After finding out that I had failed my high school exams I set a goal to go to University. I thought that if I made it to university and graduated I would be very happy. The road to University was very difficult and the road to the graduation stage was even more difficult. I remember the day I found out that I had made to university; I was so overjoyed for like a day or two but very quickly that joy disappeared and I went back to feeling like I was not ready for the next challenge, I went through university with terrible anxiety and depression but the thought that I was going to be happy when get to the end of the journey kept me going. However, when the day of graduation arrived I felt absolutely nothing, everyone in my house was up and ready long before I even got out of bed. The day i though would make me feel great about me was here but the feeling of greatness that I though was going to come over me was absent, my mum and dad partied through the night but I lay in bed in tears feeling deflated. This was the day that I had worked for but when it arrived I felt nothing what was happening here?
I am sure you have heard people say, I will be happy when I start a new job, buy a new car or when I am able to afford to take my family on holiday. The assumption here is that happiness comes from accumulation of things or achieving certain goals. A lot of people are always looking at the goal all that time and they do not take the time to enjoy the view on the way up. My journey from a high school failure to a university graduate might be a great story to tell but it was emotionally draining. I could have taken some time on the way up to celebrate my little wins and to enjoy the fact that I was making progress, Tony Robbins always says that “Progress = Happiness” A recent study by Dr. Lynden Murphy found that lottery winners who were unhappy before winning Lottery end up unhappy anyway and people who were happy before they suffered life changing injuries and ended up been paralysed end happy anyway. What does all this tell us? This tells us that happiness is state of being and not what you get, a lot of people think that what they get at the end of the journey is main thing however what you learn and become at the end of the journey is the main thing. So my friend, whats the one thing that you can do right now that can make you happy?