Subjective Happiness

Much of what I've done in my life, I've done with the goal of finding happiness.  My career changes, my geographic moves, my relationships, they're all related to happiness.  In some way or another, every decision I make is related to my happiness, and I think the same can be said for everyone.

The pursuit of happiness is a defining human trait, and a topic far too broad for me to cover in a blog post.  Instead, I want to focus here on how happiness relates to creative endeavours, and how it should be used as the litmus test for deciding on what we should be doing right now.

This discussion would be a lot easier if I could define happiness, but unfortunately, despite numerous attempts, happiness remains definable only subjectively.  Further complicating matters, what we often think will make us happy, in the end, does not, or the happiness is short lived.

The Subjective Nature of Happiness

I'm a minimalist by nature.  To me, happiness comes from things experienced and not things owned.  This is a belief commonly held by minimalists and vagabonds.  However, I do not believe that this is the only path to happiness.  It's easy for a supposedly enlightened person to say that money and possessions have never made anyone happy, but is that true?  Perhaps those things would never make me happy (at least not by themselves), but that's not to say they wouldn't make someone else happy.  Are you trying to tell me that none of the world's millionaires are happy with their possessions?  Although jealous people might like to think that, I find it hard to believe.

Similarly, some people must be in love to be truly happy.  Others are happiest when they are unattached and free to live their lives unencumbered by restrictive relationships.  Having lived both ways, I find myself happier while in love.  But, I'm a hopeless romantic.  I believe there are just as many people living happy and fulfilled lives without significant others, and I'm pretty sure I know a few of them.

The same logic goes for creativity.  There are those who believe that the true path to happiness lies in creating and being creative.  By creating we are fulfilling our human destiny, and as such should feel fulfilled and happy.  I feel fulfilled and happy when creating, whether it be writing, drawing or a business solution.  On the other hand, other people are perfectly content being uncreative.  There is value in being able to accurately repeat something without changing any part of it.  Take the following example:

Growing up, I was truly blessed in that both my mother and my father are excellent cooks.  However, their excellence could not be any more different.  My father has the amazing ability of improvising a dish on the spot, essentially creating it from nothing.  I have never seen him use a recipe.  The side effect of this is that I don't think any two meals he's made have been quite the same.  My mother on the other hand, can replicate any of her staple recipes with robot-like precision.  Her best-in-the-world lasagna tastes the same today as it did twenty years ago.  And hey, if it's the best in the world, why would you change it?

All of this is to illustrate the simple point that happiness is not a one-size-fits-all garment.  What makes me happy, will not necessarily make you happy. 

Happiness as  Litmus Test

The only constant is that happiness should always be the measure of anything you do.  I write fiction because it makes me happy.  I've chosen to write 52 short stories in a year because it makes me happy.  I've endured the difficulties of a long-distance relationship for several years because she makes me happy.  I've taken pay cuts because the work makes happy.

I wouldn't recommend that anyone do any of the things that I've done, unless they make him happy. 

So, my only piece of advice is that whatever you're doing, make sure it makes you happy.  If it doesn't, what's the point?

Photo courtesy of pasotraspaso.