Do

'First say to yourself what you would be, then do what you have to do' - Epictectus

Nancy Etcoff gives an interesting talk on this science of happiness. The talk ends with an interesting map a psychology student has done mapping the world according to Maslow's hierarchy.

I don't believe money buys happiness but it certainly makes life very difficult when you have none. As the world gets wealthier and the ideas start flowing more easily, I am confident that things will get better.

Following on from Robert Wright's talk about the general trajectory of the world and the challenges we face, I feel hopeful when really smart, cynical minds start looking at the world optimistically. Wright spoke of years ago when everyone hated the next tribe, then they accepted that people in their city state were okay, but those in another were evil. Then we associated with the people in our nation, but other nations were evil. Now the barriers are starting to slowly fall when the concepts of nation states starts resembling the old concept of city states.

Ideas are flowing and the world is getting wealthier. I like Etcoff's take, that maybe there will come a point where we close in on the top of that triangle.

Most of all, I like the final call to arms. Figure out what you want, then go get it. It is not about looking backward. What happened in the past may determine where you are now, but what you do now determines where we end up.

Despite the absolute chaos in many parts of the world, I still think we are moving in the right direction.