LUXURY INDIAN OCEAN EXPÉRIENCES
Best , the enemy of good
The pursuit of happiness
Today ’ s objective : to unpick the problems posed by this cult of excellence and the orders of this pursuit of happiness we voluntarily subscribe to .
The successful human of 2022 has a personal life that is oh-so-full-andfulfilling – just look at their stories . They do sport ( and enjoy it !), are interested in art , and speak geopolitics . They go for drinks every Friday ( sometimes also on Thursdays !) and have already tried the latest trendy restaurant before you . They travel twice a year – once to drag themselves up Kilimanjaro , another time to volunteer in Mada . They always find time ( between two beach clean-ups ) for a round of kombucha – homemade of course . And up until now , everything is OK . Or just about .
Has this serial multitasker made ambition its queen and perfectionism its council ?
You need to live . You need to live life to the full . You need to be happy .
Very soon , well-being just won ’ t cut it anymore . The successful human of 2022 will invest in “ best-being ”.
In an essay entitled “ Manufacturing Happy Citizens : How the Science and Industry of Happiness Control our Lives ”, sociologist Eva Illouz and psychologist Edgar Cabanas denounce the pitfalls of positive psychology . They also show how those trading in happiness of all varieties have transformed it into a religion . We ’ re no longer satisfied by what is simply good , having grown up hearing the same old mantra : “ humans are perfectible ”. Which raises the question : deep down inside , do these ambitions even belong to us at all ?
Is it not true madness to find yourself at the mercy of superhuman ideals ? Montesquieu told us we should have our guard up : the best is the mortal enemy of the good .
Forget what ’ s missing in your life . See instead what is filling it . Far from being an insult to your ambitions , life ’ s little pleasures are at arm ’ s reach – for those bold enough to reach out .
In this eternal pursuit to be the best , true happiness could well lie in this humbler desire to learn to stay still . To take back control of our desires and become the Chief Happiness Manager of our own lives .
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