3 Steps to Live a Happier and More Meaningful Life
In our complicated, digital world, it can be difficult to have peace of mind and be happy. There are three steps that a person can take to become happier and find more meaning in life.
3 STEPS TO HAPPINESS AND MEANING
Learn to Live a More Solitary Life
Don’t Be Over-Burdened with Too Many Social and Business Demands
Take Up Hobbies
The Solitary Life
Living solitary from others in society can lead to more happiness and meaning in life. When we are isolated and solitary, we can take time to breathe and think. When we’re solitary, we can clear our minds and meditate more.
Too Many Demands
Whenever we have too many social and business demands, people feel exhausted and overloaded. Sometimes, we schedule so many dates and times with others socially, and we don’t feel like we have time to ourselves. A lot of times, our employers and career can be very demanding of our time, which causes our hobbies to take a back seat.
If we can avoid scheduling too many social engagements and limiting business demands sometimes, we can have more time to ourselves. This would allow us to pursue interests that we actually enjoy.
Taking Up Hobbies
Hobbies are activities that we do to occupy our time when we aren’t working or have familial demands. In recent years, it seems like hobbies have been taking a back seat to pursuing a career and climbing the corporate ladder.
Some workers seem to have noticed since the Covid-19 lockdowns that careers are a thing of the past. Corporations are no longer loyal to workers, and workers aren’t as loyal to corporations, i.e. quiet-quitting and quiet-firing trends.
A way around this is to give corporations less of your time. Live more for yourself and less for your company. Spend more time doing an enjoyable hobby, like cooking, fitness or maybe spending more quality time with your family.
When it comes to your family life, ensure that you take time out for yourself during the day to pursue your own hobbies and interests. This will allow you to take a timeout and recharge your batteries. Afterwards, you’ll have more peace of mind when you are with your family.
Inspiration from a Philosopher and Poet
I was reading a book by Johann Eckermann who interviewed German poet and philosopher, Johann Goethe. In it, Goethe was quoted as saying:
“My true happiness has come from my poetic musings and writings. But when I think how these have been interrupted, curtailed, and held back by the demands of my official position! Had I been able to distance myself more from public life and business affairs and live a more solitary life, I would have been a happier man and would have accomplished far more as a poet.”
Besides being one of the greatest writers ever, Goethe was also a businessman, scientist and a public official. While he was successful at all of these endeavors and had a prominent name and money, he seemed to regret not devoting more time to writing and poetry instead of seeking power and wealth.
Goethe seemed to realize as an old man that hobbies, solitariness and avoiding too many social and public demands can help one live a happier life.
Key Takeaways:
Three things you can do instantly to start being happier in life are:
Live a more solitary life.
Avoid too many social and business demands
Take up and enjoy hobbies in life, rather just focusing on your career.
References:
Eckermann, Johann (1836). Conversations With Goethe. Translated (2022) Blunden, Allan. Penguin Classics.
Thank you. I thought this was a very apropos article. I can't tell you how many times I've turned on Youtube or read an online article about how terrible people's lives are and that nothing can improve them.
My goal for this article was to provide actionable ideas to live a better life.
Love it Josh