Pursuing Peace (Part 1)

Live happy is something that I truly believe that we think that we want to do...yes I said it...we only "think" that we want to do this. In all reality, what are we doing to make this happen? I know for a fact that I have done nothing for a long time. I worked to earn an income...not to be happy. The money went to pay bills and the occasional night out...but that brought a short amount of fun...not happiness. Some might argue that fun IS happiness...but I disagree. I believe that fun and happiness are different. Fun (IMO) is spontaneous and is usually short lived. Happiness (once again IMO) longer lasting and more fulfilling. For example, I love to woodwork and it is VERY fulfilling and brings me happiness...although at times its not very fun...especially when I make a mistake.

I guess its how you see things...and for a long time, I saw what was directly in front of me and did not see much beyond that. It took a long time for me to notice that "I" was my own worst enemy. Due to my own lack of vision...I was unable to create happiness. How do you create happiness if you are only looking at what is right in front of you? I believe that a person sets themselves up for failure if they are solely looking at the present moment. Do I believe that one should NOT look at today...of course I think that we have to be aware of the present...but that our goals and aspirations should be further out. So, I bet you are wondering...where am I going with this?

I am goal setting AND then planning a way to achieve those goals....not just dreaming about them and wishing that they will come true. If I want something...then I have to find a way to get it...set myself up to get to that point of long lasting happiness. Back to Happiness...how to achieve it. Happiness sounds like a vague goal but it was my goal. My analytical side says, "Happiness is not a measurable metric." My emotional side says, "My analytical side is stupid."

I love metrics and I seem to feed off of those numbers. Its easy for me to calculate things that are quantifiable...but happiness is not that easy to work with. It would be impossible for me to show "happiness" in a graph and then explain how I was able to attain that information. So how would I be able to chart this in my planning stage? How would I be able to hit this goal?

Research has allowed me to see things that I was unable to see. As I looked into the things that really made me happy, I noticed that I would rarely do them. I looked at the amount of time that I spent with my kids and their projects. Then I looked at my hobbies...my activities....my schedule. What I soon realized is that I rarely did anything (other than spend time with my kids) that I loved to do. My tools collected dust and I was no longer creating anything. My sketch pad had my daughters drawings as I was no longer using it...everything seemed to be unimportant. I became grey and dull.

Removing the obstacles was my first challenge. (To Be Continued)