Greetings!
I'm betting that the first thing that came to mind for you was, "happiness" - the pursuit of happiness. It seems to me that's not a great goal to have. Happiness can be pretty illusive, because, life.
I saw a great image on social media recently. Someone had made a chart of currency through different ages. A 5 year old's currency was lego blocks, a middle aged person's currency was dollar bills, and an older person's was time. Clever!
So, speaking as someone in the 'time' category, instead I would suggest... and please bear with me if this sounds boring at first because it really isn't... I would suggest the pursuit of priorities is more worthwhile than the pursuit of happiness.
If you can find the priorities that matter to you, and live according to that, the happiness thing becomes not as important as it naturally comes and goes. If you make happiness your goal, you will be disappointed every time something makes you unhappy. Golly, no need to go there.
About priorities - your priorities are you choice. No one else makes that choice for you and it's very personal.
Here are mine. The first two may or may not be obvious.
#1 - Family and friends. I want to find ways to treasure and enjoy those closest to me.
#2 - Self care. It took me years to understand that self care is not necessarily self-centered care. In the simplest terms this recognizes that my body and my mind are where I live and I need to care for them. You know - decent food, some physical and spiritual exercise, and some refreshing relaxation time.
#3 - Creativity. Creativity is a powerful force for healing, self actualization, and a lot more. It's also a holiday for your brain - no plane ticket required. To be creative is as essential to well being as anything mentioned in #2. If I could choose one word for creativity, it would be 'freedom'. Creativity is where you get to both find and express your uniqueness while growing the amazing creation that is you. It's an interesting combination of alone time doing something that is then meant to be shared with others. All of the arts are that kind of combination. Art means finding you, to share with others.
My 3 priorities could be expressed as love others, love myself, and be free to be uniquely me. Yes! I am good with that. Now to keep trying to figure out what that looks like practically. :) Being true to these priorities requires ongoing learning and deliberate actions because, life.
I do know how very fortunate I am to have a job where I get to encourage people to be creative - to find their freedom in the unique expression of their art. I am forever thankful for that.
Time is everyone's currency; we just take awhile to figure that out. I hope your time can be spent on things that align with your personal priorities.
All the best on your journey!
