Chasing Happiness.

One day, a businessman arrived on a beautiful beach, on a beautiful island. He decided to take a walk along a the warm sand. Along his way, he spotted a fisherman coming into shore with a small boat full of fish. Impressed, the businessman asked the fisherman what he had been doing.

“I’ve been fishing because I love it. Now, I will have a BBQ on the beach with my friends, we will talk, sing and laugh. Then, in the evening, I will dine with my beautiful wife under the stars.”

The businessman is thoughtful for a moment, “I have lots of experience in business, I can help you. If you spend more time fishing, you can catch more fish and then I can help you sell them and you can make more money.”

The fisherman smiles and replies, “And why would I do that?”

The businessman, surprised by the naive response explains to the fisherman, “Well, after a few months you can use the profits to buy a bigger boat, then you can catch even more fish, and make even more money.”

The fisherman still smiles, “And why would I do that?”

The business man begins to grow impatient, “Well, with that money, you can buy a fleet of boats. You can employ other fisherman to fish for you.”

“Why would I want to do that?”, says the fisherman.

“Don’t you see? With the profits from that you could grow even more. You could buy your own factory, distribute your fish around the world and make even more money.”

“Why would I want to do that?”, says the fisherman.

“It’s obvious isn’t it? With all that money you can afford to retire early! Then, you could spend your time fishing, purely because you love it. You can share your catch and have BBQs on the beach with your friends. Then in the evenings, you can spend time with your wife dining under the stars.”

Don’t waste time chasing happiness. Consider what you really want from your life. What will bring you true happiness?

Exercise: Imagine your life five or ten years from now. Who would you like to be? What would you like to have? What would you want to be doing?