Three Big Goals:

1. My own long-term happiness – caring for myself.

Being good to myself. Working toward my own happiness. Doing things that make myself happier, in the long run. Being good to myself. Kindness to myself. Trying to make myself better off. Trying to improve the quality of my life. Getting a sense of meaning or fulfillment or worth or purpose in my life, if the word “happiness” does not express what I’m after sufficiently. When we talk about “long-term” happiness we’re talking about the good feelings that stick around, instead of only lasting a short time – for example the happiness that comes from good relationships or doing good work or meeting good goals. There’s a place in life for temporary pleasures such as what comes from eating ice cream, but the good feelings that last are what this goal is referring to.

2. Other people’s long-term happiness – caring for others.

Being good to others. Trying to increase the happiness of others. Doing things that make others happier, in the long run. Being good to other people. Being a kind person. Trying to make the world a little better place. Helping others to experience meaning, purpose, fulfilment, a sense of worth in life.

3. Using fortitude and being patient if the first two goals don’t work out right away.

Fortitude means handling it when things don’t go well; being patient and knowing that sometimes people need to put up with bad things, and tolerate unhappiness, sometimes for a long time, until things get better. It means trying to figure out how to make things better but putting up with what you don’t like until you can someday make things better. It means not giving up hope that life will get better in the future and doing your best to make that hope come true. It means being willing to work very hard to improve life rather than giving up on that goal.