HIPS: Want To Be Happy? Find Purpose In Your Life

By Bryan Hyde

COMMENTARY -- When it comes to finding happiness, one of the most important truths we can grasp is that comparing ourselves to others is the surest way to become unhappy.

There’s a standard script that most of us were raised to follow. 

Go to school, get a degree, get a good job, make money and buy the things that show you are a success.

But is life really about keeping up with our neighbors? 

If life is primarily about acquiring material goods, doesn’t it seem a little ironic that they must all be left behind at death?

Enduring happiness is found in seeking out and discovering the unique sense of purpose to our lives and then using it to have a real impact on the world around us.

This requires that we resist the urge to blend into the masses and be willing to strive and overcome in order to turn our weaknesses into strengths.

Doing this will attract opposition and criticism from others. These are not things to be feared. 

They are evidence that you are having an impact.

People who are not making a difference are in no danger of being vilified. 

If our purpose is drawing us down a path that gives meaning to our life, we’ve already won the toughest battle. What other people think of us isn’t important.

The only time they have power to afflict us is when we start to accept their opinions.