The Art of Learning: Finding Happiness

There is something about learning and finding happiness; so much so that it is worthy of the title "The Art of Learning" (happiness is too humble to accept a title). That is no small feat, as art is impressive, and so are we as human-beings (beans). We as humans need to have goals. We want to see ourselves succeed. When we stagnate, we feel a little less happy than we should.

The Secret to Finding Happiness

Oh, you wanted me to spill the beans? Everyone's happiness will differ, since each person needs something different. Have you noticed how some people will set themselves a goal and suddenly glow with energy? You might find yourself in these moments and feel the want for their downfall. 

I find that I am most proactive when I start a new project, but as it continues, I get a little less enthusiastic (I explained this in the most positive way possible). The same happens when I first start eating healthy, jogging or even move into a new rental. I wonder if a permanent vacation will ever become stagnant? 

There is no saying that irks me as much as "Happiness is all in the mind" or something in that line. I guess I can think of a few sayings that irks me as much. Some people have the ability to be happy in any situation, whereas others struggle (which is the category I fall in). Experience taught me that I work best in rotation.

Rotation Method

The name of my method says it all. Rotate your actions. You might not be able to rotate everything around. I have a dog that wants everything stagnant. He wants to walk and play and sleep at exactly the same time (or whenever he gets the times wrong, it rather reads like this, "whenever he feels like it is the right time").

However, there are those things you can rotate. If you always eat cereal for breakfast, have an omelette instead. If you don't exercise, go for a quick jog. If you don't have any goals, set some. There is nothing as rewarding as when you get excited about something.

Let me use myself as an example. I am trying to learn a lot of new things at the same time. I am learning a language. I am learning to draw. I am learning to make meshes in Blender. I am trying to make games (after I feel I can make the items for it in Blender). I am also trying to better my writing skills.

To do all of the above things, I need to be highly motivated and energised. One slip of my focus, and I will rather sit in front of the TV. To stay motivated I keep it interesting. I am supposed to work on my new logo design today, but since I can't focus on it, I decided to write instead. I rotated my goals around and work still gets done and I am happy that I got somewhere today.

If you choose to do this method, remember to always put a goal there for yourself (a reachable one). I feel like writing today. My goal for today will be to write my blog entry for the week and to write my book for an hour (unless I get really into it). It is a goal I can reach within two hours and once I have reached it, I feel willing to work on other things to reach more goals.

Cheat Method

Another method that works for me is to cheat myself. I try to make myself think that I want to do something. I enjoy watching movies, but it doesn't make me feel happy at the end of the day. I feel like I cheated myself out of valuable time. On the other hand, working might not be the most fun, but I feel fulfilled after I have completed my goal of the day.

Rather than keeping me away from doing what I like to do or what would make me feel happy at the end of the day, I rather combine the two. I will put a movie on and start work. I will hardly watch the movie, but because it is on, my mind will not go into panic mode.

Goal Oriented Happiness

If you are goal orientated, happiness might be achievable
by setting small goals for yourself through the day.

This heading sounds terrible, but it really isn't. If you like playing games, think of it in this way. Games are goal oriented. A leveling-up system, for example, drives you to play longer to reach that next level. I can't even count how many times I played a game I wasn't too fond of, just because their goals were done well. I kept feeling the need to reach the next goal, no matter what.

If you have the same tendency, then you might benefit in setting down goals for yourself. Decide what you want to reach and break it into parts. I want to learn at least fifty words this week. I want to jog three times. I want to write for three hours everyday. No matter what your goals are, write them down and work towards them.

You might find yourself focused and eager to start the day. When I was really busy (only last week), I had no want to play games. I enjoyed being proactive. When you are proactive, you might move away from bad habits or it might stop you from forming new ones.

In conclusion, learning new things is my goal. If I didn't have something new to learn, I would be less happy. The Art of Learning is is alive and well, especially since I am studying artistic ventures. What do you do to be happy? Do you work best with or without goals? I would love to hear your thoughts on this.