<a href="https://twitter.com/kevanlee">Kevan Lee </a>, the director of marketing for <a href="http://www.bufferapp.com/">Buffer </a>, also writes a lot about happiness. So I wondered: Are there unexpected ways to be happy? I pulled together research about the many unexpected and counterintuitive ways to find happiness: If you are willing to push through a bit of added stress in the short term, you can experience huge gains in happiness for the long term. So learn a new skill. Though you'll take on a bit more stress, research shows you'll be happier on an hourly, daily, and long-term basis.

The key, according to the study, is to choose the right new skill to master, challenge to undertake, or opportunity to get out of your comfort zone. The greatest increases in happiness come from learning a skill you choose, rather than one you think you should or feel forced to learn.

Kevan Lee, the director of marketing for Buffer, also writes a lot about happiness. So I wondered: Are there unexpected ways to be happy? I pulled together research about the many unexpected and counterintuitive ways to find happiness: 1. Learn something new, even if it's stressful: Mastering a new skill means more stress now but more happiness later.

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Want to Be Much Happier? Science Says Always Do Any 1 of These 8 Things

Just a few short years ago, I did everything to chase happiness. <ul><li>You buy something, and you think that makes you happy. </li><li>You hook up with people, and think that makes you happy. </li><li>You get a well-paying job you don't like, and think that makes you happy. </li><li>You go on holiday, and you think that makes you happy. </li> </ul>But at the end of the day, you're lying in your bed (alone or next to your spouse), and you think: "What's next in this endless pursuit of happiness?"

<ul><li>You go on holiday. </li><li>You go to work. </li><li>You go shopping. </li><li>You have drinks. </li><li>You have dinner. </li><li>You buy a car. </li> </ul>Those things should make you happy, right? But they are not useful. You're not creating anything. You're just consuming or doing something. And that's great. Don't get me wrong. I love to go on holiday, or go shopping sometimes. But to be honest, it's not what gives meaning to life. What really makes me happy is when I'm useful. When I create something that others can use. Or even when I create something I can use.

That's just some stuff I like to do. You can make up your own useful activities. You see? It's not anything big. But when you do little useful things every day, it adds up to a life that is well lived. A life that mattered. The last thing I want is to be on my deathbed and realize there's zero evidence that I ever existed. Recently I read <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/006073731X/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=dariusforoux-20&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;creativeASIN=006073731X&amp;linkId=fefb8d5fec514785c27b79c594b9764b">Not Fade Away </a>by Laurence Shames and Peter Barton. It's about Peter Barton, the founder of Liberty Media, who shares his thoughts about dying from cancer.

Being useful is a mindset. And like with any mindset, it starts with a decision. One day I woke up and thought to myself: What am I doing for this world? The answer was nothing. And that same day I started writing. For you it can be painting, creating a product, helping elderly, or anything you feel like doing. Don't take it too seriously. Don't overthink it. Just DO something that's useful. Anything.

For the longest time, I believed that there's only one purpose of life: And that is to be happy. Right? Why else go through all the pain and hardship? It's to achieve happiness in some way. And I'm not the only person who believed that.

Want to Be Much Happier? Science Says Always Do Any 1 of These 8 Things

The Purpose Of Life Is Not Happiness: It's Usefulness - Darius Foroux

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