A few weeks ago, I was talking to one of my friends from medical school. Although we normally catch up about something work-related, this time, our conversation was different.
I was describing a relaxing weekend I’d just had in which I spent most of my time writing blogs, watching holiday movies, drinking wine, and conversing with my brothers. It seemed so simple, yet I was satisfied.
I mentioned to her that although work has its stressful moments, I’m tired often, and haven’t been to the gym in so long I didn’t even know where my membership card was located, I was quite happy.
She was happy for me and mentioned that sometimes we get so caught up with our current responsibilities and schedules that we don’t stop and wonder if we are truly happy, or better yet, what happiness looks like for us. I could’n’t agree more.
For some people, happiness is having time to relax and unwind at home. For others, it’s the creation of priceless memories with their family. And yet for some people, it may be having a productive day a work, eating good food at dinner, traveling to a new place, or achieving a certain level of financial or career success.
Regardless of what your view of happiness is, it’s vital that you define it for yourself. Without defining happiness for yourself it can be difficult to prioritize tasks or achieve the long-term life satisfaction you crave. You may also find yourself working toward the wrong goals or expending too much energy trying to live up to other people’s expectations while neglecting your own.
As we close out 2020 and head into 2021, it’s vital that we not only get clarity on our long-term goals, but that we also get specific about what makes us happy and satisfied overall.
According to authors George Kinder and Jonathan Clements, there are several questions and scenarios we should ponder to help assess our happiness and determine what things we value most in life. They are:
1. “Imagine money were not an issue. What would you do with your time?”
2. “Look back through your life. When were you the happiest—what were you doing?
3. “Imagine that you have enough money saved to satisfy all your financial needs for the rest of your life. Would you change your life, and if so, how would you change it?”
4. “Assume you are in your current financial situation. Your doctor tells you that you only have five to 10 years to live, but that you will feel fine up until the end. Would you change your life and if so, how would you change it?”
5. “Your doctor tells you that you have a single day left to live. You look back over your life. What did you miss out on? Who did you not get to be? What did you fail to do?”
As you answer these questions, what comes to mind? What do you think fills your life with joy and what are some ways you can attain that?