Your happiest year yet

'What the new year brings to you will depend a great deal on what you bring to the new year.'

Vern McLellan

You have a pretty good life. You’ve worked hard for it. You have stability, can afford comforts and luxuries, and have most of what you always wanted for yourself. But you aren't necessarily that happy. There are some niggles and challenges that get in the way. Some fundamental things need to change, maybe only slightly, for you to be much more satisfied with your life! 

It is not selfish to want to be happier. It is not arrogant to know that you deserve to be happier. It is not ungrateful to want something better for yourself.

 
Quite the opposite. 

Imagine your friend won £100M on the lottery. Imagine watching them waste their winnings away. Imagine watching them be discontent and even unhappy for the rest of their life despite this piece of incredible luck. How would you feel?

 
Well, you have won the lottery - the lottery of life. Billions of people will never have the opportunities, comforts or luxuries you have. You are lucky, I am lucky and therefore we must make the most of what we have. Not waste our privileges, but instead capitalise on them.

This perspective gives a much greater context for your quest to improve your life. 

In 2024, work towards happiness for you first and foremost, and then for all of the people you love, and then for all the people who aren't as fortunate.

Happiness for you may simply mean feeling calmer, less stressed or more present. It may mean finding a job you actually love, or finding time to do more things for yourself or have more quality time with your partner.