"When You Want to Be Really, Truly Happy When it comes to motivation, all roads don’t actually lead to Rome. Not all goals give you the life filled with satisfaction and well-being that we’re all looking for, even if you achieve them. Most people assume that, when it comes to happiness, being successful is all that matters. In truth, there are boatloads of very successful, very unhappy people all around us. That’s because they have successfully pursued goals that don’t actually fulfill their basic needs as human beings – the needs for relatedness, competence, and autonomy. Remember that we satisfy our need for relatedness by choosing goals that are about creating and nurturing relationships with others, while we satisfy our need for competence by pursuing goals that focus on personal growth. Your sense of autonomy will be enhanced every time you pursue a goal that you choose, because it speaks to something about you – your interests, your abilities, or...