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The Unseen High Price of Chasing Society’s Version of Happiness

Craig Stanland
2 min readAug 18, 2023

Something terrible occurs when we spend our lives chasing everything we’ve been told to chase to be happy.

We leave the best parts of ourselves unexplored and untapped.

Those years of chasing lead us further and further from those parts.

Our careers and the lifestyle we create become our identity, who we want to be, and who we genuinely are fades into obscurity.

When we leave the best parts of ourselves, our unique talents, skills, desires, dreams, and what makes us come alive behind, unexplored and untapped, we’re creating a success-sized hole in our lives.

Our souls weep, and we slowly suffer our way to retirement, believing this will be our time to shine.

When we’ve “earned” it.

It doesn’t need to be this way.

You can live a rich, deep, mission-driven, meaningful, and fulfilling life, even if your career is none of those things — without giving up everything you’ve worked so hard for.

How?

Stop chasing everything “out there” to be happy.

Re-connect with yourself and re-discover the best parts of you that you’ve left behind.

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Craig Stanland
Craig Stanland

Written by Craig Stanland

From corporate success to federal prison, I share my journey to rediscover joy, meaning, and purpose. Join me in reinventing your extraordinary second act!

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