 The paradox of comfort. Chasing happiness in the wrong places. Comfort does not bring us happiness. We all strive to be comfortable and when we get there we are content, but many times not happy. We get afraid of messing it up, changing things in our lives that will affect our comfort. So we stay put. We stop growing. We stop trying new things and focus on maintaining our comfort. We think that the times that we weren't comfortable were more unhappy. So let's stay comfortable. The unhappy, the uncomfortable, the discontent was better for one main reason. It got us to actually want something different. We had to move to improve. We had to make changes to reach happiness. The times we struggled motivated us to move forward, to change, to improve, to grow. Comfort is the antithesis of happiness. It is pushing us in the wrong direction. Does that mean we can never be comfortable? Does that mean always having to change? Does this mean we always have to do hard things to be happy? Yes. Are you living a comfortable life right now? Take a long, honest look at your level of happiness. Are you happier than when you were growing, changing and making things happen? When you think about changing, do you hate the idea to be uncomfortable again? So you prefer to sit in your seemingly comfortable, stable, knowing what to expect easy life? You may think you do, but I challenge you to be really honest with yourself in your true level of fulfillment. When you go to change from your comfort state, it sounds lame and you don't want to do it. Your mind and body rebel and you get cranky. You really don't want to do it. You remember the uncomfortable feelings, the effort, the constant challenges, and you want to avoid it. You want your kids to avoid it. You hate the idea of starting over and learning new things again. When you make change, when you're in the uncomfortable state, all the changes sound good. You are moving on to a better place, a better situation, a place of less struggle and more comfort. You are motivated to change when you're in the uncomfortable state. Your situation has a hope of improvement. Happiness is on the horizon. So what shall we do? We are unhappy in the state of comfort and uncomfort. How can we be happy? Are we doomed to always be in a constant state of unhappiness? No. We have to realize that where happiness comes from, it is harder to strive towards when we are comfortable and easier when we are uncomfortable. We learn that happiness comes from change. Change leads to growth and growth can lead to happiness. You must always be in a state of change, growth, learning to find happiness. Easier to move towards when your current state is needy, harder when your current state is abundance. This explains a lot of what we see around us. What is the role of meaning? Is it happiness really the goal? Or is it meaning that we are seeking? Or is it a bit of both? Why are so many seeking happiness as the end all be all goal? Money makes us stressed. So many assume that if we have enough money, we'll be happy. But what is enough money? Well, according to research, that just enough money over the poverty line does increase happiness, but there is no correlation after that. So why do we think that we're unhappy making $60,000 a year? Why do we feel that we won't be happy until we make $200,000 or a million? Happiness is not what we should pursue. It is meaning. Meaningful relationships, meaningful life work, meaningful narrative of our life. Finding meaning in our daily life right now. Striving for happiness is something in the future which makes us discontent now. We need to apply meaning in our lives today. Live a life that aligns with your values. Engage in what you are doing today. Find significance.