Happiness

I wonder... What holds the greatest importance in people's lives.

It is interesting how we being humans with the same reward systems, have different ideas on which kind of happiness is the best for us.

On the first level, we mainly find happiness in these three routes. Firstly, a successful career, I.e. Any sort of achievement in life. Secondly, relationships and thirdly, money. Money is not to be confused with a successful career. The pursuit of money can come without a career, I.e marrying a rich husband, making quick bucks on stocks. A successful career on the other hand has more to do with the prestige of yr job/achievement. Eg. The CEO of Goldman Sachs or a successful entrepreneur, although it usually also means you're rolling in money, but not always.

However, even in these 3 main routes, we also differ on the second level.

Some of us want to be captains of industry, others want their name to live on forever. Eg, Newton's law. In the first aspect of happiness, having a succesful career or notable achievement in life, we derive happiness from the fact we have achieved something great, outdoing one's own expectations, testing one's limits, breaking one's barriers. This form of happiness is not for everyone though, as some of us might think ourselves too ordinary to be achieve anything great. But actually, the more ordinary you are, the more people view your achievements as something great. Most great people in history had very humble beginnings, Einstein was considered a slow learner and many others.

The second form of happiness, relationships and be branched into 4 main categories. Relationships with friends, relationships with husband/wife, relationships with family and lastly relationships with God. Which is most important to you?. Which relationship would you most likely sacrifice if you didn't have time?. I think all our choices are personal and reasons vary from individual to individual but which relationship holds the greatest importance to you?. Is it your friends who have known you for so long and been there for you for as long as you can remember? Or is it your husband/wife who promises to love you till death do you part. Or your family? Who have taken care of you all your life. Or is it God, the enigmatic being, who promises you a wondrous life on earth and a even more wondrous afterlife. Whichever kind of relationship you choose, remember you have to sacrifice another. And don't be fooled that you can have all of them as you have limited time and you are bound to choose between them.

The third form of happiness, the pursuit of $ is something which i personally feel is the most unfulfilling of them all. But strangely enough, some people still choose this as their most important kind of happiness to them and are willing to sacrifice all others. The value of $ is undeniable and a certain amount is definitely prerequisite to the other kinds of happiness mentioned above, but exactly how much money is enough? I think again, this varies between individuals, but we can all agree, the more time you spend on getting more $, the less time you have to pursue the other kinds of happiness mentioned above which lasts much longer and makes you feel more whole. So how much is really enough?

Dont misunderstand as i'm not saying you can only have one kind of happiness. It is possible to pursue all the kinds of happiness i have mentioned above, but then, your life span is limited and time is of importance. You are bound to choose between all these different forms and so one of them would have to be of greatest importance to you. Choose wisely and do not regret only after you've lived most of your life pursing the wrong kind of happiness.