In this day-to-day existence that we commonly call life, there are those rare and special moments when we rise above the fray and experience our true destiny. When it is all said and done, I believe that—more than anything else—life is about being happy in the active pursuit of making others happy. Most people are too busy making a living to really have a life. Happiness is often elusive and fleeting.
There are three elements that, when combined, always result in happiness. Like a three-legged stool, they work in tandem. Any two of the three are sorely lacking when the third element is absent.
In order to be truly happy in the largest sense of that word, we must have something to do, someone to love, and something to look forward to. Given those three things, we will find ourselves experiencing happiness and joy. Take away one or more of these elements, and we are but groping in the dark for that elusive, missing, intangible, undefinable “something” that we only know exists because we don’t seem to have it.
“Something to do” represents the investment of the most precious commodity that we all have—our time. We all have the same amount of hours and minutes each day. Success and happiness hang in the balance based on how we invest our time. Many people think that paradise would be a wonderful tropical island where there was nothing to do all day. Great literature is full of examples of people on such islands, totally invested in the pursuit of escaping.
“Someone to love” represents the investment of esteem and caring that we invest in others. In order to experience happiness, we must emotionally get outside of ourselves to affect the outcome of other people’s lives.
“Something to look forward to” is the investment of hope and energy we put forward into a time that has not yet arrived. No one can truly be happy who lives only in the here and now. We have to accept the fact that there is more to this existence than we currently have in front of us.
The next time you find yourself experiencing that life of “quiet desperation,” examine your soul and determine whether you’re missing something to do, someone to love, or something to look forward to. Therein lies the key to your happiness.
Today’s the day!
Source: Wisdom for Winners, Volume One by Jim, Stovall