Looking For Happiness Is Not The Way To Find It

Evolutionarily speaking

Life offers a lot of options. My gut sorts most of them out for me, but my gut isn’t always tuned in, so I’m often left to think things through. 

Whenever I’m deliberating, I’m ultimately trying to figure out what will eventually make me the happiest. I get that no one can be happy all the time, and wisely adjust my expectations to better accept the down parts of life’s ups and downs. 

Another helpful adjustment I’ve made to my pursuit of happiness is to base it entirely on the satisfaction of my evolutionarily hardwired drives. This makes sense since the satisfaction of innate drives is the sole source of pleasure in the animal kingdom. It’s the reason that “feeling good” exists. Pleasure and pain are the neurological carrots and whips that direct us toward bounty and away from death.

It may seem to be a small, even semantic, difference between happiness and satisfaction, but it’s not. Considering our evolved drives reveals the mandatory importance of belonging and places it at the core of our humanity. It shows that status is a wholly different, lessor drive that can not be substituted for secure inclusion. And this explains why no amount of fame, money, power, or followers can ever be enough to satisfy my need to feel needed and respected by those I need and respect. It tells me to focus on my relationships to feel important and on work to feel useful by being of service. 

Meanwhile, happiness is a vague and amorphous concept that is easily warped by culture, ads, and electronic manipulation.

Focusing on satisfaction instead of happiness has changed my goals. Things obviously get complicated when I’m sorting through my competing drives and developmental injuries, but the indelible truth of our fundamental human needs still shines bright enough to guide my way. 

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Read more of David’s pontifications at www.OneComicAtATime.com