A rising trend in online discussions is roughly resolving around less is more. While there is some testimonies, books, and reports testifying that a more minimalistic life could very well be a key to happiness.
Before diving, I want to qualify what is happiness. By searching online interest on the topic, I’m sensing a discrepancy on the definition on happiness. I noticed a lot of questions on how to be happy all the time which seems to be a rather odd concept.
This egrogorious belief that one can be happy all the time is likely conveyed by the idea that we imagine others happier than they are. Our mind are better equipped to work in facts rather than dynamic to frame reality. Therefore, if we happen to see a snapshot someone smiling in the street, a sort of halo effect occurs, we will then assume they are constantly happy.
Happiness is more a sort of an equilibrium between an overall fulfilling life with unhappy moments. What does it mean? Death, sadness, anger, fatigue is part of the happy life. But a good question is how far the happiness should go on the negative sides of life? Should it include stress, anxiety, jealousy, control ? I’m sure the you share the feeling that it should not include it all, at least not all and drawing a line for this definition may vary from our individual perception of life, cultural background. For the sake of this article, I’m sure we will all agree that happiness isn’t joy 24/7.
From that note, that happiness isn’t being dopamine high all the time, we can also establish that satisfying all our desires isn’t the source of happiness. Anyone who has read a bit of literature on the topic would have grasped quickly this very concept.
In a society that carries the promise (and actually its whole economical well functioning relies on it) to solve any of discomfort and fulfill any of our desire we may express, finding a balance is where the real things happens.
The key is to cherry pick what the incredible society we built has to offer without falling for all its perks. Finding an economical and confort balance is the key to live a fulfilling life.
So how does one live a simple life and be happy?
Pain and reaction to it, is hardly encoded in our genetics and physiology. It is how we survived so far and unfortunately pain is part of the process of life. To feel alive some would say but actually it is where the magic happens. The ideal scenario is when one has the freedom to choose his pain. All entrepreneurial success tackles this part well and confort this statement. Creating a business is a painful venture (I would know), it takes all you’ve got for no guarantee of a success. And by all you’ve got, even your self esteem will be quickly intricate in the outcome of your venture. Yet, being a conscious choice made it is quite an experience worth living. But Business doesn’t sound a simple life does it?
The actual answers without enumerating hard facts that would resonate just with a selected few, the common ground is simply to appreciate your context and choosing the pains you would like to keep and those you want to get rid.
Therefore, you have a mental framework that will allow you to make conscious choice relevant to you and you only in order to insure happiness. The simplicity will actually be all relative.
