How to Achieve Happiness…Pursue the Moment

I last wrote in June of 2022 that my fiancée and I had recently purchased a house, and outlined what the experience was like at what might have been – but has proven not to be, at least in my area – the peak of the housing boom. 2022 was certainly a big year for us – getting engaged, buying a house, planning, and then having our wedding.

2023 will be about execution – finishing the novel that I started years ago, pursuing a path to business ownership, and growing relationships.

To get there, I plan to make it the year that I live the most deliberately. Each day, each moment – are where things happen. I also turned 30 in 2022, and while I don’t particularly believe in magic moments at certain age thresholds, I do believe in the wisdom gained from additional life experience. If there is anything that my twenties taught me, it is that time is only abundant for those that take advantage of the moment…the present. A lifetime may seem short or it might seem long – in reality, you can argue that both are true.

I wrote in 2019 about the Freedom of Time. Well, nothing has changed on that front. Time is still a diminishing asset and one should include the pursuit of this freedom as a rationale for wealth accumulation. But why not also live for today? I don’t mean this as a pitch for a YOLO mentality, I simply mean…write that book. Start that business. Work on your relationships – make a concerted effort to see your family and friends. Give back to your community. Be outdoors. Whatever it is that you know deep down are the things that are important to you, spend time in those places and with those people. The happiest moments of my life thus far were when I was spending time with friends and family, living in an entirely new city and soaking it all in, and periods where I found that I was learning and growing. Most of which has occurred when I had absolutely no money.

Pursue the moment. And as my father would say…it’s not the destination, it’s the journey.