Happiness is a part of life we all seek. Unfortunately, happiness is an abstract concept, and there’s no one single path to happiness. Much like smoke, often grasping at it merely makes it slip through your fingers and vanish. Yet, we continue to chase it endlessly nonetheless.
We chase that feeling of bliss every day, and many of us seek it in material things. Promotional ads for the latest iPhone or BMW try to convince you that newer and shinier things equal more prestige and happiness. And while there is undoubtedly value in things, things are not likely to be where your greatest happiness will be found.
Something shiny and new will very likely bring happiness while it’s still shiny and new, but after you’ve experienced it day after day, the excitement fades. So does the happiness it once brought.
Consider your fondest memories. There are moments in life that, upon reflection, will always bring a smile to your face. The happiness you feel when recalling those memories doesn’t fade over time. It’s in the experiences and those people you share them with, whether family, new friends or old buddies, that happiness is truly found. This is the only argument many need to spend money on experiences. Not things. Objects always fade. Memories last a lifetime.
Search online for a photo of an iPhone 3. Now, look at a picture of Disneyland. Which one brings you more fond memories? When the phone was new, you could have likely taken a simple Disney vacation for the same price as the phone. Do you even remember what made that phone nicer than the one from the year before? Or what was better about the one that came the year after?
Don’t you wish you had just held onto your old phone for an extra year and taken the vacation?
When you hear someone talk about their bucket list, their greatest desires, and the dreams they hope will one day come true, you’ll notice that acquiring objects is rarely listed. It’s filled with places they would like to go and things they hope to do. Especially if you have the opportunity to talk to those who have had the chance to check off a reasonable amount of their bucket list already in their lives.
When we really think about our time on earth, we want to see more of it. Experience what life truly is and create memories that will last a lifetime. See the Seven Wonders of the World, walk along a beach in Greece, parasail in the Bahamas, dive the Great Barrier Reef, hike the jungles of Borneo in search of orangutans, maybe take a ride on the London Eye.
It doesn’t matter what you choose. That is part of the beauty of it. It is all up to you.
A good vacation will bring you more happiness than a whole truck full of new flat-screen TVs or brand-new phones ever will.
If you get the opportunity, talk to a few elders around you and ask them what they value from their lives, what they are proud of, and what they wished they had done more of.
I can tell you one thing you aren’t likely to hear. Any mention of any objects they ever owned.
Get out there and try living a new way. You might just surprise yourself. You may return home with a whole new view of what life means for you.
Ready to plan the vacation of a lifetime?
The world awaits and it’s time to get planning! Get in touch with us and we’ll do all the heavy lifting of planning and booking. Let us know where your next dream vacation takes you and let’s make it happen!