Hedonia Vs Eudaimonia: The Simple Shift That Rewires Happiness
Living a purpose-filled life does not require becoming a monk or a Buddha. It requires simple daily practices that steadily elevate our happiness baseline.
I believe I am the happiest person I have ever met.
And this is despite:
living with an autoimmune disorder that has physically crippled me
stepping away from a highly successful corporate career
struggling to walk and falling, on average, once a month
suffering more than ten fractures in the last ten years.
Fifteen years ago, I was a highly successful — and highly stressed — corporate honcho, constantly chasing targets, the next pay hike, and the next promotion.
The last fifteen years, after I veered sharply in a different direction, have been deeply transformative. They have taught me some powerful lessons about happiness
Two Kinds of Happiness
There are two distinct kinds of happiness:
Hedonia — the wellbeing we derive from everyday pleasures: good food, time with friends, promotions, a new car, material success.
Eudaimonia — the deeper, more enduring wellbeing that comes from living a purpose-filled life rich in meaning.
Each of us has a natural baseline of happiness, shaped by our genes and lived experiences. Hedonic pleasures give us temporary spikes above this baseline. When the experience ends, we fall back to where we started.
Eudaimonic living, however, raises the baseline itself. People who live with purpose feel progressively happier over time.
As Martin Seligman, the pioneer of positive psychology, argues, eudaimonia lies at the heart of human flourishing — moving beyond pleasure toward meaning, purpose, and the use of one’s strengths.
From Hedonia to Eudaimonia
When I was flying high in corporate life — the youngest COO in India’s telecom industry, later a director with Dell and HP — I had a purpose: to become the global CEO of a Fortune 500 company before 45. It was a purpose centred entirely on me.
Then fate intervened. A viral fever triggered my autoimmune condition, leaving me completely paralysed. The paralysis, my exit from corporate life, and a painful, partial recovery forced deep reflection. That was the turning point — my shift from being a relentless pursuer of hedonia to a firm believer in eudaimonia.
My happiness truly began to rise the day I discovered a new purpose: to touch a million lives positively. I began taking concrete steps toward it — writing three books, delivering over 150 talks, mentoring dozens of individuals, co-founding a tech startup, running parenting workshops, and more.
Rewiring Happiness Through Daily Practice
Living a purpose-filled life does not require becoming a monk or a Buddha. It requires simple daily practices that steadily elevate our happiness baseline. Because repeated actions shape the brain — a phenomenon called neuroplasticity — repeated positive actions quite literally rewire us for happiness.
A Simple Three-Pronged Practice
1. End each day by recalling one good experience.
This extends feelings of wellbeing, builds gratitude, and trains the brain to notice positives. Shawn Achor, author of The Happiness Advantage, recommends journaling this daily. I never dwell on why my fingers don’t work or why I keep falling. Instead, I focus on my gifts — an amazing family, great friends, and the ability to inspire through writing and speaking.
2. Make at least one person happier every day.
Random acts of kindness are powerful happiness multipliers. Over the years, I have unleashed a personal blitzkrieg of kindness — mentoring young professionals, speaking to schoolchildren, helping people through my network, chatting with cab drivers, helping domestic staff invest, making toddlers laugh, and spending around 45 minutes every day making my mother smile. The joy I give returns to me many times over.
3. Take One Small Step Toward a Meaningful Goal
Purposeful living is the foundation of enduring happiness — especially when that purpose is built on your strengths.
I love writing, and I am good at it. I love delivering powerful, life-changing talks, and I have become very good at that. I interact authentically, without hidden agendas, and people seem to enjoy those interactions. When I married these strengths and passions, my life purpose became clear: to touch a million lives positively.
That single, clearly articulated goal transformed everything.
It gave me direction when my old career had ended.
It gave my days structure and my weeks momentum.
It pushed me forward inexorably, even on difficult days.
I went to sleep planning my next steps and woke up raring to go.
It replaced despair with hope.
It gave meaning to pain and dignity to struggle.
It washed away much of the anguish of living in a broken body.
Every day, I try to take at least one small, concrete step toward this goal:
writing a few hundred words
refining a talk
mentoring someone who reaches out
helping a young person find direction
contributing to work that improves lives at scale.
Small steps compound. Purpose compounds. And slowly, almost imperceptibly, happiness rises. We have no control over the cards life deals us. But we have absolute control over how we play them.
Happiness is a choice — a simple mental switch. Practising gratitude, kindness, and purposeful living keeps that switch firmly in the ON position.
Each of us carries nearly 30 trillion cells, engaged in a complex, intricate, and beautiful dance called life. It is an extraordinary gift.
Let’s honour it.
Let’s maximise it.
And let’s live every moment with joy.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of NDTV Profit or its affiliates. Readers are advised to conduct their own research or consult a qualified professional before making any investment or business decisions. NDTV Profit does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented in this article.
