NEWSFLASH - There is no such thing as happiness

It's December, it's cold and it's only 20 days until Christmas... I'm looking forward to it already. I’ll be eating good food, getting some rest and spending some quality time with the family. For me that’s what it’s all about.

I appreciate that it isn't always the most relaxed day, there is often bickering, unwelcome obligatory visits and plenty of other distractions; but after all of this in my experience there is always a point in the afternoon/evening, when everyone is happy, warm and satisfied.  They say it's the most wonderful time of the year, and to some extent I agree.

However the ‘January Blues’ will be in full swing soon enough, which makes me consider the fleeting nature of happiness and how we can hold onto it.

Happiness may seem abstract, but it applies very tangibly to life and particularly health and fitness. Most get into the habit of good exercise and nutrition to remove an uncomfortable feeling. They believe that either their health or their appearance contributes to this feeling and so it needs to change.

First we need to establish what happiness is and Buddhists seem to have happiness nailed down; they say that it's essentially contentment or an absence of suffering. Much like darkness doesn't truly exist as it is just the absence of light; happiness doesn't really exist either, it is the absence of suffering.

Moments that you seem really happy are almost always as a result of something which distracts you from your problems. For a short while some distraction such as drugs, chocolate or going on holiday give you the freedom from your problems. Some distractions last longer than others but they all come to an end eventually.

People travel all over the world to live exactly the same life they live at home, but the difference is that they can drink a lot of cheap alcohol and not go to work.

People sitting at home watching television feel bored and so grab something physically gratifying to distract the mind from the problem at hand.

This is not happiness, this is discontentment masked by gratification.

I believe that living is about establishing your lifestyle so that you are content. To me what's necessary for this is to have a passive income, to enjoy your job, to live where you want and to have loving relationships.

When you have all this then you have the time to seek gratification to make your life happy at baseline and intermittently exciting.

This all sounds very sterile, and I appreciate that the downs in life make the ups more satisfying. However I don’t think that not being able to run up the stairs without getting out of breath or wear your favourite dress are necessary discomforts. I believe that you can get all the ups and downs you need without ever being anything other than brilliant.

I’ll bring it back to health and fitness to explain.

What is the next step when you are healthy and happy with how you look? You have successfully removed your suffering and have exposed your happiness, leaving you free to seek gratification in your life.

In the physical world gratification come from physical competition, and I don't mean wrestling.

Anything which challenges you will be effective. It could be swimming for a club, running an obstacle race, or playing football on the weekend. It could be playing cricket in the summer, powerlifting or joining the TA.



It is imperative that for sustained personal progression you find something in life which challenges you and gives you the required gratification to continue.

As I mentioned earlier there are some good problems to have in life, ‘have I trained enough’, ‘have I trained too much’ or ‘how can I develop the same passion in others’ are one of an infinite valid examples.

If you manage to remove your problems, all you are left with is contentment, which is OK but when you look back on life is contentment going to cut it?