It’s day 41 of my 365 day journey in the search for happiness and to be honest I’m a bit low today. Had a nice weekend with the family, felt relaxed, little tired but overall a balanced and eventful weekend. My run in last weekend has weighed on my mind a bit and sometimes it’s not as easy to shake the feeling as easy as it may seem. It is true though - this too shall pass. I think it’s always important to understand that the emotion of feeling down is a temporary one and there is always something positive out of everything negative and by just being in the moment, dissecting the feeling and riding the wave you will eventually entering the clearly and that feeling will subside.

Over the past week I have reminisced with one of my dearest, oldest and closest people to me, gained a deeper insight into the Japanese practice of Ikigai, reflected during a period of sickness, has an unfortunate run in that is an opportunity for growth and understanding of others, watched the Maroons win game 1, spike of silence and my perception of its importance as well as touched on the remarkable work/project that Bryan Johnson working on called the Blue Print and his pursuit to reduce the ages process and improve the efficiency’s of our bodies and mind through a serious of protocols against scientific backed statistics.

Overall, looking back at my summary of the past 10 days, it’s been a really eventful week. Ups and downs, growth and progress, silence, learnings, as well as an opportunity for reflection and understanding. A highlight for me is better taking the time for reflection of those people dearest to me and the importance of never taking those old, deep relationships for granted because unfortunately, especially within modern western society, this is prevalent and ensuring those connections with elders and various significant people in your lives sometimes falters under the pressure and time constraints of day to day life.

Ikigai, collective efforts, community, sharing a passion and drive with others has also been a significant insight over the past week. The fact that people who simply choose to consciously prioritise what they love, are good at and consciously evaluate where they can contribute to the world, is incredible. Ikigai really sheds a light on the importance of community, enjoyment, life and how these positive emotions can play such a tremendous part in improving the physiological part of your life and longevity.

It’s easy to say community, passion, reflection and drive are key contributors to the search for happiness, but it’s the conscious aspect of those elements that invokes a meaningful experience, a purposeful drive towards something bigger than yourself.

Go out there and try to be better version of yourself tomorrow than you are today. Evaluate yourself as deeply as you can, critique and learn to dissect your flaws, constantly search for growth and improvement within yourself, your surroundings and the world as a whole. You don’t need to be the best at anything, but you at least need to try and be the best version of yourself. Do that and you will surely be on a strong path in the search for happiness.

The never-ending search for improvement

Thanks,

Dean