Become Happier Here and Now

Four men whose lives had suddenly ended, reached the gates of the Other World. When the gatekeeper was about to usher them in, the four requested that they be allowed one more day to live. On that bonus day, each man wanted to do the things that he had always wanted to do, the things that would give happiness.

The gatekeeper called up his superiors, checked his texts and told the men that their wish could be granted, but there was a condition. On coming back, each person would be tested on a satisfactometer. The person with a low score on the device would have to go to hell. The four agreed.

When they had moved a short distance back towards the earth, the first one stopped and sat by the side of the path. “This is wrong. We should be given more time. One day is just too less. I protest! Even this gatekeeper is not doing his job properly. Also, how can his superiors decide how much time is enough? I wouldn’t move till they give me a year more.”

The other three men proceeded. The second man, on reaching the earth, sat in his favourite chair. He started recollecting memories of his life to figure out the thing that he should do on that bonus day of his life. He found dozens of instances where he could have done better; hundreds of words he could have said better and thousands of thoughts he could have avoided. He was full of remorse and regret that made it difficult for him to move, to do something, anything at all. The day ended.

The third man, as soon as he reached the Earth, played a motivational video and watched it with great attention. Then he opened a document containing the inspirational quotes that he had compiled from all social media platforms, a ritual he followed every morning. After that, he sat down with pen and paper and jotted down his priorities. He made a to-do list; he crossed out all that was ‘unimportant’ or ‘urgent but not important’ and finally found out that one thing that would give him happiness. Half the day had passed, so he went out and did the thing that he believed would give happiness to him.

After 24 hours, all four men were teleported to the gates of the Other World. The gatekeeper attached the satisfactometer to the arm of the first man, but the digits on the screen refused to budge from the zeroes. Then he attached it to the second man. The screen beeped a reading of 0.00001 percentage. For the third man, the reading beeped at fifty percent. 

“I wish I had more time. I wanted to do a few more things…but time was too short.” The third man sighed.

The gatekeeper now put the band of the satisfactometer on the arm of the fourth man. The digits amplified till they went crazy and, in a few seconds, the machine beeped ‘error’. It could not handle any more. Curious, the gatekeeper asked the fourth man what he had done.

He replied, “I just went back and noticed life, and lived every moment as it came.”

The other three looked at him with curiosity, wanting an explanation.

He continued, “I just went back and did one small thing without thinking how it would benefit me. I felt serene after that, so I went on and did other things that made me feel even more peaceful. All those tasks gave me such a burst of energy that I went on and completed even those tasks that I did not particularly like. Surprisingly, they also made me feel joyful, Then I want on and helped other people, because they wanted to know how I looked so happy.

———–