I get a little self-conscious about the fact that I'm so earnest on my blog sometimes, since I'm kind of a smart-ass in person. But I figure I'll never regret putting myself out there, even if it's stuff that I'd mock myself for, if somebody else finds it useful.
Good news, then, when I read Sameer Vasta's post a few weeks ago. As you'd expect from a post called "The Ultimate Key to Happiness", it's a bit introspective and quite thoughtful. But I was most proud to have played a tiny role in helping Sameer's thoughts along with a Twitter update that I wrote because I felt I had figured out something important, and wanted to commemorate it. In Sameer's words.
A few weeks ago, Anil Dash posted a tweet (which I replicated on Squandrous) that had one simple nugget of wisdom — a quick quote that actually ended up being the impetus for this post: “Happiness is being good at something.â€
I still have the SMS with that message saved on my phone. It acts as a reminder that I don’t necessarily have to do something great in order to be happy — I just need to take what I do all the time and do them well.
If we take, again, happiness as being based in satisfaction and value, Anil’s tweet rings even truer: instead of value being placed in specific achievement, value is being put in a repeated pattern of behavior, whether small or large in impact. The best part of the statement is that everyone is good at something if they just think about it, so everyone, in essence, has something to be happy about.
Truth be told, my little blurb probably isn't original at all -- I'm sure other people have said it first, or better, or both. But I just find it really satisfying that the act of being public with a discovery, of disclosing something personal even at risk of being mocked by a cynical jerk like, well... me can still have that impact sometimes of helping someone make a connection. And in turn, thanks to Sameer for returning the favor.
So howcome I'm super-happy playing basketball even though I suck at it, and I'm miserable at my job even though I'm a superstar at work?
Happiness is nice, but really I prefer to have joy and to be content.
Joy is something that you can have in good times and bad, unlike happiness it doesn't depend on happenstance, circumstance or in this case perception of skill level.
Being content allows you to be at peace with your circumstance - that doesn't mean being lazy or not working towards goals - it means understanding where you are, being at peace with it, and knowing what about it you can and cannot change.
Happiness seems to come along a lot more often when I'm content and filled with joy!
thanks Anil, good observation.
I work with Dunrie, whose title is Director of Happiness:
http://www.google.com/search?q=dunrie+happiness
As it happens, the first poem I ever memorized is A. A. Milne's "Happiness"
http://vielmetti.typepad.com/vacuum/2006/12/happiness_aa_mi.html
thanks for bringing back that memory.
"I'll never regret putting myself out there"
...it's why I, for one, read here regularly.
It *is* a truth, and it can be defined in as many ways as there are people. Being good at something doesn't even have to be anyone else's definition but your own.
Odd, isn't it, how this written form called blogging draws out a part of ourselves that doesn't always match the way we present in other mediums? I'm usually into fast repartee, love to tease, etc. in real life, and sometimes sit back looking at my blog and wondering whether this part of me simply didn't have the medium it wanted before. Sometimes I really want to delete a post which seems awkward to me, but don't because it is all part of the process of this semi-public voice developing. It's also completely different from any form of professional writing I've done.
It sounds to me as though your form of humor is an interactive type that rarely translates well into print. :)
Thanks for the shout out Anil. I'm glad you put yourself out there on Twitter and on your blog: as you can see, you're definitely an inspiration to me.
This was great. Thanks to both you and Sameer for putting yourselves -- and these thoughts -- out there.