Some of us think if we just had more money, then we would be happy. If we just looked a certain way or met the partner of our dreams, then we would be happy. And then what?

“Happily ever after” turns into happy for a few minutes, a few hours, a day, a month, and so on. If we’re lucky, we have a whole day of happiness until the crying kids, breaking appliances, and other challenges of daily life settle in to take over that “happiness” we worked so hard for. Happiness is fleeting.

Inspiration doesn’t stem from classic forms of success, approval, validation, money or praise, but happiness might. While these aspects may seem motivating, they are often related to the “what” in the pursuit of happiness. And they happen to be irrelevant to inspiration.

The real question is why would you be happy about having more money? It’s not the money itself, sitting in your bank, that’s going to make you happy. It’s why you want it, what you would do with it, and how you would spend it. The only way to make a decision on how to spend it is to tap into what inspires you.

If we live the inspired life, we are more mindful of the “why” and spend less time on the “what.” Simply choosing to think about why we’re working on a goal will bring us fuel while we’re working on that goal, and we will not be holding our happiness hostage until we reach it.

Particularly when quitting bad habits or starting good ones, if we focus too much on the what, we might find ourselves spending too much time thinking about what we don’t want and not enough time living freely in the flow of life.

It may take time to get to your true why, but it’s your best shot at getting real and changing your life. Explore all why’s and start to focus on them. Settle into the ones that make you feel something more than others. Continue to evolve them. Focus on your inspiration list, and you’ll know when you’re ready. It’s your life. Let it be about your inspiration and no one else’s.

I wish other people were enough to make us change, but generally, they aren’t. Even our own lives are sometimes not enough. Wanting to be “happy” can be tossed aside so easily when it gets tough. “I’m happy enough, I don’t really need to quit.” Happiness is not powerful enough to break our habits, but inspiration is waiting, ready and willing. Inspiration is a powerful change agent waiting to be harnessed by you.

If you find yourself thinking about your goals, re-frame to think about why reaching these goals will bring you happiness, and you’ll instantly feel the energy of tapping into what inspires you.

This post features excerpts of Use Inspiration To Break Habits.

Happiness Example: I will be happy when I have more money. I want to win the lottery and be rich! I could buy everything I need to be happy!

Inspired Example: If I can get that work bonus, I’ll be able take my kids to that cabin by the lake I loved as a kid. We can kayak and play games together. I want my kids to have special memories of family vacations the way I do.