What makes us happy?

Is it always striving to do better, no matter how “good” we are now? Is it finding new things to do or meeting new friends? Do we have the right to be happy when we know that other people around the world are suffering? If we cured cancer and ended poverty, would we finally be happy? Or is happiness something internal to ourselves – a sort of feeling or pride in one’s hard work ethic? The concept of constant betterment, always trying to make ourselves better in every way. Is it this quest for perfection that brings us joy?

I don’t think that this makes us happy. Continual self-improvement necessarily implies finding fault with oneself, in order to know which direction to travel in to do better. And there will always be fault; no one can ever become perfect. So, those who strive to become perfect will always be focusing on the negative, only seeing how they can do better instead of what they have now. This does not sound happy; it sounds depressing. I think that happiness is quite the opposite of striving for continual self-improvement; it is contentment and appreciation for what one already has. If we forget our aspirations and desires for a moment and take a step back from it all, we’ll realize that we have it pretty damn good. And that’s something to be happy about.

Inspired by my friend Wei’s blog about self-improvement, I’ve decided to join the band-wagon and write one myself! Here are some ideas and ideals that I have, some of them funny and others serious. Some have been inspired from others’ posts about self improvement, and for those I thank you!

Self-Improvement:

1. Be chill! – stress/unhappiness/uptightness never helped anyone
2. Be selfless – actively volunteer to help others, don’t just wait to be asked
3. Don’t complain (unless it’s something truly critical)
4. Live each day to the fullest and appreciate what you have – never covet or wish you have was better
5. Try to get some physical exercise, at least a few times per week
6. One can never have too many computers… especially free computers…
7. Be brave + strong – always stand up for what you believe in, even when it’s daunting to do so
8. Avoid distractions by forcing yourself to do work now, so that way you can do fun stuff later
9. Corollary: Don’t check facebook/email every 2 minutes when doing homework!
10. Never underestimate the power of quality apple juice and applesauce, especially when PSetting late at night
11. Be fair and considerate to others
12. Always be yourself – always act the same no matter who you’re with (never have different personalities for different people)
13. Once you’ve made a decision, stand by it with no regrets and don’t second guess or doubt it (courtesy of Wei!)
14. Before you go to sleep each night, think about 5 things that went well about the day and 5 things that you want to do better tomorrow

Tasty!