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Happy, Smart, and Useful | Derek Sivers

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This is the stereotype of the strict parent who says, “You will go to the best school, get perfect grades, get a degree in law or medicine, and make lots of money. What you want does not matter. This is what’s best for you and your family.” Smart and useful isn’t bad. It’s rational, like a machine. But happiness is the oil. Without it, the friction kills the engine. This is the stereotype of the “lifestyle design” or self-help addict: always learning, always improving, and obsessively focused on how to be happy and create the perfect life. They look for “passive income” instead of focusing on doing something that’s really valuable to others. Happy and smart isn’t bad. The self-focus feels great at first. But you can’t actually pull yourself up by your bootstraps. Ultimately you must be lifted by those around you. This is the stereotype of charity volunteers. After getting expensive university degrees, they spend years flying to exotic impoverished places to dig wells and thatch roofs.

There are three things to consider when making life-size decisions: What makes you happy What’s smart — meaning long-term good for you What’s useful to others We have a tendency to forget one of these. For example: Smart and useful (but not happy) This is the stereotype of the strict parent who says, “You will go to the best school, get perfect grades, get a degree in law or medicine, and make lots of money. What you want does not matter. This is what’s best for you and your family.” Smart and useful isn’t bad. It’s rational, like a machine. But happiness is the oil. Without it, the friction k

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