Progress is Happiness – How to Be Happy Series (Part 10)

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progress is happiness

How tall will a tree grow? As tall as it possibly can. You’ve never heard of a tree growing half as high as it could. No, that is impossible. A tree grows as high as it can, drives down every root it can, produces every leaf it can, extends itself as far as it possibly can. Every life form extends to the max, except human beings. Now why not human beings? Because we’re not robots. We’ve been given the dignity of choice. – Jim Rohn 

Tony Robbins says that progress is happiness. Studies have shown that pursuing a worthy goal can increase happiness.

What about you? Do you have an exciting goal you’re moving toward?

Pursuing a worthy goal gives meaning to our lives and increases our level of fulfillment.

If you aren’t happy right now, it might be because your current vision isn’t compelling enough. It doesn’t excite you. It doesn’t make you jump out of bed every morning, eager to work on it.

Is your vision too small?

Have you given up on your vision because it’s so big that you can’t possibly achieve it?

What if the question isn’t, “Can I achieve that vision?”, but, “How much excitement does it generate when I think about it?”

Here’s the problem with a “realistic” goal: It’s not inspiring! It doesn’t give you the fuel you need to take action. It doesn’t move you, it doesn’t excite you, and it doesn’t stretch your limits.

Your vision isn’t something to be achieved; it’s something that’s meant to fuel you and incite growth. It’s here to push you out of your comfort zone and turn you into a new person you didn’t even know you could become. If your vision doesn’t scare you, you’re probably thinking too small.

If you want to discover what you’re truly capable of, you need a genuinely compelling vision. It will challenge you to grow and reconsider what you can do. After all, who knows what you can accomplish in this lifetime?

Would you rather shoot for the stars and reach the moon, or achieve an easy but unsatisfying target?

Why not go after that crazy vision you have instead of watering it down?

Don’t water it down, just break it down.

Break that colossal vision down into yearly goals, monthly goals, weekly goals, and even daily goals. Then, work on your goals every day while keeping your eyes on your vision.

Use that compelling vision to fuel your passion and desire. Then, take action on it.

While you may never achieve even a fraction of your vision, if you keep thinking about it and nurturing it every day, you could very well end up reaching the moon!

Are you making progress?  

By focusing exclusively on achieving your goal, you may forget to enjoy the journey buying into the “One Day I Will” myth?

The goal that you believe is going to make you happy most likely won’t.

Do you want to work hard every day, forgoing any sense of enjoyment, only to achieve a goal that you soon realize is unfulfilling? Of course not.

Here’s the thing: If you can’t enjoy the process of achieving your goal, you’re probably chasing the wrong one. While any meaningful goal requires sacrifice and hard work, it should also be a source of joy.

For instance, I work twice as many hours per week on my online business than I did at my previous job, but I’m happy that way. There’s nothing else I’d rather be doing than what I’m doing now.

Learning and growing can be incredibly enriching. Making steady progress towards a worthy goal is a great way to experience more fulfillment in your life. When you only think in terms of results, you can easily ignore all the little things you learned along the way and dismiss how much progress you’ve already made. I’m guilty of that myself.

As the late Earl Nightingale said, “Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal or idea”

Do you feel like you’re making progress in your life?

In this universe, nothing ever stays the same. Things either grow or decay. The same goes for human beings. When we feel like we’re making progress, we feel great about ourselves. When we don’t, we feel unhappy and dead inside. Growth can happen in any area of our lives. It could come in our relationships, our careers, our spirituality, or our personal growth in general.

If you’re unhappy right now, ask yourself whether you’re growing or not. If you’re not growing in any area of your life, think of what you could do to experience more growth.

Supercharging your vision

Look at the current vision you have for a specific area of your life. It could be your finances, your relationships, your career, or your personal growth, for example. How can you make that vision so compelling that you can’t wait to work on it every day?

Exercise:

Grab a pen and paper and spend five minutes every morning answering these questions:

  • What do I want in this area?
  • What excites me?
  • How would the ideal situation look?

Write your answers down and visualize yourself as if that vision were a reality. Do this for seven days.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article! If it helped you in any way, feel free to share it with friends, family, or anyone you think will benefit from it. I’d love to know how this week’s exercise goes, so please let me know in the comments section!

If you haven’t yet, check out the other articles in the How to Be Happy Series:

  1. Why Am I Not Happy With My Life? (Part 1)
  2. How to Combat Anxiety and Eliminate Problems (Part 2)
  3. What’s your personal definition of happiness and success? (Part 3)
  4. The Psychology Behind Happiness (Part 4)
  5. The Recipe for Happiness: Making It a Priority (Part 5)
  6. The Key to Happiness is Ditching “One Day I Will” (Part 6)
  7. Finding Happiness by Knowing Yourself (Part 7)
  8. The Benefits of Unconditional Giving (Part 8)
  9. Why You Should Stop Being a Consumer and What You Should Do Instead (Part 9)
  10. Progress is Happiness (Part 10)
  11. 7 Tips to be Happy from the Happiest Person in The World (Part 11)

 

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