My Theory on Life

Every single person in the world has their own opinion on what the point of life is. Many follow religious paths, others follow a path toward achievement, still others follow a path toward renown, and a number of the rest believe that there is no point to life. Personally, I follow a path that tends to incorporate most all other viewpoints: long term happiness.

Long term happiness is very important to me for a number of reasons. First, when I'm not happy I start to feel like the world is out to get me, and when I am happy I feel like the world couldn't get any better. Second, it keeps me productive. Regardless of the goals I'm currently pursuing, accomplishing any goal at all makes me happier than accomplishing nothing at all. Third, it helps me differentiate between choices that would lead to short term quick fixes which don't help me in the long run and long term happiness choices that keep me feeling happy for weeks on end. In order to help me decide what goals to pursue and what choices to make I try to figure out which option would most increase my universal happiness efficiency.

What is Universal Happiness Efficiency?

Universal happiness efficiency is the ratio of whatever it takes to make you happy to how happy it makes you. Or in other words it is the relative ability of something to increase your long term happiness. (Check out What is Efficiency? for a quick refresher on what efficiency is in general.)

Here are a few aspects of universal happiness efficiency:

• Decrease Input
• Increase Output
• Short Term Vs Long Term

Decrease Input

Since I talk about food a fair bit on TheNeverStill, I'm going to try a different example for decreasing input. Let's suppose you're the type of person that enjoys a nice massage every once in a while. Now let's say you normally pay about $30 for a 30 minute massage by your favorite masseuse. Since this is your norm you've probably never thought about going for a shorter massage, but today you happen to be in a bit of a time crunch and you decide to pay $25 for the 20 minute massage. What if, after the 20 minute massage, you discover that it made you feel every bit as good as your normal 30 minute massage? This would be a good short term increase in your universal happiness efficiency because you're just as happy as you used to be after a longer massage but you've done it in less time and for less money.

Increase Output

Increasing output is all about changing your outlook on life. For example, look at the difference between optimistic and pessimistic people. Both can be experiencing the exact same inputs, but the optimistic person will be happier than the pessimistic person purely based on his or her outlook on life. This is because the only way you are going to increase happiness output without changing any of the inputs is by thinking positive. An optimistic person is naturally thinking about happier things and is always looking on the bright side of life.

Short Term vs Long Term

Long term universal happiness efficiency choices are those that create a net positive happiness in the long run. Some examples of long term choices are getting a good education, obtaining financial security, and accomplishing a lifelong goal. It's pretty apparent that anything that increases your long term happiness is good for you in the long run, but what about short term choices?

Short term choices are tricky when it comes to universal happiness efficiency. You have to make sure that your short term choices don't negatively impact your long term universal happiness efficiency. For example, consider the last time you bought something on an impulse. You probably bought it because it immediately made you happy. However, how did you feel a week or two later? How about a month later? Were you still satisfied with your purchase or did you regret it? If you were still happy with your purchase after some time had passed then it probably was an efficient use of your resources to make you happy. If not, maybe next time you should think a little more before you make an impulsive purchase. Though, this doesn't mean that most short term happiness choices are bad. In fact, quite the opposite is true. While it is very important to ensure your happiness in the long term, it is even more important to try to stay happy in the present as long as your short term happiness doesn't negatively impact your long term happiness. Staying happy in the present will keep you working hard toward your goals and keep the world feeling like a rather nice place.

How Can You Utilize My Theory on Life?

I will often refer to universal happiness efficiency on TheNeverStill as the primary efficiency you should try to improve. I do this because, according to my theory on life, no matter how much time, financial, or energy efficient you become, if you are unhappy with the result then the change was not worth it.

If you really like my theory on life then I highly encourage you to take it up as your own. On the other hand, if you follow religion as your overarching path and put all things subordinate to that, then I encourage you to make use of universal happiness efficiency for all those choices that equally impact, or don't have any impact on, your religious path. This also goes for achievement, renown, or any other path you may follow. Just because I follow my theory on life as an overarching path doesn't mean that you can't follow it as a subordinate path to your overall journey through life. However, whether you choose to incorporate my theory on life with yours or not, happiness is one of the few resources of which this world has an unlimited supply and hopefully at the end of the day you'll be at least a little bit happier thanks to your time spent with TheNeverStill.

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