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What Finding Happiness and Baking Cakes Have in Common
Why you must learn to bake a cake to understand happiness
“How can I find happiness?”
I’ve wrestled with that question for a long time, over and over again (who hasn’t?).
But it was only recently that I realized the first step is to treat happiness like baking a cake.
The real meaning of “I was happy”
Trying to chase “the” happiness doesn’t work. By pursuing “it” we break down happiness into a single emotional state.
To understand this think about a time in your life that, looking back at it, was a happy time. For me, those were my teenage years.
I had a loving mother, a (sometimes annoying) little sister, and the cutest family dog. We lived in a cozy house with a lush, green garden. My time outside school (where I did well) was filled with playing soccer and video games with friends, visiting my grandparents, and reading.
But was I in a blissful state of happiness and joy constantly? Of course not.
I’ve gone through the same insecurities, social drama, and heartbreaks every teenager experiences. I fought with my mother and sister, and I dreaded going to school.
Neither did you fly around singin’ jolly tunes 24/7 during the happy era you thought of. But you probably woke up in a good mood on most days. You rarely felt lonely or rejected, were in prime health, and had people around you who cared.
Despite the pain and loss that undoubtedly happened during that period as well, you felt an overall satisfaction. This “happiness” resulted from the cumulation of many factors.
When I say, “I was happy back then”, what I mean, is “I was healthy, socially included, financially secured, and in a good mental state.”
What happiness and cakes have in common
Trying to chase “the” happiness is a fool’s errand. That’s like wanting to bake a cake asking, “How can I find a cake?” instead of “Which ingredients do I need to bake a cake?”
