Hello and welcome back Reader!

Before we chase the next big thing, it helps to pause and ask: when was I truly, deeply happy?

Here’s one way to find out.

One story

We often believe that finding happiness requires making drastic changes—switching careers, moving countries, reinventing ourselves entirely.

But what if the real clues are already there, scattered through the past, hidden in plain sight?

A few years ago, I was wrestling with this question myself. I felt pulled in multiple directions, uncertain where to invest my time and energy next. That’s when I returned to a familiar tool: the 80/20 principle, also known as the Pareto Rule. In short, it says that 80% of your results often come from just 20% of your actions.

I wanted to uncover what those vital 20% were in my own life—those moments when a little effort brought a disproportionate sense of joy, meaning, and flow.

So I sat down and created a map. A personal archive. I called it:

Islands of Happiness.

Each island was a moment in time that had brought me unusual joy. Some lasted hours, others stretched over months or years.

• Like my student days immersed in language learning.
• A surreal study trip to Germany in the late '80s.
• Those summer weeks working in the travel industry when everything just clicked.
• Or the freedom I felt leading national workshops where I designed the entire experience myself.
• The sense of lightness when I left a corporate role to start my own coaching practice.

Looking at these moments, a pattern began to form.

Since then, I’ve shared this approach with many clients—including just last week with a brilliant executive on maternity leave.

And the funny thing? She has a list of 50 (literally fifty!) ideas of what to do instead of returning to a job that no longer fulfills her.

Among them:
→ Launching a small AI-based business that solves a common, time-consuming problem for accountants—something she knows well and could automate.
→ Becoming a better speaker—not for a specific reason, but because it feels like a weakness she’s ready to transform, no matter what she does next.
→ And her dream? Becoming a curator for art exhibitions. She’s already earned her Master’s in the field. She has an incredible eye for beauty. She feels it in her bones. But still, her doubts whisper: Not good enough yet. You need more courses. Not quite ready.

To me, though, she already is. She just hasn’t seen her map yet.

One insight

Happiness often hides in asymmetry.

You don’t need to chase it everywhere. You just need to look for those few, precious 20% moments in your life that already brought you joy—and understand what made them so alive.

Then you can choose what to build next—anchored in what’s already true.

One gentle prompt

Take a quiet moment this week and make your own “Islands of Happiness” list.

Look back over your life and write down any periods—days, months, even single moments—that brought you joy. Then ask:

• What do they have in common?
• What was present in those moments that’s missing now?
• What patterns do I see?

You might find a surprising clue about what’s next for you.

✨ Want to go deeper?

The full version of the "Islands of Happiness" exercise is now available as a downloadable PDF on Gumroad, including:

• my full story,
• a step-by-step guidance,
• and a Free Printable Worksheet.
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Reconnect with what matters!
​📍 Download it here​

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With love,
​Elena