The Paradox of Peace: Why Your Calm Needs a Goal

Published by

on

As WordPress continues to recycle old prompts, I pulled another prompt from The Coffee Monsterz Co to respond to today

What has been on your mind lately?

Really, where do I even start with this? I think the things that have been on my mind lately are all things I’ve been writing about right here on Your Favorite Blog.

But one thing that has been on my mind that I haven’t been writing about lately, or at least not writing about enough is the level of comfort I’m feeling in my life right now. I’m comfortable in my own skin. I’m happy and at peace, probably even more than I’ve ever been.

Comfort vs complacency

I’m enjoying this moment of peace in my life, however I don’t want to become too comfortable, or more to the point, complacent. I never want to stop moving forward, or be seen by other people as standing still. That’s why I think it’s important that I get myself some new goals – sooner rather than later.

I’ve had some goals “in the hopper” for the last year or two, and I wrote about in my Blueprint for 2024 and Blueprint for 2025 posts. Rather than going down that well again, I think I’d like to revisit those posts and see about actually achieving one of those goals, like finally getting into grad school.

The happiness paradox

This isn’t something I’ve actively sought out either. I didn’t wake up one day and decide “I’m on a search for happiness, and there it is!”. It just happened. I think that’s how life goes, more often than not. We tend to find things both where and when we least expect them.

It’s ironic. I’m at work right now, in our day of school before the Thanksgiving break. I’m going back and forth between putting the final touches in this post and creating notes for my students. As I’m typing this, I came across the literary term paradox. One of the example sentences in my notes reads “in seeking happiness, one does not find happiness.

That’s the parting message I would like you, my loyal reader to take: We like to say that we’re looking for happiness. But the truth is, it’s usually the other way around. We find things that make us happy when we simply go out and LIVE: Cross something off of your “bucket list. Try that new hobby you’ve been thinking about taking up. Go skydiving. Step outside your comfort zone.

Thanks for stopping by Rebuilding Rob. Be sure to like, 👍 comment and subscribe to my blog below. It’s greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to follow me on social media as well! Check out my most recent posts as well as some earlier, related (and perhaps, not-so-related) posts:

AI art created with Google Gemini

The article “The Paradox of Peace: Why Your Calm Needs a Goal” first appeared on Rebuilding Rob.

logo

2 responses to “The Paradox of Peace: Why Your Calm Needs a Goal”

  1. Beth Harshman, MHA, BSN, RN (NurseRenew) Avatar

    I really love this. It is so true, if you try to seek out happiness, the stress, pressure, and disappointments you experience makes it too difficult. I try to find fulfillment with my work and personal relationships. Sometimes it is ok to seek self-actualization to feel a personal internal sense of pride. Great post.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. rebuilding rob Avatar

      Thanks for the kind words, Beth! Coming from someone with your professional credentials, I take this as very high praise!

      Like

Leave a comment