Quote:
Originally Posted by Silk Chaos
This may belong in it's own thread, but since this is my thread, I'm just going to drop it here to think about...
I like this quote from Emily Esfahani Smith, "... I discovered that true happiness lies in leading a meaningful life. People who focus less on happiness as the end-goal of their lives, and pursue meaningful endeavors instead, experience a deeper and more long-lasting form of well-being down the road." She talks about the Four Pillars of a Meaningful life (Purpose,' 'Belonging,' 'Storytelling,' and 'Transcendence'), and why being meaningful is better than happiness. That chasing happiness makes people unhappy.
I don't disagree with her. For me, the four pillars a bit different: intellectual, spiritual, physical, and social. The social pillar is the one that I struggle with the most. When that pillar is missing, everything seems to crater.
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That's a great quote Silk Chaos. Thank you for sharing! I use different words but maybe think along similar lines? I think of happiness and fulfillment as two different phenomena. Happiness is episodic (nobody can be happy every moment of their life) whereas fulfillment can last much longer (though I still have not met someone who perpetually feels fulfilled...not to say they aren't out there!).
I find happiness in each day; when I actively search for it, I feel better and it buffers me against recurring depression. I'm talking about something as simple as writing down my gratitude list each day or doing something kind for another person....small things can bring daily happiness.
Whereas fulfillment, for me, is much harder to find. I continue to chip away at it. It remains somewhat of a mystery to me.
You mentioned your social pillar...I heard someone say that the quality of your life is based on the quality of your relationships. I think there could be a lot of truth to it. And that need not be romantic relationships...could be colleagues, neighbors, friends, family. One of my recent goals is to work on improving the quality of my relationships. THough that will be something I work on for years rather than a short period of time. If that makes sense?
Really interesting thread! Thank you.