Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, right? Read that last one again. It’s an interesting line in the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson, the main author of the Declaration of Independence, was influenced by the work of John Locke. Locke wrote about life, liberty, and property as fundamental rights. It would have been a completely different world if the US was only about pursuing property.
Happiness is a vague term, but I’m glad they used it. Ask someone to define it and you’ll see what I mean. Holding happiness is even harder. I like to relate it to trying to grab a fist full of sand. You can hold it for a while, but it’s not long before it slips through your fingers. It’s a perpetual moving target, especially with the challenges of adulthood/aging. In the Declaration of Independence, we were only guaranteed the pursuit, not actual happiness. The thing is that you get to decide what to pursue.
Our lives can revolve around anything we deem important, the choice is yours. Nobody will stop you if you have the time or no other commitments. Things that seem like a waste of time to you could bring others incredible joy and happiness. You have to be careful where you put your time. Some choices will bring judgment from others because they can’t relate. Physical fitness is a fine thing to sink your time into. I’ve gone deep on running, and most commend you for your accomplishments. We all have addictions to some degree, it’s just some might be more visible than others.
There are so many choices for your “Pursuit of Happiness”. How do you know if you picked the right one for you? One thing you could use to measure it is how long the feeling lasts. I called it the “shelf life of happiness”. How long after the activity does the feeling begin to fade? Some pursuits always make me smile when I think about them.
- Highest shelf life experiences
- Difficult challenges
- Experiences with friends and family
- Creating art and media
- Travel
- Volunteering
- Teaching
- Lowest shelf life experiences
- Consuming media (social, video games, TV, etc.)
- Impulse purchases
- Mindless Scrolling
- Gambling
The high shelf-life memories are burned into my mind and replay often. The ones I can’t seem to replay are things where I consumed media, be it social, or TV. The little slices of happiness are short-lived and fade quickly. We get into this loop of what feels good and makes us happy, so we do more of it. Those difficult challenges shared with friends and family are the ones that bond people together and go well past the expiration date. If I start a day with a hard run or workout, happiness can last most of the day. It makes the other events of the day, even if they are stressful, easier than they should be because the happiness from that activity is still strong inside me.
Memories fade, no matter how well we try to preserve them. Believe me, as someone who’s worn a camera on his head for 100 miles. Even after a big race, or vacation with friends and family, the photos and videos won’t stop happiness from fading. The days after seem to be the worst. They are followed by a struggle to set your targets for your next pursuit. Holding happiness seems impossible because you are trying to lock your state of mind. We adapt and return to our base level of happiness after coming down from a high.
Awards, medals, or buckles that sit on a shelf may not seem like they are worth much. They are worth what they represent. It is a symbol of an experience, a struggle to do something great while you can. It’s that old cliche about “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.” Sadly, everything has a shelf life. Everything spoils at some point. The best you get is a moment in time. I’m bottling and putting those little moments in jars with friends and family even if they spoil. The nice house, fancy car, and amazing job mean nothing when you’re 90 years young. The last thing you’ll own is your mind and a handful of memories nobody can take from you. Good luck with that pursuit in whatever you choose!
What happy memories last the longest in your mind? Let me know in the comments below. If you enjoyed please share it with someone you think might enjoy it! Thanks for reading!
Patrick is an ultrarunner and coach from Philadelphia who loves documenting his running career. His mission is to provide useful tips and tricks to assist others along their ultra journey. You can find his coaching services at https://ultraruncoach.com.
