Happy Parent Series

In my last podcast episode, I introduced the four levels of happiness as they are presented by Father Robert Spitzer in his book Finding True Happiness. The four levels are 1) pleasure (meeting a physical need), 2) winning or success, 3) making a difference in the world, and 4) transcendence. We covered levels 1 and 2 happiness in the last episode; in this episode, we’ll consider levels 3 and 4 happiness.

Here’s a breakdown of the show.

Level 3: Making a difference in the world

  • We escape from our me-shaped boxes at level 3, where we seek to bring our talents to the world to make it a better place, and where we look out for the well-being of others.
  • Parents move quickly into level 3 after the birth of a child. Our child’s well-being, success, and safety mean more to us than our own. We are willing to sacrifice for the good of our children.
  • We have a clearer vision of the whole truth about people because we are looking for the good news in them, not only the bad news.

Level 4: Self-transcendence

  • At level 4, you ask questions about the meaning of life, why you are here, and what is really valuable. You are asking questions whose ultimate answers lie outside our human understanding, yet the search brings meaning and clarity to our lives.
  • When we live at level 4, we yearn to experience God in prayer and in the natural world.

Resources

Finding True Happiness: Satisfying Our Restless Hearts by Robert Spitzer.

Happy Parent Series

  1. The Benefits of Gratitude
  2. 4 Powerful Ways to Practice Gratitude
  3. Gratitude in Tough Times
  4. Why Pleasure and Success Won’t Make You Happy
  5. This episode: The Secret to Enduring Happiness

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