I really thought cycling across the country would make me happy.
But when I touched my front wheel into the Atlantic Ocean after 67 days of pedaling, I wasn’t happy. I was sad. I had spent 20 years talking about it and a whole year planning and training for it. Suddenly, the adventure was over.
I thought I was going to find happiness at the finish line. I didn’t expect to experience sheer joy from cycling every day.
So my post-ride slump was inevitable. To bounce out of it, I planned the next adventure – a bike ride from Key West to Maine the following year.
In a recent interview, actress Viola Davis was asked about her Oscar, her Tonys, and her Emmys. She shared her approach: “The three most important words to me are: and now what? What’s the next thing? What’s the next chapter? What’s the next page?” Viola intentionally looks at what she’s creating next, because the thrill of the award is not what fuels her.
A 2007 study revealed that we are happier in pursuit of goals than we are after we accomplish them. For example, we are happier getting a new job, starting a new class, and buying a new house than we are when we have the job, pass the exam, or inhabit the house, respectively.
Essentially, we are most happy when we are in the process of improving ourselves and our situations in some way.
Bottom line: positive dynamic events are better than static situations.
So get in action!
- Learn something new
- Change, improve something
- Launch a new program at work
- Experiment with a new tool for your team
- Start volunteering
- Plan an adventure
- Tackle an intrepid goal
Happiness is not a finish line to cross; it’s an ever-evolving journey that we get to create.
