The Middle Path to Happiness

In the 3rd century BCE, King Pyrrhus was preparing for an aggressive military campaign in Italy when a trusted advisor named Cineas asked him a simple question:

After conquering Italy, what would they do next? Then Sicily. Then Libya and Carthage. And then?

King Pyrrhus replied, "Then we will live a life of ease. Drink all day and have pleasant conversation with our friends."

Cineas paused and spoke: "But what's stopping us from doing that today?"

The story is one of the oldest documented cases of the Arrival Fallacy: the false assumption that reaching some achievement or goal will create durable feelings of satisfaction and contentment in our lives.

But life is rarely so black and white. Ambition isn't the mortal enemy. And presence isn't the perfect hero.

In this piece, I wrote about choosing the middle path. Rejecting the or and embracing the and.

Remember: You can conquer your Carthage if you want to. Just don't make the wine wait for it.

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