The pursuit of happiness. We’ve all heard of it. Actually it’s even the title of a movie, a book, and a song. So it’s got to be pretty important huh?
It definitely is. I don’t think I know of a single person who goes through life saying, “I choose to be unhappy.”
So if that’s the case, then it’s probably fair to say that most of us are constantly chasing this high that we call happiness. That’s good. The world could use some more happy people.
But have you ever stopped and thought to yourself, “I wonder if how I chase happiness matters?”
Well you should, because it does.
Today I am going to start a series about 10 things that secretly are making you unhappy. Each week I will go over one thing that’s actually making you unhappy and my recommendation on how to fix it.
For this week, let’s talk about goals! Egad, goals! We talk about those a lot. Yup, we do, because they are important.
So what do goals have to do with happiness?
Well if you are too goal oriented, specifically towards external goals, you’re actually making yourself way more unhappy than you think.
Yes, goals are good and important. But one thing is that goals should never be set by external factors. External goals are difficult to obtain, since you don’t have complete control over them. External goals are goals that rely on the actions/emotions/feeling of other things, people usually. You can’t control what other people do, and since your goal is determinant on them, you don’t have complete control.
Another thing that happens with external goals, what happens when you reach it? External goals are very limited, do this by a certain date. And when you reach it, now what? You go and chase another one. It’s a constant chase for that next goal, that next hit of dopamine that you get when you complete something.
So what should you do?
Internalize your goals. I want to be a better human. I want to be a better husband/wife/spouse/significant other/father/mother.
Stop always chasing the next goal. Pick a larger goal, something that is going to take a long time to accomplish and focus on that, instead of always chasing the next easy one.
I’m really excited about this series, so stay tuned! Next week we’ll talk about physical possessions.
Need help learning how to craft internal goals, schedule a FREE Intro Call and let’s hop on zoom and chat about how to do just that!
Coach Andy is an Owner and Head Coach at Tradewinds. He grew up in traditional martial arts and uses that rigor and discipline in his CrossFit training. The more technical the movement, the better, with his specialty being the olympic lifts, especially the snatch.