Matthew McConaughey’s 5 Rules for a Good Future

• McConaughey’s next lesson addresses our often backward approach to finding happiness: “Happiness is an emotional response to an outcome. If I win, I will be happy, if I don’t, I won’t. It’s an if-then, cause-and-effect, quid-pro-quo standard that we cannot sustain because we immediately raise it every time we attain it. You see, happiness demands a certain outcome, it is result-reliant.”
• McConaughey suggests focusing on joy instead: “It’s not a choice, not a response to some result, it is a constant. Joy is the feeling we have from doing what we are fashioned to do, no matter the outcome."

The only way to not get dragged into a never-ending cycle of wanting more is to define success for yourself. What do you really want? If the answer is still money, that’s fine! But maybe you’d prefer being healthy and fit, having a happy family, or a thriving marriage.

Maybe, you want to be famous, spiritually sound, or leave the world a better place. The answer doesn’t matter half as much as asking the question. What does success mean to me?

Instead of making choices that’ll cost us tomorrow, we can also create outcomes that pay us back.

The concept of ROI — return on investment — can be applied anywhere. Whether it’s setting up the coffee maker and laying out your clothes the night before, preparing for a job interview well in advance, or not sleeping around with committed guys and gals, every choice you make that’ll leave you happier and a little more relaxed tomorrow is a choice worth making.