We all grew up on fairy tales with happy endings. Whether it was slaying the dragon, or marrying the prince, the characters all found their way to “happily ever after.” They gave us the impression that happiness was a destination to be found at the end of the yellow brick road. Accomplish this, or achieve that, and you can live happily ever after. That’s not how real life works. We achieve new things and are met with new obstacles. These stories were great for stirring our imagination, but they also provided us with unrealistic expectation of how to find our “happily ever after” because happiness is ultimately a mindset, not a destination. 

Thinking we will someday be happy after we achieve this, or acquire that, will only leave us lost and looking for the next thing to provide us the happiness we were promised in the stories we read when we were young. The truth is, no matter how much we achieve or accomplish we are going to be continually met with new challenges and obstacles throughout our lives, so if we’re reserving our happiness for some far off time when all things are great in our kingdom, then we are setting ourselves up to be disappointed. We have to be happy with who we are, before we can be happy with what we achieve, otherwise we will continuously be searching for the next achievement to fulfill us.