In 2018, let’s prioritize happiness and give ourselves the means to do so!

Another year has gone by and like every year, it is time for New Year’s resolutions. We have until the end of the month. This year I am struck by how many messages and solicitations I have received regarding happiness and well-being and all the easy paths to reach it.

On the one hand I am happy to see that the search for happiness and well-being is booming and on the other hand, I feel concerned by all the promises for easy solutions. Indeed, when pursuing an objective with the conviction that it will be easy to reach, it is easy to get discouraged at the first difficulty.

Have you had this experience? Say you decide to do something, for example to sort a pile of papers, thinking it will take you less than 10 minutes to do. In the pile, there might be a form to fill out, for which you need numbers that are on another paper, which you can’t remember where you put it; soon the 10 minutes are over, you have accomplished nothing, discouragement is sure to strike.

We are not talking about sorting papers but reaching happiness and well-being! So imagine a miracle solution, a 15-minute video, which gives you all the answers. If you have a toxic relationship with a work colleague, a seriously sick parent, a difficult teenager, back pain, for example, it probably won’t do the trick.

The search for happiness and wellbeing is probably the oldest and most important of all human searches and if it is still so active today, that probably rules out a miracle solution. Over the centuries, different attitudes and behaviors have proven helpful and science has shown interest in them for a couple of decades.

We now have an abundance of studies showing the statistical benefits of certain activities and behaviors but science cannot determine with certainty what will benefit you personally. If you wish to increase your happiness, you may need to change some of your behaviors and have a little patience.

For the last decade or so, I have been supporting people in their search for more happiness and well-being and I have been searching myself for about 30 years. I have learned from all those experiences that happiness and well-being are within reach, that it is pointless to look for it outside ourselves and that it can take time.

So for 2018, I encourage you to prioritize your happiness and well-being and to give yourselves the means to reach your goals.