Did you know making more than $75,000+/year won’t make you any happier? Most people think that more money will make them happier. It won’t. Being happier comes from within.
Most people associate having more “stuff” with happiness. “If I only had a nicer home, car or body, I would be happy.” Unfortunately, it has nothing to do with the “things” (outside) and everything to do with the person (inside).
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When you see someone drive by in a nice car, and think to yourself, “That would be nice to have”… you actually don’t want the car, you want to be the kind of person able to buy that kind of car.
It’s about the person inside. Not what they have. There’s been a lot of research to support this.
Nothing happens outside in the world, without first happening in your mind.
I first learned this lesson while skateboarding as a teenager. Never once did I land a new trick without first seeing it happen a 100+ times in my head first.
Once you understand that, then it’s about asking yourself better questions to help you see things more clearly:
- What do I want my ideal day to look like?
- What kind of person do I want to be?
- What do I want my legacy to be?
If you want better answers, you need to ask better questions.
Defining Outcomes, Not Goals
I don’t believe in “goals” as the most important thing you should define. I prefer to start with life outcomes. If you focus too much on the actions or the goals – then you might miss the opportunity to come up with a better / faster way to achieve them. Start with outcomes.
For example: “I want to lose weight” vs. “I want to be in better health when I’m 50 than when I was 20.”
If you lost 1 lb, then you would have achieved your goal (to lose weight) and the same would be true if you lost 20lbs. The goal isn’t aligned with the real outcome of being healthy, as there are many ways to lose weight without actually being healthy.
To shift from traditional goal setting, write out the type of life you want to live using “outcomes” and frame them using a question. Over time, this will help your mind find solutions to the outcomes.
Here’s an example of how that might look:
- How can I spend quality time with my kids everyday?
- How can I have the ability to travel and pursue my passions?
- How can I only work on things that I’m uniquely qualified to do?
- How can I be of service to those who I can help the most?
- How can I live an active and vibrant life spending a lot of time in nature?
Asking yourself better questions will provide you with better answers and better actions. Those actions are there to support the ultimate life you want to live.
Happiness Comes From The Journey, Not The Destination
The big lesson to learn is that it’s not the destination, it’s the journey. The joy is in discovering and refining your life to achieve those results.
It doesn’t matter if you’re worth $100M or $100,000. It’s not about the money. It’s about the quality of life you get to live.
Changing your focus to the type of day, week or month you want will help you shape your actions to achieve that. I know it can seem scary at first, but start with small steps towards that outcome.
Creating a life you would be proud of requires you to decide what that perfect day looks like. It’s not about the stuff, it’s about the life you’re able to live.
What are some of the outcomes you’ve set-out and achieved for your life? How did you overcome the hurdles? What’s next? Leave a comment below with your answers.
