Maktub

Maktub.

I heard this word first when I read the Alchemist - a book that everyone should read at least once in their lifetime.

It simply means - It's written.

Happiness or pain, success or failure, everything in life - maktub.

This when combined with the age-old saying of "this too shall pass" makes me wonder how much control do we really have in life over our own lives and our circumstances?

Knowing that everything is written, and knowing that all pain and pleasure is fleeting, what are we even pursuing?

Prof. Dr. Raj Raghunathan explains it best (links in comments). One of my favorite parts of his book/course was on "Pre-Occurrence Preference and Post-Occurrence Non-Judgmentalism" - sounds complicated, but is rather a very simple path towards being a lot more successful and happier in life.

Combined with his other lesson/viewpoint on "Dispassionate pursuit of passions" is gold.

Another book I enjoyed reading - "Solve for Happy" (link in comments)

#happiness #success #mindfulness #life