One of the greatest myths underlying the common sense of our society is the idea that happiness comes from things we get.

From a young age, we’re trained into the “I’ll be happy when…” attitude.

I’ll be happy when I have that new car.

…when I have that house in the hills.

…when I have that athletic physique.

…when I have a relationship with that perfect partner.

…when my business is profitable.

…when I have X amount of money.

But, that’s never the case, is it?

In and of themselves, these things are great. Growth in any aspect of life is great. If we want it, we should go get it. Why not? A part of the human experience is to achieve cool things and to take ownership of those achievements.

What’s not great is when those cool achievements take ownership of us. That’s when a goal consumes an individual’s life—their identity.

It’s like when the casual drinker turns into a drunkard. There’s a thin line between “I drink to enjoy my life” and “my life is to enjoy my drink”.

The truth is, there’s no real happiness in accomplishment. Just a fleeting moment of excitement.

The next day will bring a new vision to meet, new challenges to face, new accomplishments to reach.

And that’s something we should take into account when designing our lifestyles because it’s easy to be fooled into neglecting our riches in the pursuit of accomplishment.

Happiness is discovered in the process, not in the result. It’s when we’re in the flow of life, living it fully and present to all it has to offer.

That’s what this thing we call “work” is really about—it’s a thing to play.

“The only truly affluent are those who do not want more than they have.”
— Erich Fromm