We've invited Alice Inoue, Founder & Life Guide of Happiness U — a company that helps people find incredible clarity — to join us on this edition of The Lifehack Show.
Alice is an award-winning author and life coach who has dedicated her life to assisting others in finding solutions to life's issues. Thousands of people have found clarity via her work over the past 20 years as one of Hawaii's thought leaders and respected experts. Her own brand of life knowledge may be found in her eight books on self-development and happiness, as well as her long-running column in MidWeek, Hawaii's largest weekly with 200k readers.
In this episode, Alice discusses her road to discovering her life's purpose and offers some practical advice to anyone seeking clarity.
The whole interview may be seen here:
The Purpose of Life Is Not About Happiness
Contrary to popular belief, the aim of life is not to be happy. Consider this: if the aim of life is happiness, then when bad things happen to us, we will feel as if we are not living at all. In fact, we will all confront difficult situations and experience sadness and frustration on a regular basis.
The point of life is to learn and grow, to discover more about who you are and what you are capable of.
The first stage is to accept where you are, whether you are confronting a major challenge or failure. You realize you need to take action after you've learned how to accept your circumstances. This is how you develop and improve.
You Find Happiness Where You Find Your Purpose
Happiness is what makes us feel good; it might be meaningful or purposeful.
For example, if you helped someone open a door that they couldn't open and they said "thank you so much," you'd feel good, or you'd feel good if you did something.
How can you figure out what makes you happy? Alice advises you to consider the following two questions:
– Every day, where do I teach?
– Where am I studying on a daily basis?
Try to think about your daily life:
Are you someone's mother figure or father figure? Are you a connection for certain people, such as referring someone to a person, a business, or a service based on a positive experience? Are you offering some folks assistance or a nurturing environment?
These simple questions will help you realize that you are an important part of the planet.
We can probably all say, "Oh, I'm learning from YouTube, or I'm teaching my child how to brush their teeth, or I'm teaching executives how to coach..." You realize you have a purpose by asking yourself simple questions.
Being Unclear About Life Actually Helps You Gain Clarity
We can never be certain about everything in life, especially our future. What we must do is realize that life is complicated and will never be completely clear. The clarity we should strive for is to concentrate on the one thing we can do today to take us closer to that goal. What is ambiguous today may lead to greater clarity tomorrow.
In the interview, Alice tells the following story:
A man approached Alice and complained that he didn't make enough money. He was always under the impression that if he could generate more money, he would be able to buy greater gifts for his friends and family. He was continually blaming his employer for not paying him well. Then Alice inquired, "Do you have a bank account?" Do you have any money saved up? Have you got a credit card?" And all of his answers were positive. He didn't buy pricey gifts for others since he didn't want to. It wasn't due to a lack of funds, but he preferred to save the money for his children's education.
These simple questions helped the man gain clarity in life.
Moving towards greater clarity isn't something that happens overnight, and it doesn't happen with just one positive idea. It's a mental adjustment that takes time and dedication to practice.
We must begin to discover where our belief systems are incorrect and where we are looking in the wrong direction. This is how we might progressively develop understanding. We must first determine our current location and then proceed from there.
Final Thoughts
If you're feeling confused and overwhelmed in life, this interview with Alice can help you get insights to achieve clarity in life so you can begin to figure out ways to work towards the life and objectives you desire.
Finding life's meaning and happiness is not easy. But you have a lifetime to study and grow in order to become a better version of yourself every day!
