Authenticity: Happiness Quotation from William James.
"Seek out that particular mental attribute which makes you feel most deeply and vitally alive, along with which comes the inner voice which says, 'This is the real me,' and when you have found that attitude, follow it."
-- William James
* Interested in starting your own happiness project? If you’d like to take a look at my personal Resolutions Chart, for inspiration, just email me at grubin, then the “at” sign, then gretchenrubin dot com. (Sorry about writing it in that roundabout way; I’m trying to thwart spammers.) Just write “Resolutions Chart” in the subject line.
James makes it sound so simple, yet it can be the most difficult of things...to find out who you are, and then be that person. I've found this has to be something you read daily to keep it top of mind. Thanks for the post.
Posted by: Daily Jump Start Guy | February 09, 2009 at 12:14 AM
Uuhh.... easier said than done but so true.
Leo Tolstoy even said it in shorter words... "If you want to be happy, be".
Why is it so hard for the human being to be happy? Because we are too intelligent to simply be. We think too much. Just my opinion.
Posted by: Sabrina | February 09, 2009 at 02:03 AM
I have been pondering this a lot in my professional life of late - many people say I "should" go and earn lots of money just because I can, but why should I care about craploads of money when I could follow my dreams and do something I can't wait to get out of bed for every day? Very timely post for me, thanks Gretchen :)
Posted by: Amelia | February 09, 2009 at 03:41 AM
Nice find!
@Amelia - Exactly ! Why delay gratification if you can do something you love every day?
That way, work = play.
Posted by: Yes, But Still... | February 09, 2009 at 03:53 AM
How can you be happy without knowing yourself. If you find yourself and know yourself and your inner desires then you will know your own person priorities and what will make you happy.
Posted by: Christina | February 09, 2009 at 09:20 AM
Citation needed.
Posted by: Rick | February 09, 2009 at 12:49 PM
The thing that struck me about the James quotation is that his line "This is the real me" sounds so modern -- even though he was writing a hundred years ago. Everyone is struggling with this issue, it will never go away.
Posted by: Gretchen Rubin | February 09, 2009 at 02:20 PM
We start out in life helpless, unable to communicate, unable to control anything about our environment. We quickly learn that we are insufficient to meet our own needs.
Our whole lives revolve about learning how to make our environment more like we would like it to be. And in the process of focusing on what's around us, we lose sight of the unique value that we all bring to our world.
The best antidote to our fears about the uncertainty of the world around us is to strive not to be what we THINK the world wants us to be, but to be what we are best suited to be.
Posted by: Jeff Baas | February 09, 2009 at 03:07 PM
What's hard about that concept is that if I discover that I am truly this bitchy, whiney child, I want to change it, who wants to really be that person the rest of her life? Guess that's where the over-thinking comes into to play, my dog wouldn't care how others perceived her, she is very pricess-like and its noticed all the time.
Meg
Posted by: Meg Renicker | February 09, 2009 at 06:47 PM
Good advice. Straight from the father of psychology...who knows a thing or two about mental states!
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Posted by: 花蓮租車 | December 25, 2009 at 10:35 AM
I do not believe this is William James and it is, I'd like to see the source. I think it is from James Truslow Adams instead. I agree with the sentiment though!
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