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A Philosopher’s Three Simple Rules for Helping You Become a Happier Person
Doing good work, developing a strong relationship, looking forward to the future
When I think of happiness, I think of the following quote from Immanuel Kant:
Rules for Happiness: something to do, someone to love, something to hope for.
It’s short. It is clear. And anyone can understand it. But what does it really mean to have something to do? Someone to love? And something to hope for? Humbly, I’d like to share what these rules mean to me and how I apply them to my life:
Something to do
When I was in management consulting, I heard, likely a grossly exaggerated anecdote, that many partners, after retiring, were prone to having heart attacks. As anyone who has worked in consulting knows, it’s go-go-go every day. The hardest working consultants are always on the move, whether travelling to client sites, working weekends and evenings, or continually answering emails at odd hours. But I imagine, when you retire, your life settles down quite a bit. You aren’t constantly on your phone responding to emails and putting out fires. You aren’t in meetings all day with all of your project teams. And that sudden lifestyle change gets to you (or that’s how I reasoned…
