You know, right now things are good. I’m actually kinda happy. I quite like this life despite how small it is. I get up, go for a little walk listening to an audiobook, do a few hours of work, make some lunch, couple more emails, go for a run, reflect a little, make a little dinner, watch a little movie or play a little xbox, then sleep and repeat. Sounds boring but truthfully I kinda like it, throw in a little spontaneity on weekends and, shit, I really like it. Despite my enjoyment, one quote does bother me at present “Life is too short to be small“, thanks Disraeli.
Anyway, my present happiness is fairly new and while I am passively concerned for it’s longevity and stability, I am thinking that maybe, just maybe, I could be even happier.
In this pursuit, I recognise that directly seeking more happiness isn’t viable, happiness is a result, it’s not a base element. You need to do things or be with people or think things etc that result in you feeling happy. Accomplishing growth in happiness requires you to push out a little, it requires you to go and do stuff slightly beyond your comfort zone. So in order to grow and potentially become happier, you have to risk the little happiness you’ve now cultivated, and you have to embrace some discomfort.
Psychologists call this tolerable discomfort “the zone of proximal development” or “ZPD”. It’s the boundary slightly beyond your existing comfort zone and as result it causes some unease and discomfort, though not too much, and it’s tolerable enough that you can always retreat back to your fortified comfort zone if things get too much.
I haven’t played much in my ZPD for a while, primarily because I’ve been trying to repair my foundations and ensure my newly built fortifications are steady but now they’re pretty much ready for action which means I’m approaching the point where it’s time to build on them again. Kind of nerve-wracking. Kind of exciting.
Time to get uncomfortable and seek a little more happiness.
P.S. I have overused the word “little” in this and for that I can only apologise, the word seems to have polluted my head this evening.
Sumb Luck 