- What happiness is not: Leo emphasizes that what most people consider as happiness is actually excitement. Excitement comes from stimulating activities such as eating at a nice restaurant, having sex, or going on a rollercoaster. It brings ephemeral pleasure and is often sought after consistently for more happiness. Contrarily, Leo considers this excitement-seeking behavior as self-limiting, akin to addiction, which ultimately hinders personal growth.
- The need for a clear definition of happiness: Leo stresses that the common use of the term 'happiness' has blurred its definition and made it generic. He wants to redefine happiness and separate it from excitement, believing that most people mistake the latter for the former. He opines that such misunderstandings contribute to why people lack happiness and fulfillment and consistently seek more in life.
- True happiness according to Leo: To Leo, genuine happiness is a state of calm, peace, and imperturbability. It is about being fulfilled, living in the moment, and maintaining an even-keeled state of mind where everything feels right. This kind of happiness dispenses with the need for external stimulation and excitement, contrasting heavily with the conventional and intuitive notion of happiness.
- The fallacy of locking in peaks of excitement: Leo argues against the prevailing belief that achieving more of the exciting things in life would lead to more lasting happiness. He explains that excitement exposes individuals to highs and lows, similar to drug addiction. While many seek to maintain the 'highs' or the peaks of excitement, it is an unrealistic pursuit that does not lead to true happiness.
- Addiction to stimulation and excitement: Leo likens the quest for external sources of stimulation and excitement to unconscious living. He posits that engaging in stimulating activities doesn't involve deep conscious participation but simply feeds off the pleasure derived from such activities, making it addictive. He cautions that while seeking such stimulating activities might not be as physically destructive as hard drugs, they hinder personal growth and self-actualization.
- Understanding genuine happiness: According to Leo, genuine happiness is a state of calm, peace, and contentment in the present moment, not reliant on any specific source of stimulation. It's essentially a state of being that's free from any form of suffering. This kind of happiness can be challenging to grasp as it contrasts with the usual understanding of happiness as excitement.
- Excitement vs. contentment: Leo points out a common misconception where people confuse excitement with happiness. Activities like watching an amazing movie, reading a thrilling book, or buying new things can certainly create excitement, but that's not genuine happiness. This excitement is only temporary and leaves individuals continuously seeking out the next source of stimulation, thus trapping them in a cycle.
- The ego's role in seeking excitement: Leo explains that the pursuit of external stimulation is driven by the ego, which keeps people trapped in a cycle similar to a mouse in a hamster wheel chasing after cheese. He gives examples of moving from hardcore drugs, to lesser substances, to virtual stimulation, and even into relationships. However, none of these external sources of stimulation result in lasting happiness.
- True fulfillment: Leo asserts that what people are truly seeking is the moment of peace that comes after the excitement or stimulation ends. Despite the joys of various activities like watching a blockbuster movie or opening a new gadget, the period of true fulfillment and contentment comes at the end, after the activity is over.
- The shift from excitement to contentment: Leo suggests that the brain's constant seeking of stimulation creates an internal roller-coaster of happiness and unhappiness. He emphasizes that this internal unrest is self-created and can be resolved by turning to self-improvement and enlightenment work. This involves dissolving the ego, thus moving away from reliance on external excitement towards a state of internal contentment and peace that embodies genuine happiness.
- Advanced personal development: Leo differentiates this explanation of genuine, lasting happiness from preliminary personal development strategies aimed at a more immediate sense of happiness. He explains that understanding and experiencing this level of happiness requires deep personal development work, including research into enlightenment, meditation, and contemplation to gradually dissolve the ego. This process can lead to reaching the state of being as happy as humanly possible without dependency on external stimulation.
- Natural State of Being: Our natural state is one of peace, calm, and fulfillment. However, due to our addiction to stimulation and the ego's focus on survival and reproduction, most people are removed from this state.
- Understanding Happiness: Genuine happiness is experienced in the moment, by oneself, without the roller-coaster ride of peaks (excitement) and valleys (down time). This happiness cannot be sought or found in the external world. Leo likens the pursuit of external happiness to a hamster running on a wheel, constantly chasing an illusionary piece of cheese.
- Breaking Free from Ego's Control: To experience genuine happiness, one must dismantle their ego which keeps a person constantly seeking stimulation and creates an unfulfilling cycle of excitement and downtime. This dismantling is a challenging process and requires a deliberate and rigorous introspective journey.
- Practical Approach to Genuine Happiness: Some suggested activities to experience real happiness include unplugging from various stimulations, meditating, and sitting in a room alone for two hours without any distraction. During this time, observe the reactions of the mind and body, which could reveal withdrawal symptoms, akin to those experienced by substance addicts, indicating an addiction to external stimulations.
- Challenging the Ego's Perception of Fulfillment: Viewers are prompted to honestly evaluate their lives and recognize whether they are constantly chasing fulfilment through external sources and if these pursuits have truly led to lasting happiness or are merely temporary peaks of excitement.
- Path Towards Fulfillment: In order to experience true fulfilment, one must build a strong case to challenge and resist the ego's desire to maintain the status quo. This process involves observing and understanding one's mind and body reactions to an absence of external stimulation, leading to the recognition and acknowledgment of dissatisfaction with the current state of life.
- Continuing the Journey of Self-fulfillment: At the end of the transcript, Leo encourages viewers to boldly continue pursuing the journey of self-fulfillment and enlightenment and to look forward to further videos on this topic. He also prompts them to sign up for a free newsletter on his website Actualized.org where they can access exclusive content on busting limiting beliefs and live coaching.