Improvement equals happiness

For many, happiness is measured by the pleasurable moments in life. it could the excitement and fun they had. It could be the delicious meal or the feeling of being on a roller coaster.

For others, contentment is the yardstick. Were they relaxed and content with their life or did they feel they had to always be moving? They value the peace and calm.

These are two different emotions. It is a way to split happiness. Even scientists look at happiness as pleasure (often through dopamine in our brain) and contentment (typically through serotonin levels).

This perspective has value. We can look at our life and see where we are tilting in one direction. Often, chasing pleasure conflicts with our ability to be content. Contentment is often long-term and pleasure is all about this moment.

When I was in my twenties, I stumbled upon a book called The Success Principles, by Jack Canfield. Canfield had written heartwarming stories in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series and now wanted to put it all together in a nonfiction book of advice for those who wanted to be successful.

I engulfed it and began a process to incorporate his wisdom into my daily life that endures to this day. I will always be grateful for the college instructor who took the time to recommend several books to our class, including this one.

It wasn’t that the book contained some magic insight that changed my life. Instead, it spelled out what we should focus on and how we should adjust our perspective and behaviors to align with one that improves over time. As we improve, we get closer to success and find more happiness along the way.

When someone asks me about the one book that they should read to be successful or happy, I often refer them to The Success Principles. It was the first step for me, and it could be for them as well.

Yet most who ask, never check it out at the library. They never download it or purchase it a local bookstore. Instead, they disregard the recommendation, instead searching for a book with a secret answer or latest jargon that will change everything.

The reason The Success Principles impacted my life was because it created a major shift in the way I approached life. Instead of searching for something to make me happy, either through pleasure or contentment, I started to look for improvement. Improvement was the key.

When we shift to a focus on learning and growth, suddenly the unhappiness in life becomes a prompt for action. The happiness encourages us to keep on.

In Think Again by Adam Grant, the author says, “To be clear, I wouldn’t encourage anyone to stay in a role, relationship, or place they hated unless they had no other alternatives. Still, when it comes to careers, instead of searching for the job where we’ll be happiest, we might be better off pursuing the job where we expect to learn and contribute the most.”

Being engaged in our work, learning, and contributing lead to better outcomes in our mental state. When we focus on growing instead of how we feel in the moment, our emotional state improves. When we focus too much on our emotional state, it creates an obsession that makes it harder to relax.

Similar to trying to meditate, we need to shift our focus by not focusing. In meditation, most find it impossible to stop thinking. Thinking about stopping thinking makes it even more difficult. Instead, we need to focus on our breathing, in and out. As we do, our mind slows, and the incessant voice finally calms down.

To get to that result, we had to shift our focus. To be happy we should shift our focus to be on improvement. As we improve, we will have natural releases of dopamine and serotonin as we hit new levels and strive for the next level.

We can calm down and stop striving for perfection. We can settle into the calmness that arises as we make progress. We focus on the process and take enjoyment in the actions that help us improve, knowing they are guiding us towards a better future.

Shifting our perspective to be on improvement can be difficult but the rewards are immense. It can be the final piece of the puzzle that helps us realize that the trivial acts we utilize to boost happiness are short-sighted and being content is harder than it seems when we try to force contentment.

But we can all take an assessment of where we are and then put steps in place to improve. When we do we will come to realize that improvement equals happiness. As we continue to get better, our emotional state improves. We become more resilient, more ambitious, and more confident. This leads to a happier perspective in life.