Why we make ourselves unhappy

Investor Charlie Munger recently said that we live in a time of great abundance and yet widespread unhappiness.

The reason?

Because we’re all preoccupied with what we haven’t got.

We see someone else doing ‘better than us’, and we play the comparison game. A surge of jealousy rises up.

We’re unhappy because we think we aren’t where we should be. Speak to the average person on the street, and they’ll tell you they are dissatisfied with their work.

We think we don’t have what we want.

I say ‘think’ here because how we think sits at the heart of this dissatisfaction.

‘If I could have this, or get promoted, or have this in my life…’

‘…Then, I’ll be happy.’

The Internet and TV have accentuated this feeling in many of us because we compare ourselves to what others have and cast a judgement on our own progress.

We feel inferior. But others don’t make us feel inferior. We do.

We do it to ourselves.

We create a story about what success should look like for us. And then we see ourselves fall short and feel bad.

Isn’t that insane when you really think about it? We are the final arbiters of what success should look like. We dictate our own unhappiness.

Well, what’s the alternative?

Years of suffering through comparison taught me this:

You don’t need to adjust your life to be happy.

You need to adjust your relationship with your thoughts.

And this comes from developing the habit of awareness. Be aware of those thoughts that say you’re not there yet. Watch them as thoughts, not as facts.

See the absurdity of the stories we create that make us sad.

Instant relief.

And with relief, your performance improves, and you get what you want in life with far less effort.

It’s a shame most don’t have the skill to expand their awareness like this because it makes all the difference for living a life of real joy and creative spirit.

If you want my close guidance on developing this skill quickly (without meditation), you’ll want the Untethered Mind course today, which you can get here.

Don’t leave it another day to have this foundational part of your life under control.

Much love, Alex