Part 2: How to be happy | 2.6 minute read

Last week, we kicked off a four part series on Aristotle’s four levels of happiness. If you missed that, start here with part one. If not, you’re a legend and keep reading.

It’s May 5, 2024. Cinco de Mayo. I’m sitting in a warm bar, sipping a cold margarita. Hanging with friends, waiting for two more friends to arrive — two friends who were doing something pretty impressive that day: running a half marathon.

“I could never run that far,” I said before finishing my first drink.

Our friends soon arrived, sporting impressive medals and looking worn out but proud.

”I should try to run that far!” I shouted after finishing my fourth drink.

I shook hands with Tyler who had just finished the longest run of his life, and together we vowed to run a half marathon later that year.

A pact was made.

Over the next few months, I trained my ass off. My first run was 3km that left me knocking on death’s door. Somehow I powered through and would go on to run 98 more times for a total of 684 kms over the next few months.

I ran in Ontario, Alberta, Spain, and Portugal. My Year of Running culminated in a chilly Hamilton morning where, along with Tyler, I ran 21.1km — a half marathon race.

Enough about me, though. The point of this story is that the feeling of completing a half marathon falls under Aristotle’s second level of happiness: Felix. Translated from latin, it means fortunate. But, more accurately, it means to accomplish something. Something that strokes our ego.

It’s what we feel when we ace a test, get a promotion, are praised for cooking a good meal, or achieve a goal we set for ourselves. You know the feeling. It feels great.

But when it’s over and we’ve accomplished the thing, we start to think: was it ever that impressive in the first place?

If you feel it is, the answer is yes.

If you’re looking for external validation, I’ve got some harsh truth for you: nobody gives a shit. You’re going to be the same person you were before accomplishing whatever it is you set to accomplish. You won’t magically wake up and be a better person.

And that’s OK.

Reaching a goal, no matter how big, can make us happier as long as we’re doing it for ourselves and not for some sort of praise from friends, family, or coworkers. And it’s important to sit with that happiness for a while; it can be tempting to quickly move onto the next thing, but enjoying your successes makes them even sweeter.

Those are the small lessons I learned running a half marathon. And I feel like Aristotle would would give me a high-five for that.

We’re now halfway through Aristotle’s four lessons of happiness. We’ve learned about the happiness we feel when we buy things and when we achieve things. Check back next week as we dive even deeper into his philosophy of happiness.

The pebble

The challenge

We’ll keep it simple this week. Think back to something you achieved that made you feel happy. Relive those feelings and sit with them. Then, write down the next thing you hope to achieve and start planning to get it done.

Thanks for reading. We’re honoured you’ve spent a bit of your day with us. Feel free to reply and tell us about one of your most proud achievements. Or maybe one you’re working toward. If you’re feeling extra generous, why not forward this to a friend?