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Today. is Optimal Living Daily, episode

1:02

3216. Pursuing

1:04

a richer, fuller level of

1:07

happiness, part two by Joshua

1:09

Becker of becomingminimalist.com. And

1:11

I'm Justin Molik. Happy Saturday.

1:14

Welcome back or welcome for the first time

1:16

if you're new here. This is where I

1:18

read to you like a big ongoing audio

1:21

book from many different authors. But

1:23

today being a continuation from yesterday, so

1:25

I'd recommend listening to yesterday's episode first.

1:28

If you're all caught up, let's get right

1:30

to part two and continue optimizing your life.

1:37

Pursuing a richer, fuller

1:39

level of happiness, part two by Joshua

1:42

Becker of becomingminimalist.com. Living

1:46

to the fullest. Sandra

1:49

owns a popular local restaurant

1:51

and employs teens to bus

1:53

tables there. Sandra shared with

1:55

me that a 17-year-old girl started working

1:57

at the restaurant on a mother... Thursday,

2:00

which was wildly busy. As

2:02

a young employee was punching her time card

2:05

at the end of the day, Sandra asked

2:07

her how she felt about her first day.

2:10

With an exhausted look on her face, the girl

2:12

remarked, I'm so tired. Sandra,

2:15

who'd also hustled throughout the day, added,

2:17

I know, doesn't it feel

2:20

great? The young

2:22

girl, clearly surprised by her boss's

2:24

comment mustard, I

2:26

don't know if that's what I was going to say.

2:29

Sandra laughed as she recounted the

2:31

story to me, explaining, there's just

2:34

this wonderful feeling to know that you've put

2:36

your whole heart into something and live your

2:38

day to the fullest, that you didn't waste

2:40

it. You made the most of it. What

2:43

Sandra was describing about work is

2:45

also true in life. We

2:48

experience meaning and satisfaction when

2:51

we get to the end of the day, end of the year, end

2:54

of the season, and know that we

2:56

put everything we had into what we were

2:58

doing, that we gave our all

3:00

to something bigger than us. That

3:03

kind of meaning and purpose simply

3:05

can't be found among life's more

3:07

fleeting pleasures. Those things

3:09

may add short moments of happiness and

3:11

pleasure, but we experience the

3:14

most authentic, longest lasting

3:16

happiness when we fulfill the role

3:18

we've been called to live. We

3:21

taste it, not as we strive to

3:23

please ourselves, but as we

3:25

offer the benefit we're designed to provide

3:27

in the world. If

3:30

you know what your purpose is, that's great.

3:32

If you don't, let me suggest

3:34

one simple step you can take today.

3:37

Who is one person in your life

3:39

who needs what you can offer? A

3:42

child, a coworker, a

3:44

friend, or maybe a customer at

3:47

your business. What benefit

3:49

can you bring into that

3:51

person's world today? This

3:53

living a life not for ourselves but

3:56

others is at the root of

3:58

that deeper happiness we were each made for. And

4:01

the big win is that it's not

4:03

available only to the privileged few. A

4:05

15-year-old girl who hosts a fundraiser to

4:08

help orphan children find families can experience

4:11

authentic happiness. A

4:13

woman who cares for an ailing parent can

4:16

enjoy knowing that she is doing the most

4:18

with what she has. A

4:20

man with a PhD who's just completed

4:22

drug rehab and is working at Home

4:24

Depot can choose happiness by

4:26

serving others on the job. The

4:29

parent who can't afford to take his family

4:31

to Disneyland can use his

4:33

vacation days to build a Habitat for

4:35

Humanity home with his teenage son. Experiencing

4:39

satisfaction by doing the best we can

4:41

right where we are with

4:43

what we've been given is going to

4:45

look different for each person. The

4:48

mom of a colicky newborn might count it

4:50

a win to get to the end of

4:52

the day having only broken down

4:54

in tears twice. The

4:56

retired financial consultant might

4:58

help a struggling nonprofit stay

5:01

afloat financially. A father

5:03

who coaches his daughter's Little League team

5:05

after work might spend two extra

5:07

hours a week with a boy who's never known

5:09

his father. You can

5:11

tackle what is in front of you today

5:13

with confidence that as you

5:15

purpose to benefit others where you are

5:18

with what you've been given, you

5:20

can enjoy meaning and satisfaction.

5:23

And happiness doesn't look like

5:25

what you expected. Because

5:28

selfless living in service to others is what

5:30

we're made for, we can

5:32

even experience happiness when life doesn't turn out

5:34

the way we thought it might. Helen

5:37

was working as a pediatric nurse when

5:40

a newborn with special needs was

5:42

abandoned at the hospital where she worked.

5:46

Helen and her husband, a respected attorney

5:48

and leader in their community, decided

5:50

to adopt this little girl.

5:53

Six months later, Helen's husband

5:55

died unexpectedly, leaving her

5:58

to raise two teenage daughters and

6:00

an infant with special needs, all

6:03

on her own. And that was ten

6:05

years ago. By no

6:07

stretch of the imagination is anyone who is

6:09

searching for happiness going to look at Helen's

6:11

family and aspire to walk the road they've

6:13

traveled? Honestly, there's no earthly

6:16

reason why Helen should be happy. She

6:18

doesn't check any of the boxes that

6:20

our culture has used to measure success.

6:23

And yet today, she experiences a

6:25

kind of satisfaction in life that

6:28

most of us only dream about.

6:31

It's not based on the size of her house,

6:33

the model of her car, or the cash

6:35

available in her savings account. It's

6:37

a happiness based on something

6:39

far greater and built on realities

6:42

that can never perish, spoil,

6:44

or fade. She has

6:46

done the best she can with the one

6:49

life she's been given. And when

6:51

she lays her head down on the pillow

6:53

each night, she can feel fully satisfied with

6:55

the life she has lived that day. I

6:59

don't believe finding deep happiness is ever a walk

7:01

in the park. It doesn't always look like the

7:03

images we see and add or even

7:05

a stress-free life. Not

7:07

every day is cheerful bliss. Sometimes

7:10

happiness is hard and messy. Sometimes

7:13

it feels like achy legs or

7:15

sheer exhaustion. Sometimes

7:18

a life that is deeply satisfying looks

7:20

very different than the one

7:22

we thought we were promised. Some

7:25

can't determine our happiness. Life's

7:28

unavoidable losses can't determine our

7:30

happiness. Illness can't

7:33

determine our happiness. Unexpected

7:35

challenges, ones that we never imagined

7:37

when we were dreaming the dreams

7:39

for our lives, can't

7:41

determine our happiness. Even

7:44

relationships ultimately cannot determine

7:46

our happiness. Lasting

7:49

satisfaction can be ours only when

7:51

we invest our life into those things

7:53

that are worthy of the

7:55

one life we've been given. Choosing

7:58

happiness. If you're

8:00

weary of chasing after pleasures that

8:02

fail to satisfy and itching to

8:05

experience a deeper satisfaction in life,

8:07

let these three thoughts be your guide. First,

8:11

dig in right where you are. Care

8:14

for the people in your kitchen,

8:17

your swing set, your carpool, your

8:19

neighborhood, your soccer field. Second,

8:23

use what you have. Do you enjoy

8:25

cooking? Do you interact with people in

8:27

your day job? Can you

8:29

do simple home repairs? Use

8:31

the opportunities and gifts you've already

8:34

been given. And third,

8:36

benefit others. Though our

8:39

natural instinct is to please ourselves, open

8:42

your eyes to those around you who might be

8:44

in need. How can you

8:46

do good for the people in your

8:48

orbit? Neighbors, strangers, people who speak a

8:50

language other than English, children

8:53

without parents, folks who look

8:55

different than you? Tackle

8:57

what is in front of you with confidence

8:59

as you purpose to benefit others where you

9:02

are with what you've been given. You'll

9:05

find joy and lasting meaning in it.

9:08

You will discover happiness.

9:15

You just listened to part two of the post

9:17

titled, Pursuing a Richer, Fuller Level of Happiness

9:20

by Joshua Becker of

9:22

becomingminimalist.com and I'll be right back

9:24

with my commentary. If you're struggling

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That's plushcare.com/weight loss. plushcare.com/weight

9:54

loss. With

9:56

half price appetizers late night at Applebee's is

9:58

for the second shifters. Working

10:01

hard-ish and partying harder. The

10:03

parents, the founder said they kind of trust

10:05

a little and ran with it. And old

10:07

friends sharing new stories over scrumptious shareables for

10:09

half the price. Late night at Applebee's

10:12

is for every crew, squad, group of homies,

10:14

or loose acquaintances who know that half-price appetizers

10:16

are way more fun. But they won't last

10:18

forever, so hurry in. Limited time. Selection

10:20

price and participation may vary by restaurant location. Valid

10:23

for dining orders and online via Applebee's.com or the

10:25

mobile app. Thank you again to Joshua.

10:27

I thought there was a part in

10:29

there worth repeating. He said, I don't

10:32

believe finding deep happiness is

10:34

ever a walk in the park. It

10:37

doesn't always look like the images we

10:39

see in ads or even a stress-free

10:41

life. Not every day

10:43

is cheerful bliss. Sometimes

10:46

happiness is hard and messy.

10:49

Sometimes it feels like achy legs

10:51

or sheer exhaustion.

10:54

It's a great point. Something that comes up on

10:56

this podcast from time to time, that

10:58

there's never an end place of happiness,

11:01

no matter how much money we have

11:03

in the bank or how

11:05

many things we've collected. But there

11:07

is a sort of baseline satisfaction

11:09

by having purpose and meaning. We

11:12

might be ecstatic one day and then

11:15

defeated the next. And that's

11:17

okay. Well, it's not just okay,

11:19

but normal and expected. There

11:21

is no place here on Earth where

11:23

we can expect permanent happiness. I

11:25

think we all know that. So the

11:27

next best thing is finding, as

11:30

Joshua said, lasting meaning. So

11:33

a nice one from Joshua to consider this

11:35

weekend. Please do consider it. I'll do the

11:37

same. Have a great

11:39

weekend and I'll be back tomorrow as

11:41

usual where your optimal life awaits.