At Postconsumers, we often use the idea of happiness and satisfaction interchangeably. Many of those to whom we reach out to hopefully assist are chasing the idea of satisfaction through consumerism and misplaced priorities so we found this week’s quote of the week particularly inspiring.
“Everyone chases after happiness, not noticing that happiness is right at their heels.” Bertolt Brecht.
We think that this quote is so very true. Even perusing the articles on this blog that give us ideas on how to achieve satisfaction, it’s obvious that the ways in which we can feel satisfied, and happy, are right there at our heels. We just race ahead of those ways in an effort to always be moving towards something “more.” If we just stopped for a second and enjoyed reading, creativity, spending time with our families, exercise and the other simple pleasures instead of immediately fixating on a new goal, a new possession or a new financial stratosphere as soon as we experienced the first hint of satisfaction or happiness, we would all lead happier, more stress free and healthier lives. We’re so busy chasing the ideas of happiness that we rarely, if ever, stop to enjoy the satisfaction of happiness in the moment. If we could find it in ourselves to stop and look at what’s nipping at our heels, we’d more often than not find the satisfaction of enough right there with us.
We actually advocate taking several minutes a day to pause and compel yourself to be “in the moment,” actively reflecting on what it is that created satisfaction and happiness for you that day. Enticing yourself to slow down, stop and remove yourself from the idea of constant forward progression to an always unattainable goal is a critical step in learning to find the satisfaction of enough in a moment (or even in a series of moments!)
Bertolt Brecht, by the way, was a German poet, playwright and theater director who experienced his prime in the post-World War One era.
