Most of us are constantly trying to move to ‘a higher level’ in life. More comfort, more money, more possessions, more job satisfaction—there’s always something ahead that we believe will finally make us happy. We tell ourselves, if I get this, I’ll be happy; if I achieve that, I’ll be happy.

But this way of thinking is wrong. If I’m not happy already, I’m unlikely to truly reach those things in a meaningful way. And even if I do reach them, they never seem to be enough—there’s always something else that I need, in order to be happy. That’s because you haven’t got the concept of what life is really about.

Whether life is about struggle, achievement, or success, none of it works without happiness coming first. And I don’t mean superficial happiness, the kind that depends on external things, but a deeper, more grounded happiness. The kind of happiness Rumi talks about when he says, “I am joy, I am joy. I don’t want to hear your complaints. Don’t disturb my world and my vibration with your negativity.” That happiness comes from within himself.

Think of it like driving from point A to point B, I can’t reach my destination without fuel; I need to get the fuel first in order to start my journey. In life, that fuel is happiness. Without it, I won’t get far. I need to be inwardly happy and content. And even if the journey doesn’t end where I expected, if I’ve been happy along the way, I can take the outcome as experience rather than failure. I won’t lose sleep over it.

My happiness shouldn’t depend on what I achieve. Instead, what I achieve depends on my happiness. That shift in perspective changes everything—and it’s something we need to reflect on.