The definition of happiness isn’t a static thing.
What was your definition of happiness and success when you were a kid? Big, fancy house? Maybe a huge family? All the money in the known universe? Yeah, not very realistic, huh? The thing about happiness is that contrary to what we may have learned from movies and TV growing up, there isn’t really a singular version of it. There’s no win state to life, you’re happy when you say you’re happy, even if it’s at a different time or place from someone else.
A bad habit that seems hardwired into the human psyche is the desire to compare oneself to those around them. A common complaint, for example, is that everyone around you is getting married or having kids or whatever. But you shouldn’t want to get married and have kids just because everyone else is doing it, you should do it because you want to. Because you believe doing so would make you happy. If you don’t think doing that would make you happy, why would you do it? It’s not a vital part of life, it’s just a thing you can do.
You wanna know what the real trick to finding happiness is? Seeking it on your own terms. Don’t let others and the way they live their lives dictate your happiness for you. If you’re content with where you are in life, you don’t need to make huge overhauls just because said overhauls are considered the “norm.” Forget the norm, be an outlier! Be you! No one should get to decide that your life is well-lived but you. Do things that make you happy, pursue hobbies that genuinely interest you. Perhaps you won’t be statistically normal, but frankly, being normal is overrated.
