Values - The Greeks and Their Happiness

Over the next few weeks I'm going to be doing a series on values. I'm currently working through figuring out just what are my values and want to explore concepts much smarter people have explored in order to come up with theirs.

Ultimately our happiness comes out of fulfilling or living in coherence with our values. When it comes to some of the greatest thinkers in history the Greeks are certainly in consideration.

Hedonia/Eudaimonia

The Greeks thought about happiness in two ways, as they had two concepts for happiness:

1. Hedonia - The feeling you get from temporary satisfaction like a good meal, a compliment, a win. Pleasure, which fades fast.

2. Eudaimonia - The deep stable sense that your life has meaning. The feeling the you are living in a way that's true to who you are. Fulfilment and meaning.

The catch is the eudaimonia requires sacrifice. It means choosing the harder choice because it matters more. And that's where values come in.

What values actually do?

Your values are the things worth struggling for. They're the principles that make your suffering feel meaningful instead of pointless.

When you know what you value, hard things make sense. You work late because you value your professional career. You have difficult conversations because you value honesty. You show up for someone even when it's inconvenient because you value loyalty.

When you don't know what you value, those hard things just feel like hard things. No context. No meaning. Just effort without a fundamental understanding why you're putting yourself through that sacrifice.