Happiness Is an Inside Job

My Conversation with Soulgineering Host Ravi Tangri

Recently, I had the joy of joining Soulgineering host and coach Ravi Tangri for a deep and meaningful conversation about happiness—and how it’s not something we wait for, but something we choose.

It all started with a simple quote that I shared on social media:

“Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.”
– Ingrid Bergman

That quote hit me. Hard. It’s been living rent-free in my brain ever since.

So we dug into it. And what unfolded was one of the most thought-provoking conversations I’ve had in a long time. I shared stories and insights that I’d never really put into words before—about how happiness is a practice, how being present changes everything, and how even a pinball machine can teach us something about joy.

We also got into:

• Why I used to think happiness would come after I achieved success

• How 400+ daily notifications were wrecking my peace—and what I did to stop it

• The surprising rituals that ground me

• How leaders tie their worth to being needed—and how dangerous that can be

• And the small moments of gratitude that matter more than anything big

I hope this conversation helps you reflect on what happiness means for you—not based on what society tells you, not based on success metrics or hustle, but something real and true.

🎧 Listen in here:
Click play below to join us in this energizing and honest conversation.

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Highlights You Don’t Want to Miss:

🟡 Happiness is an inside job. It’s not up to anyone else to make you happy—and it’s not something you can postpone until you “arrive.”

🟡 Success is often defined externally—but happiness is deeply personal. If you don’t define it for yourself, someone else will try to.

🟡 Presence beats perfection. Whether I’m playing pinball or chatting with a friend, I’ve learned that being right here, right now, is where the magic lives.

🟡 Unplugging changed my life. I used to be hooked on dopamine hits from 400–600 notifications a day. Then I took a vacation, shut them off, and never looked back.

🟡 Gratitude isn’t about big wins. It’s about the coffee in the breakroom. A donut from a student. A moment of quiet when you need it most.

🟡 You can’t flipper your way through life. (Yep, we talked about pinball.) Sometimes you have one ball, sometimes four—but all you can control are your flippers: your thoughts and your attitude.

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A Quote I’ll Carry Forward

“Be happy right now. Just choose it. It’s not perfect, but it’s good enough. Right now is all we’ve really got.”

That’s become a bit of a mantra for me.

It’s easy to get caught up in the next thing—the next goal, the next message, the next sign of success. But the truth is, the only time we have any real agency is right now. And when we stop trying to control everything and simply be, we find the joy we’ve been chasing.

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Want More?

👉 If you enjoyed this conversation, check out my archive of over 400 podcast episodes and articles at HappyAF.substack.com. New posts drop weekly. If there’s something you’d like me to write or speak about, just let me know—I might just turn it into the next episode.

And if you’re struggling with burnout, feeling overwhelmed by the need to always do more, or simply curious about how to find more meaning and joy in your day… you’re in the right place. Subscribe to The Happiness Practices and take the next step with me.

Thanks again to Ravi Tangri for the incredible conversation—and to you, dear reader, for being here. Go out there and choose happiness. You’ve got more control than you think.