Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project, once said, “The days are long, but the years are short.” How true. Doesn’t it seem like sometimes we stop to take a breath and realize years have passed us by?
Listening to her chat with Tim Ferriss on his podcast reminded me that the most important thing at the end of the day is being happy.
Gretchen mentioned a few quotes that she likes that hit this point home. She said that author Robert Louis Stevenson once said, “There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy.”
And writer Thomas Merton said, “Finally I am coming to the conclusion that my highest ambition is to be what I already am.”
To be what I already am. How would that affect our happiness metre? If our goal was to embrace who we are as our top priority? What peace might that bring to our lives?
Of course we want to evolve and grow, enjoy the journey, and have time for those we love. But if we can start accepting that we are incredible just as we are… without the new job or promotion or address or weight loss or whatever else we have subliminally scribbled on our happiness list, we might be free to actually be happy.
As poet Rumi said, “What you seek is seeking you.” So let’s put down the clutter and give our destiny a chance to find us.