Happiness deals with positive emotion. It is beyond our control, and therefore it should be none of our concern. Do not pursue happiness, or it will never find you. The harder you pursue happiness, the further it is from you.
Rather, we should pursue flourishing. Flourishing is about personal growth, engagement, finding meaning in life, developing positive relationships, and making important accomplishments in your life. These are within our control.
Once we understand that flourishing is about becoming more and more like Ultimate Reality, we begin to understand why it’s important.
Flourishing is about personal development, self-actualization, and evolving our consciousness to better connect with Ultimate Reality. It’s a process that we have to be committed to. It’s something we have to daily cultivate by mindfulness and contemplation. It is not something that happens to us; it’s something that happens within us. It’s a choice we have to make every day.
The strange thing about pursuing flourishing instead of happiness is that happiness shows up unexpected. It is by pursuing personal development rather than happiness that we find inner peace. By not pursuing it, we find it. One of the many paradoxes of life.