Be Happy...and Dissatisfied. Unusually Wise Words from a Former Deodorant Model and Steroid User*.

Be Happy...and Dissatisfied

If you’re like me, and were totally in the dark, then you weren't aware that Terry Cruz a.k.a the guy schwollen man from the Old Spice commercials (see below)...

...is a pretty dope motivational speaker. It's a platform he uses to share some pretty insightful opinions, like this motivational speech where he ends by giving some counter-intuitive advice that I totally agree with—he tells us to “Be Happy...and Dissatisfied”.

Disclaimer for the video below--watch the video above if you're not familiar with Terry so you can get the full effect of the antithesis from hearing the ripped and screaming deodorant model give such poignant advice. Also, ignore the part where he says he used to be addicted to porn, seems like a fact we could have done without. Thanks TC.

Notice when he made the key comment, "be happy...and dissatisfied"; his tone and pause are enough to indicate he knows this is a controversial statement. That is because, we expect to hear (and often do) from motivational guru’s that the only important thing in life is finding happiness. I think that this is true—but only to a point. In my opinion, that "point" is laziness. If you're not taking steps to make yourself happier via growth, learning, developing relationships, or whatever else, then what are you doing? As the term goes, someone is going "move your cheese", and what then? Long-term happiness is not attainable if we wait until later to think about how we will achieve it--or even more importantly, how we will maintain it--because whenever “later” comes, we won’t be ready. See, Terry’s comment gets at the heart of what motivates us as humans and that is growth and the ability to progress as people in the ways that we see valuable whether that be by creating art, building a family, starting a business, or anything else.

Being happy and complacent isn’t enough and will lead to unhappiness down the road when circumstances change and we’re left in the dust or our desires and goals change and we’re left ill prepared to pursue the new channels of happiness because we don’t want to change. Don’t get me wrong, being happy is the MOST important thing in life, but I believe a small dose of dissatisfaction with our morning coffee is sometimes what we need to feel motivated enough to take on the day and chase tomorrow’s dreams.

jcv