“The ultimate end of human acts is eudaimonia, happiness in the sense of living well, which all men desire; all acts are but different means chosen to arrive at it.” -Hannah Arendt
“Among life’s cruelest truths is this one: wonderful things are especially wonderful the first time they happen, but their wonderfulness wanes with repetition.” -Daniel Gilbert, Stumbling Upon Happiness
“The happy life is thought to be one of excellence; now an excellent life requires exertion, and does not consist in amusement. If Eudaimonia, or happiness, is activity in accordance with excellence, it is reasonable that it should be in accordance with the highest excellence; and this will be that of the best thing in us.” -Aristotle, The Nicomachean Ethics
How is it that you can struggle mightily, do something that is extremely hard and taxing, yet still be very happy in the doing of it?
Easy.
You have Eudaimonia.
Aim for it every chance you get.
I love this recent post from Mark Manson on the topic…
Most people think happiness means smiling all the time, feeling good, never struggling. But if that were the case, clowns and drug addicts would be the happiest people alive.
When Jefferson wrote “the pursuit of happiness,” he wasn’t talking about pleasure.
Back then, happiness meant something different. It meant flourishing. It meant purpose, meaning, living out your values. It meant living well, even though life punches you in the gut.
Jefferson didn’t invent this idea. It came from Aristotle, who said there are actually two kinds of happiness:
- Hedonic happiness
(Pleasure, comfort, distraction.) - Eudaimonic happiness
(Fulfillment. Purpose. Knowing your time here actually mattered.)
Hedonic happiness is cheap. It fades the second the buzz wears off.
But eudaimonic happiness endures. Yeah, it’s harder. It demands sacrifice. But it’s the only kind of happiness that leaves you whole.
Yet most people spend their entire lives chasing hedonic happiness—and wondering why they feel so hollow.
If your happiness disappears the moment the pleasure does, it was never happiness. It was just anesthesia.
The Vs. Studio Blog 