What if everything you ever wanted—wealth, fame, great relationships—still left you feeling empty inside?
At first glance, the question seems paradoxical. How can someone who has achieved immense happiness and success possibly not be living a “good” life? To unravel this mystery, we need to dive deeper into the very definition of what constitutes a good life.
According to Life 3H Framework, a good life comprises three distinct yet intertwined elements: Happiness, Highness, and Holiness. Your happiness index depends on your social relationships in your tribe. Highness, on the other hand, is a relative drive—you gain success only by outperforming others in ‘The Game’. Holiness is rooted in the richness of the neural connections that form behind your internal world model through learning.
Let us explore this through the story of Ethan Mehra.
Ethan was the quintessential success story. By the age of 38, he had built a multi-million-dollar startup, appeared on magazine covers, and amassed millions of followers across social media platforms. He had a beautiful home, a loving family, and a calendar packed with exclusive parties and business conferences. Ethan was, by all accounts, happy and high. He woke up energized, practiced gratitude, meditated, and exercised regularly. He had mastered the formula for a high-performance, joyful life. His bookshelf overflowed with self-help titles and productivity hacks. He journaled religiously but never revisited a single entry.
But something was missing. Late at night, when the noise of likes, shares, and boardroom applause faded, Ethan felt a quiet ache—a feeling like standing in a room full of applause and realizing no one truly knows you. It wasn’t depression. He was happy. It wasn’t failure. He was at the top. It was something else—something he couldn’t name.
One evening, he joined a one-on-one badminton hangout through Hapien—a platform that connects compatible-minded people within your community for shared activities. His partner that day was Meera, a lesser-known academic who had spent her life studying ancient philosophy and cognitive science. Meera spoke of her journey—living in monasteries, engaging in deep research, working with tribal communities, and confronting uncomfortable truths about the human mind and society. Her stories weren’t glamorous, but they were alive—rich with meaning and layered with insight.
Listening to Meera, Ethan felt something shift. Her words struck a nerve—not because they dazzled, but because they mattered. They were rooted in a kind of lived depth he had never pursued. She challenged the very premise of his life’s trajectory: “Have you ever questioned ‘The Game’ you’re winning? Or are you just playing it better than most?”
Ethan realized something startling. His own experiences, though many, were surface-level. He had traveled the world but never sat still long enough to observe it. He had achieved success but never questioned why. He had learned much but reflected little. His neural tapestry, though efficient, lacked depth.
Over time, Ethan began to shift. He still ran his company. But now, he carved out time for silence, philosophy, and deep conversations—with himself and others. Slowly, the hollowness gave way to wholeness. His internal world model began to evolve, forming a richer inner landscape. That was the beginning of his journey into holiness.
A life abundant in happiness and success but lacking holiness is akin to a lavishly decorated but hollow structure. It appears magnificent externally but lacks internal substance and integrity. Such a life might feel good superficially, but it never taps into the deeper fulfillment and meaning that true holiness offers.
Ultimately, an extremely happy and successful person can indeed fail to live a genuinely “good life” if they neglect the independent, vital dimension of holiness. Because in the end, a good life isn’t just about how you feel or what you achieve —it’s also about how deeply you understand yourself and the world around you.
LIFE 3H by Alok Gotam 