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If there was a pill that would induce a constant state of happiness, would you take it?
Picture somebody gazing for hours at a trophy. He is basking in the joy of having received this award, experiencing great pleasure and satisfaction. But all he can really do is imagine the effort involved, because all he did to be presented with this trophy was to purchase it from a local dollar shop.
Satisfaction from a bogus trophy is no different than happiness induced by a magical pill. Both are based in fantasy.
Real fulfillment comes through hard work and triumph. As Ben Hei Hei said in Ethics of our Fathers, “The reward is commensurate with the effort”
There is a common notion that the opposite of pain is pleasure. In truth, the opposite of pain is no pain which really is comfort. Comfort can be a counterfeit that creates the illusion of pleasure. We may have limited the pain, but we don’t feel genuinely whole.
Our challenge is not to confuse comfort with pleasure. Life’s complete and enduring pleasures are only attained through effort, when we challenge ourselves to grow beyond our comfort zones and self-perceived limitations to bring out our potential.
There are no short cuts for this kind of fulfillment and inner sense of worth. No quick fix. But as human beings, facing challenges makes us feel alive and attain an authentic and unending sense of gratification.
As the Talmud says “if somebody tells you, “I labored but did not succeed,” don’t believe him. If he tells you “I haven’t labored, yet I did succeed,” don’t believe him. If however, he tells you “I have labored and did succeed,” you may believe him” “