Who needs happiness anyway?

Some days ago I found this quote from Stephen R. Covey, the author of best-selling book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, that made me think:

Basing our happiness on our ability to control everything is futile. [Stephen R. Covey]

For someone like me, who claims that taking control of life is the only wise way to use the time were given on this planet, this sentence requires some words to be spent.

This is NOT a self-defense post. Infact, I completely agree with Mr. Covey and I`m glad I have the opportunity to tell you why.

                                         

In fact, I still think that every individual whos got a vision and fights for it is a winner. But there is no guarantee, though, that said action will pan out exactly as intended and even in the case lead its author to happiness.

Two points:

Every externally directed action becomes as a matter of fact an interaction. And the outcome of each and every interaction is partially out of control. Not only the plan could be wrong, but its execution could fail partially or entirely by definition.

Define happiness! There is no consensus about what makes for a happy living. Some people believe that money will make em happy, others experience that despite being very rich they still lack something else: true friends, love, social visibility, and the list goes on. No one knows the recipe for endless happiness, but this doesn`t implicate we should simply stop acting.

Yes, it`s true: we don`t have total control over people and things and we don`t have a plan to gain endless happiness. So what?

Who needs happiness anyway? Imagine how boring would life be if we were like ancient omnipotent divinities, capable of modeling the universe according to their will (Homers epic pohems are full of wars, kidnapping and the like because of greek gods toying with humans to escape boredom for a while). Life`s beauty lies in its imperfectness.

Enjoy the journey, because its there that you`ll find the best moments of your life. Goals are just a mean to push us towards more action. [M. Ricci]

So, who cares if we can`t take control of life? Life ≠ Risiko!

                           

Work with what you`ve got and do your very best to try and pursue your dreams. You won`t have nothing to recriminate to yourself.