caught in the race, the race will keep us trapped by always moving the finish line. Just when we think we’re close, there’ll be another gadget to buy, a newer car to drive, a bigger house to own.

It’s not too much different than tying a carrot to a stick that dangles in front of the jackass’s nose. As long as the jackass is counting on that carrot to give him happiness, he’ll never reach it and be satisfied!

The same is true for you. No matter how hard you pursue, no matter how fast you run, no matter how long you stick with it, as long as you imagine your happiness to be something you need to pursue, it will remain ever elusive.

Similar to blaming everything out there for your troubles, if you’re counting on conditions out there to get better before you become happy, good luck. Actually, you’ll probably need a lot more than good luck to accomplish that impossible feat!

We all know money can’t buy happiness—we’ve heard it a million times. Yet our chatter brain still cunningly convinces us that as soon as we get that raise, as soon as we make more money, as soon as we meet the right person, as soon as our ship comes in…

We’ll be HAPPY!

Sorry, gang, aint gonna happen. At least not that way! You can

  • Keep looking outside for happiness;
  • Keep looking outside for satisfaction;
  • Keep looking outside for love and approval;

…but if you do, you’ll die a poor, sad, lonely person.

Check out the video and raise your chances of dying happy! For REAL!

Oh, yeah, and don't forget to leave a comment below!

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