How 1 Simple Equation Can Change Your Life

by Eric

So, seriously…I figured it out.

I figured out what every single happy person does that every single unhappy person doesn’t do.

If you’ve been around C&WS for long you’ll know this has been one of my biggest motivators. Finding out what makes people happy and then helping others figure it out.

I’ve had a chance to talk to, observe, and admire hundreds of people in the last few years. People who have seen success, people who haven’t. People who love their lives, people who don’t. People who live with purpose and of course, people who do not.

You can google “happiness” on any given day and there will be tens of thousands of solutions out there for you. The problem with that is that happiness cannot be pinpointed to one set thing for every single being.

We’re all motivated by different things.

Happiness to me may be getting fit and enjoying free time with my family. Whereas happiness to someone else may be to start their own company no matter how much of their free time it takes.

But “knowing” there was no set solution for happiness wasn’t good enough for me and I know it’s not good enough for you either.

To say there is not one or two motives that we ALL strive for to be happy just can’t be. So, the other day I decided to sit down and take a good hard look at what makes people tick.

What makes them happy and what values and priorities do they live by that the rest of us may not.

Come to find out, it’s actually not as complicated as you may think.

In fact, I came up with this simple equation to ultimate happiness:

Happiness = inspired > today < fulfilled

I realize it’s been awhile since 5th grade math for most of us (and this probably isn’t even technically a correct layout of the formula) so let me explain.

Simply put, people happy in their lives value being inspired and being fulfilled more than what happens ‘today.’

Explaining the happiness equation

Here’s the gist: If you wake up every single morning inspired then you’ve got the motivation to push forward throughout the day.

If you continue to push forward towards your dreams and that which inspires you all day, you will go to bed fulfilled.

But the key here is that the happiest people understand things come up throughout the day that are not congruent with these two goals.

What makes them successful at being happy is the ability to focus on inspiration and fulfillment. To not get lost in something unrelated.

Every single happy person in the world wakes up inspired and goes to bed fulfilled.

Those two things are greater than what goes on in the day – always.

That’s it. Really.

Real-life examples

Think about people in your life. Think about those who are not as “well off” but some of the happiest people you know.

Now think of someone who is very successful but is always in a bad mood or never okay with where they’re at in life.

This equation is the reason why some high school football coaches seem happier than the principal of the entire school.

They simply wake up every morning with the inspiration to develop a team and lead, they work their asses off during the day to do so, and they go to bed every single night with a sense of fulfillment and accomplishment.

But what about today?

I realize this equation is much easier to understand than live.

What about the today piece of this equation? There’s a lot that can happen in a day. In between us waking up and going to bed, so how do the happy people focus on those two goals?

I don’t want to leave you hanging so I’ve come up with 8 life mantras that all the happiest people I’ve observed lived by. These mantras help them focus on the two goals throughout the day’s curveballs they were thrown.

However, I want to give you time to ponder over this equation for a bit more so I will wait until the next post to share these mantras.

Remember, Happiness = inspired > today < fulfilled.

Give it a shot. Try living with these two goals in mind for a few days and let me know how it goes.

Better yet, have you already tried it out? If so, how’d it go?

Let the rest of us know below in the comments section.

Here’s to finding that elusive happiness,