Every single penny spent today is on feeling good, yet there is something missing.  I have met extremely successful and financially stable people who are quite stressed and unfulfilled with their lives; as well as some "normal" working people who are blissfully positive and happy.  So what is the secret formula to happiness?  Is it financial security? A fancy title? Or is it a combination of different well balanced things?

There has been much research done in the last 50 years on the elements of success and the elixirs of happiness.  Some say it's optimism, others emphasise on the importance of goals and inner motivation.  However, according to the Mind Gym: Give me Time, (Amazon USA Link) the formula for happiness is a balanced combination of three very important areas:  Pleasure, Purpose and Challenge.

Let's explore each one a little closer.

Pleasure:  Doing something that gives you a sense of joy and satisfaction.  This can include a hobby, a fun trip, and sports, spending quality time with a loved one or simply spending the weekend in bed with an interesting book.  It can be absolutely anything that gives you a sense of pleasure.  Ultimately, deep feelings of pleasure will lead to clear thinking.  But most importantly it is about doing something personally and professionally that gives you a sense of pleasure.  Remember, a doctor or a lawyer can only be good at what they do if they find pleasure in what they do.  As the old saying goes, "If you love what you do, you never work another day". 

Purpose:  Doing something of meaning and substance.  A paramedic may feel very tired after a long shift, but feels very fulfilled because what he did has a deep purpose behind it - something greater than money and title.  Mahatma Ghandi was once asked to give a message to an international newspaper.  He simply replied: "My life is my message".  My question to you is: If your life was your message, what would the message be?  The key here is to identify and work towards something of substance and meaning in your everyday life.  Robert Byrne very eloquently says: "The purpose of life is a life of purpose".  At the end of the day, it's not just about setting goals and executing the necessary actions, but being aware of a higher purpose behind everything you do.

Challenge:  Regularly engaging in something that challenges your intellect, creativity and skills.  If we work and do something that is mundane and monotonous, we will never grow and improve.  As such, it is vital that we engage in something that not only stimulates us, but regularly stretches our limits to new heights of growth.  Every surgeon learns and grows after every surgery that challenges them, as does every carpenter who embarks on a new design or project that helps their lateral thinking and creativity.  As a species, we are programmed to learn until our last hour of departure on this earth, so we must nurture our innate need to grow through some form of challenge.  Think of successful entrepreneurs who constantly challenge themselves and feel stimulated.  Most of them have enough money to feed their children's children, but it's the sense of challenge that stimulates and excites them.

The most important thing to take on board here is to regularly maintain a balance between all three areas.  If you end up with challenge and purpose, yet and an absence of pleasure; you will produce excellent work, only to be followed with exhaustion.  If you end up with purpose and pleasure and no challenge, you will always welcome responsibility and work; however, you'll lack stimulation and growth.  If you end up with pleasure and challenge, and lack a sense of purpose - you will be stimulated, but lack substance and meaning. 

By successfully unifying all three areas together, you will create overall happiness and fulfilment.  On a final note, this reminds me of something I read a year ago: "Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life".

Until Next Time....Live, Don't Just Exist.

© Taymour Qabazard, 2006

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