Sunday, May 20, 2007

Happiness and Unhappiness

Sunday afternoon approaches.

For many, it probably carries a tinge of melancholy as many reflect on wasted time.

And indeed that may be the opposite of happiness: Lack of achievement.

Timothy Ferris, in the book mentioned in a recent post, sees boredom as the opposite of happiness. He pushes people to identify things and dreams that will bring excitement to their lives.

And yet there can be genuine satisfaction in work that may not be exciting but which provides a solid sense of achievement. ["Sense" is an important factor. Some people are great achievers and yet fail to acknowledge their accomplishments. The result is unhappiness.]

Breaking projects into small parts is an important strategy for achieving happiness. If you simply carry around a list of large projects, you have a daily reminder of things to depress you. You won't accomplish large projects every day and will seldom if ever complete several. The large projects will rest on your shoulders like giant ravens and caw at your lack of achievement. If you have a list of small tasks, odds are you will end the day with a few achievements checked off.

They may not have been exciting achievements, but each will carry a small glow.

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