Carl Jung’s 5 pillars of a good life
Carl Jung is to psychology what Hemingway is to the written novel. Both revolutionized their respective fields.
Jung laid the foundation of modern psychology, contributed to dream analysis, and gave the world concepts like extrovert, introvert, persona, archetype, synchronicity, and collective unconscious.
But his final gift to humanity was the most valuable: a simple guide for living a happier life where the legendary psychologist distills a lifetime of wisdom in human happiness into 5 simple steps.
In 1960, during Jung’s final days, journalist Gordon Young asked the 85 year old psychologist, “What do you consider to be more or less basic factors making for happiness in the human mind?”
Jung responded with the following checklist.
1. Good physical and mental health
It’s difficult to be happy when we our bodies and hearts ache.
A healthy body and a healthy mind are essential for the steps to follow.
2. Good personal and intimate relationships
Of the four best life investments for a happier life, two of the best investments you can make on your journey to a better life are: family and friends (the other two are faith or philosophy and meaningful work; but more on that in a bit).
If you’re not investing in your relationships, you’re robbing yourself of quite a bit of happiness.
After all, love is happiness and happiness is love.
3. Seeing beauty in art and in nature
The Greeks believed beauty nourished the soul.
Jung believed that to live a happy life, you need a sense of aesthetics—the ability to appreciate natural and man-made beauty.
As a creative, you probably believe that, too.
4. Reasonable standards of living and satisfactory work
There is a strong association between unemployment and depression.
Satisfactory work provides a basic standard of living and protects mental health. In this way, employment and income are less about raising happiness and more about eliminating unhappiness.
But if you can go from satisfactory work to meaningful work, a happier version of you becomes possible.
The two elements that make work meaningful for most people are earned success (a sense of accomplishment) and service to others, which can be achieved in almost any job.
5. A philosophical or religious outlook that fosters resilience
Jung is not saying you need church to be happy. But, he believes everyone needs some sort of transcendent belief or higher purpose.
Secular philosophies, like Stoicism, can provide this benefit as well as proven by the stoic renaissance of the last few years.
Jung made this list to mark his 85th birthday — the last he celebrated.
By all measures, he made continuous progress toward happiness over his life, had a long and devoted marriage, died surrounded by the people he loved, and used his abilities in a meaningful way that served others. It’s safe to say Jung walked his talk and met death with a smile in his heart.