Hold Your Horses – This May Be a More Pertinent Question Than “What Makes You Happy?”

Regardless of who you are and what you do, at least once in your life, you’re bound to be asked what makes you happy? It could be your therapist, partner, or friend, but this is something everyone wants to know.

What makes you tick? What pushes you to wake up every morning? What brings a smile on your face? All these questions point to the exact same thing. And whoever asks you that cares a lot about you (well, it doesn’t hurt to think so, right?)

Now get this – we’ve got a shocker for you. A question that’s bigger than that!

Want to know what it is? Well, read on, and you’ll find out.

Unsplash | Different people find happiness in different things

Is there anything more important than happiness?

A thousand times NO, right? Entrepreneur Derek Sivers thinks differently. And that’s why he says a better question is, “what do you hate not doing?” Hmm, we don’t really see the difference. Do you? Okay, let’s try to decode this a bit.

Read – Benefits of Thinking Positively, and How to Do It

According to Sivers, the reason why this question supersedes the happiness question is that sometimes, you may not be fulfilled when you’re searching for happiness. For example, while pursuing your career, or anything in the name of happiness, you’re likely to fall for the little distractions that come in disguise of attractive opportunities. You probably don’t realize that there are many things you can find happiness in, but that doesn’t mean you should dedicate all your time to pursue them.

Now mind you, we aren’t disregarding happiness. We’re only saying that if you identify this key difference, you’ll be much better off.

Unsplash | Entrepreneur Derek Sivers says that instead of finding happiness we should focus on what we hate NOT doing

So basically, you should focus more on what you hate skipping rather than on what you like doing. Pick out what makes you angry instead of what makes you happy — things which, if you miss doing, you get agitated.

Think of it this way – if you like singing, you’re most likely to start singing when positive things occur around you. But if you’re passionate about singing, you’re likely to find inspirations from all sorts of things. In such a case, not singing would make you feel depressed or hate your life. What’s more, singing would determine the way you use your time.

Now put that correlation to whatever you do in your life, and you’ll see what we’re talking about.

No matter how low-key such things are, they’re what you adore and what you really live for. So, instead of chasing happiness, do these things as much as you can, and happiness will come to you on its own!

Read – Stop Chasing Success. Seek Significance.

Unsplash | Instead of chasing happiness, do these things as much as you can, and happiness will come to you on its own

To wrap it up

Happiness is paramount in one’s life. A great way to ensure happiness is to stay positive. Look out for the things which, if skipped frustrate you; those are your heart’s desires. Doing these things will make you feel ALIVE! They will decide where your life heads.