Defining Success: Chase Happiness First, Then Everything Else Follows

We’ve been insta-conned! Didn’t we know Lamborghini’s and dream houses or NOT what will make us successful?

Over the past decade, multiple papers, publications, and researches have been released to inform the public about the correlation of the prevalent rise of depression and our use of social media.

We’ve in an age where everything is accessible. If before you get real-life examples of your heroes, now you have images of what the “perfect life” looks like from the tip of your fingers.

From the impossibly-tiny-waisted Barbie Dolls to the obviously-rented-out luxury cars, we now can consume these photos every single day. Then, we “go back” to our lives feeling unfulfilled and anxious because what we see, what we’re portrayed life should be is not the same as what we have.

What’s worse is it’s also easier now to portray a “fake” version of our lives, too! We see our neighbors, friends, and colleagues posting about the luxurious escapade they had over the weekend or the scrumptious $20 coffee they had for brunch when behind the scenes, people are struggling to pay rent or are being abused at home.

This is one of the reasons I’m an absolute VERO advocate. Since the tool makes it easy for me to select the people who are going to see the posts and photos I share, I don’t have to pretend or even try to share my life’s events. It’s just is. Whether it’s me and my kid having a messy art project or the family having a night out, there’s no need to make an image that’s not true to yourself.

I highly recommend VERO to everyone who wants to create a fuller, more meaningful life. Because it’s not a social media app trying to be the next Instagram; it’s a platform that empowers you as a human being.

The same goes for everything else in life.

Defining Happiness

Whether it’s a life or work decision, I always use my gut. That instinct that tells you which way to go. An internal compass that’s embedded within our nature.

Most people do not want to adhere to the advice: “Follow your passion.” For them, it sounds lackadaisical. I guess the reason for that is we associate “passion” with a hobby — an activity you like doing but are not really dedicating your whole being to.

Passion is an outlet of the soul. Is the creation that drives you even if sacrifices are needed to be made.

It’s not a lazy hobby that you do once in a blue moon. It’s that craft that you’re helplessly enamored to pursue.

That’s why I say, follow your happiness. Follow that passion that makes you happy. Because the pursuit of happiness doesn’t mean you don’t go under tribulation. It’s not cloud nine where you wishfully think you’ll be the best singer in the world. It’s that creation that you know only you can make. It’s that sound, that voice, that book that you know only you can create.

I believe it’s the same with my belief in education. Don’t tell children to follow a path you want them to go to. Empower their curiosities and allow them to fail. Teach them to fire up that feeling of wanting to explore the world. Because in the billions of human beings on the planet, no one else would be you or me.

You will have that one quirk that no one else has. Your sister will have a unique perspective of the world that you can never adapt. And guess what? It’s all perfectly okay.

There’s no defined path for anybody except for the journeys we let ourselves take.

So I say, follow your happiness. Because at the end of it all, not regretting anything is probably the most important thing we can do for ourselves.

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