We make tonnes of little decisions every day. We’re constantly deciding what to do, what to eat, wether we should answer the call from an unknown number, if we should confess to whatever we’ve done, if we should train now or train later….
Sometimes we decide what to do based on what’s best for us. Sometimes it’s not about us – we might simply need to get the job done. But often, we’re deciding what is going to make us happiest. Will I feel better if I eat carrots or if I eat junk? Will I appreciate a glass of water or a glass of wine?
The trap here is that what makes us feel great right now will often make us feel worse a little further down the track. The wrong food choices leave us bloated and irritable. Skipping too many training sessions makes us lethargic and moody. Procrastinating at work and at home creates stress.
There’s nothing wrong with doing things that make us happy right now. As long as there aren’t consequences down the track. The instant gratification of a bunch of flowers, a chat with a friend or a few minutes of doing not much will boost your mood and it doesn’t harm anyone. So go for it. But constantly avoiding the hard stuff when it comes to everyday habits will catch up with you in the end.
Tony Hsieh, founder of American online retail giant Zappos and Delivering Happiness, is constantly asking people what their goals are. Then he asks them why? And he keeps drilling down, asking why again & again, until the person figures out why they want to be rich/to travel more/to work less/to start a charity etc. And the reason? Tony states that almost every single time, people end up saying ‘because it will make me happy’. So if we are all aiming to be happier, it’s up to us to make decisions that actually make us happy in the long term. Being happy for now is good. But being happy for good is a whole lot better.
