The Secret to Happiness #1: High Quality Relationships

Tragedy, Unhappiness and Burnout
This week I read an article about a 27-year old young woman who hanged herself in her New York apartment.

She left her mother apology notes online and in her apartment that read she “felt absolutely nothing during what should have been the happiest and darkest times in my life.”

The notes continue, “I realize I am undeserving of thinking this way because I truly have a great life on paper. I’m fortunate to eat meals most can only imagine. I often travel freely without restriction… However all these facets seem trivial to me…”

And she writes, “It’s the ultimate first world problem, I get it. I often felt detached while in a room full of my favorite people…”

In my blog a couple of weeks ago, Millennials: Pursuing Happiness and Avoiding Burnout, I  talked about an article by Anne Helen Petersen that describes how millennials are feeling not just exhausted, but burned out chasing all the things they’ve been told to chase in life.

It was revealing that in almost 8.000 words about life, Petersen never mentioned Happiness or fulfillment or even relationships. Petersen concluded her article basically settling for being more aware of her burnout and attempting to seek some joy in life.
The Fundamental Problem: We Don't Know Happiness
I think these two stories capture a fundamental problem in our nation. We have more education, more wealth, better health, more travel and more prosperity than ever in history, and yet so many—especially younger people—seem sad, depressed or lack direction.

We need to fix that. We need to understand our meaning and purpose in life so that we can pursue and find fulfillment and Happiness. When we tap into that fundamental Truth about ourselves, we will be in the best position possible to be successful in all areas of our lives.

So, let’s be obvious about it. The meaning of life and your purpose in life are straightforward. The answer is Happiness.

Based on Petersen’s millennial article, it seems like we forgot to tell tens of millions of people that life is about Happiness. And we seem to have forgotten how to pursue Happiness.

Instead, we’ve become thoroughly captured and enthralled by shiny distractions in life. We’re chasing dozens of all the wrong things in life like social status and money, and stuff like the coolest cars and most expensive houses and newest smartphones and the most prestigious schools and travel sports teams.

I’m not saying that its bad to be rich or to appreciate beautiful things. These are all good things that can make our lives better.

But they are not the meaning of life.

They can provide short-term pleasure, but they can never provide long-term fulfillment. If you make the pursuit of these things for their own sake the focus of your life, you will inevitably find yourself in pain, unhappy and unfulfilled.
Meaning of Life: Happiness & Relationship
So, this is the first in a series of blog posts where we will talk about the purpose and meaning of your life—Happiness—and how you can pursue it.

We’ll take the best ancient, timeless wisdom and apply it to our current times and circumstances.

We’ll talk about some simple lessons that you can use to become successful and fulfilled in every area of your life—your personal life, your family life,  and your life with your friends and at your work.

Let’s talk about your life, your Happiness and your success. Let’s make it simple and easy to understand so you can apply it all areas of your life. So you can hand the Truth about Happiness and success to your own children.

Let’s start with Happiness itself. We’ll define Happiness generally as a way of life that brings you deep contentment, satisfaction and lasting joy.

So, if Happiness is not about money or status or fame, where do you find it? As we talked about in an earlier blog, Meaning of Life: Happiness, you find Happiness in high-quality relationships.

That’s not my opinion.