How to Use These Insights to Build a Deeply Rooted Happy Life
Travelling toward a specific destination requires understanding what path you should follow. The journey to a deeply happy life is no different. Below I discuss two simple steps that will get you started.
The first step is to become clear about what deeply matters to you. Not what makes you happy in the moment, but what brings you satisfaction or joy over the long run.
These memories will, obviously, be different for each person. For some, they may be camping trips wherein you taught children how to fish or pitch a tent. For others, there may be days in college when you met with fellow students and excitedly discussed new ideas. A church-sponsored mission trip to build homes in a third-world country. A summer spent backpacking through Europe. An art class where your creativity was experienced more fully than ever before.
Whatever the memory, it is likely to reflect an important part of what makes you feel deeply happy (eudaimonic happiness). That’s why it can still evoke these feelings years later.
Then ask if you have other memories of a similar kind. If the answer is "yes," then it’s very likely you’ve found a path toward deeper happiness.