🌻Ancient Philosophy Reveals The Secret To Long-Term Happiness

It isn’t money, success, or fame

There’s a fascinating story about a Roman philosopher called Seneca. He advised Emperor Nero and was one of the world’s most powerful men. Yet, Seneca refused to allow materialism and the opinions of strangers to negatively impact his mindset.

So, what did Seneca do instead? Practice gratitude. Every morning, Seneca woke up feeling happy to be alive — knowing it could be his last day on Earth. “True happiness is to enjoy the present,” he said, “without anxious dependence upon the future.”

I’ve tried to adopt that mindset. Because for a long time, I couldn’t stop daydreaming about the future. I woke up every morning and imagined what it would be like to be happy, financially independent, and highly successful. But guess what?

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I was miserable.

Every day felt like a blur. My morning routine involved waking up, feeling depressed, and going to sleep with anxious thoughts about the future. Honestly, there were several moments when I wanted to treat life like a video game — and “skip to the good part” when I’d finally be happy.

But everything changed when I read a fascinating book called Man’s Search For Meaning by Viktor Frankl. The author explained how happiness is a choice — and often the by-product of living with intentionality.

Viktor Frankl’s wisdom helped me to realize that I’d never be happy if I was always worried about the future. And from that moment onwards, it became 10x easier to silence negative thoughts, achieve long-term happiness, and spend more time in the present moment.

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Jesus echoed a similar sentiment in the Bible. “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?” he asked (Luke 12:25). “Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? Do not worry about tomorrow,” Jesus continued. “For tomorrow will worry about itself.”

Wow, that’s beautiful. But I’m not going to lie to you… some days are harder than others to practice gratitude for the present moment.

I’m struggling with agonizing back pain right now. However, I’m trying to look on the bright side — and use the pain as a reminder to adopt a better posture. It’s also encouraging me to take care of my body, eat less sugar, and stretch more frequently.

It sounds strange… but I’m grateful for adversity, setbacks, and every near-death experience that’s ever happened. Why? All of those events paved the way for me to become the happy person I am today. Quoting an article published by Daily Stoic:

“It is only by seeing the totality of things, good and bad, that you gain the understanding necessary to be truly grateful. It could be that terrible relationship that imploded spectacularly, but led to you meeting the love of your life. It could even be the passing of a relative, something that caused you great sadness but which also spurred you to build stronger relationships with your loved ones.

All of these things are sad, and they may not even lead to a happy ending — but they still define the course of your life, and it wouldn’t be you sitting there right now without them.”

My lung collapsed a few years ago, and it was difficult to breathe. Was that the best thing that ever happened to me? Of course not. But the recovery process taught me the importance of rest, patience, and taking things one day at a time.

Similarly, my mom got diagnosed with cancer and underwent surgery. Every moment of that experience was heartbreaking. However, my mom’s cancer diagnosis brought us closer together as a family and encouraged us to spend more time together.

You get the idea. Everything that’s happened in the past has contributed to my personal growth. I’m grateful for the good, bad, and the darn right ugly. Because now that I’ve stopped worrying about things I cannot change, it’s much easier to enjoy the present moment.

I’m going to leave you with a beautiful quote from Ryan Holiday, who perfectly sums up what I’m saying:

“Be present. And if you’ve had trouble with this in the past? That’s okay. That’s the nice thing about the present. It keeps showing up to give you a second chance.”

🟢Contributed by Matt Lillywhite

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