What I think happiness boils down to

This will be short and sweet. We all want to be happy, so we say. We even have a movie “The Pursuit of Happiness”. In the end there are two types of happiness or two ways to reach it. Or three? We shall see.

I came to the conclusion that most of us are not in pursuit of happiness, but in pursuit of feeling good. We just want to feel good. Either loved, touched (wanted), feel the thrill of achievement, of a runner’s high… And in that pursuit some reach out for the shortcuts like a drink or drugs or food. I’m the one reaching out for food.

But I’m mostly still happy. How come?

Of course everything can be a matter of perspective and it’s important to develop that sense of humility and gratitude.

Here it comes. One way I ever feel happy is when I feel proud of myself. I feel proud of myself when I managed to accept a challenge, something I’m perhaps a bit afraid to do, something which demands either courage or perseverance or both. For example.

Years ago when I was stuck in the rut of office work, I asked myself what scares me. The answer was, wedding photography. I was reading up on it and preparing my skills for three years and yet I didn’t dare to do a wedding, because I knew what a great responsibility it was. Thinking back on the crazy challenges I’ve accepted in my life makes…