The Happiness of Excellence

In Brianna Wiest’s 101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think - “The Happiness of Excellence”, she references three forms of happiness.

• The Happiness of Pleasure

• The Happiness of Grace

• The Happiness of Excellence

The happiness of pleasure is sensory, referencing the physical sensory enjoyment that the world offers. The physical satiety appeased following an amazing meal, the physical warmth in bed on a cold winter’s night.

The happiness of grace is gratitude. The happiness of insight into what you have. Having an awareness of and inventory of the graces in your life.

And then finally, the happiness of excellence, the happiness that comes from the pursuit of something great. Not exactly the act of achieving it, but the process of loving the journey. The meaningful work. The identity-shaping, character-defining work.

Now we need all three. We cannot live fulfilled on just one. You cannot simply indulge in the happiness of pleasure and be fulfilled.

The happiness of excellence is not instant gratification. It is measured, deliberate and consistent. It is hedged off by discomfort, growth pains, and pursuits beyond your comfort zone. But over time, you develop your skill. You realize the potential of what you could accomplish. And you fall in love with this process, this development, this discomfort - simply reframed as discovery.

“Happiness is not only how we can astound our senses, but also the peace of mind that comes from knowing we are becoming who we want and need to be. That’s what we receive from pursuing the happiness of excellence: not accomplishment, but identity.”

I feel like many times, we place societal labels of happiness on the short-term.

After having a nice anniversary dinner date, a fancy meal, a dessert, maybe a gift. Are you happy?

After buying a new toy, a new PC, a new gaming system. Are you happy?

We disproportionately focus on instant gratification. There are more instances of deliberate evaluation of happiness after these instantaneous events.

Whereas the happiness of excellence is often neglected, not deliberately attended to. We are not particularly happy after graduating college. We are relieved it is done. We are able to move on with our lives. It is simply a checkpoint.

We are not deliberately happy with our relationship with the years and growth and journey. We celebrate the instantaneous singular event that is a proposal or a marriage.

Understanding, acknowledging and keeping an inventory of our own proportional happiness is worth doing. We can foster our own identity and sense of self. We can pursue challenging and hurdle-filled endeavours because we love the journey, and we understand the difference between instant gratification and sensory pleasures to those that give identity. We also understand that all are needed.