Feeling unhappy? I can probably guess why…

You don’t have a project to work on.

“Prod any happy person, and you will find a project.“

—Richard Layard, economist

I don’t mean a project at work: one of those mindnumbing, agonizing, tedious, pointless tasks you’ve been given by your boss just to look busy.

I’m talking about something that matters: a project that makes you happy. A project that makes a difference. A project that changes someone else for the better.

Seth Godin would call that kind of project “art.” And it doesn’t have to be a painting, song, or movie. It just has to matter to you. 

And it helps if it makes the world a better place.

A quick way to find real happiness? Start working on a project.

(If you want to learn more about this argument, check out Layard’s book Happiness: Lessons from a New Science)

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