“The purpose of our lives is to be happy.” Dalai Lama
What is the ultimate goal of life? It’s a question that often catches up with us during quiet moments or at major crossroads. When we don’t have a clear sense of purpose, it’s easy to feel “adrift”, as if we are reacting to life rather than living it.
The truth is that a meaningful life isn’t found in social status or the accumulation of wealth. It is built, brick by brick, through the deliberate pursuit of happiness and the cultivation of a peaceful mind.
Happiness as an Achievement
We often think of happiness as something that “happens” to us, but the philosopher Bertrand Russell argued in The Conquest of Happiness (1930) that it is actually an achievement. It requires effort to overcome the psychological traps that steal our peace, the traps that have only become more sophisticated in the 21st century.
What comes to my mind is the beautiful and meaningful quote of Russel, “To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness.”
Even today, the 3 main culprits of our unhappiness as pointed out by Russell are universal truth:
- The Ego: An unhealthy preoccupation with our own importance and how we are perceived.
- Envy: The exhausting habit of measuring our worth against others.
- Competition: The relentless “rat race” that treats life like a struggle to be won.
The Digital Evolution: From Envy to FOMO
While Russell was writing in the 1930s, his insights feel like a prophetic blueprint for the smartphone era. What he called “Envy,” we now experience as FOMO (Fear of Missing Out).
Social media has digitized the comparison trap. We always compare our “behind-the-scenes”, i.e. our real, messy lives with everyone else’s “highlight reel.” Our Ego becomes tied to the dopamine loop of likes and notifications, leading to the “nervous fatigue” which Russell warned about nearly a century ago.
Today, we aren’t afraid we won’t have bread for breakfast; we are afraid we aren’t outshining our neighbours on a global scale.
My Take: Hobbies: Our Secret ‘Other World’
To combat this digital noise, we need a strategy to stabilize our minds. This is where the ‘art of making life colourful’ comes in. Developing a hobby, like gardening, reading, photography, or philanthropy is not just a way to pass the time, in today’s world it is a therapeutic necessity.
The playwright George Bernard Shaw once captured this perfectly, “The person who has a hobby may be said to have another world at his command.”
Buddhist philosophy echoes this through the concept of ‘Right Mindfulness.’ When you are fully immersed in a hobby, you are practicing ‘meditation in action.’ In those moments, the ego falls away as we are not competing for ‘reach’ or ‘likes’, rather we are simply being.
The Healing Power of the Natural World
While hobbies ground our minds, nature grounds our souls. There is a profound sense of gratitude to be found in the stillness of a forest or the majesty of a mountain. I do really find it, amidst nature rejuvenates me.
In The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, Robin Sharma reminds us that a close connection with nature frees us from the noise of modern greed. Nature doesn’t have a refresh button or a newsfeed. By slowing down to match the pace of the natural world, we align ourselves with a simpler, more authentic version of ourselves.
“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished”, another age-old wisdom by LaoTzu
If you are ready to pivot toward a more joyful existence, you don’t need a radical overhaul.
It’s time to ‘Call for Action, for Reclaiming our Joy’
What comes to my mind are the following active shifts to our perspective and the actionable points to be undertaken:
- To Practice ‘Selective Ignorance’. Start may be to unfollow accounts that trigger our comparison-envy. Next will be to replace our passive scrolling with an active hobby that builds a skill or creates something tangible leading to joy and satisfaction.
- Creation of ‘Ego-Free Time’. Let’s dedicate some of our time each day to an activity that cannot be ‘posted.’ It is as simple as that to walk in the woods without taking a photo as this will be an experience that belongs entirely to you.
- ‘Competition to Admiration Shift’. It is said that ‘The antidote to Envy is Admiration’. Instead of feeling diminished by someone else’s success, lets us try and reach out to offer genuine praise. It will break the cycle of comparison.
- ‘Release’. To release the weight we hold within, free ourself, say from our obsession with material gain and also from past hardships. Look out for ‘Optimism’ the silver lining which is always there. The more we practice optimism, the more stronger and happy we become.
By seeking joy in these small, creative acts, we don’t just improve our own lives, we contribute to a world that is a little more peaceful, grounded, and colourful for everyone.