An Underrated Habit to Help You Lead a Happier and More Fulfilled Life
Happiness isn’t a plush penthouse or a roaring supercar
As the bland morsel of food passes through my esophagus painlessly, I break into an elated ear-to-ear grin.
Thanks to tonsillitis, my throat had turned into Satan’s passage — so much that swallowing painlessly had become a distant Utopian memory.
As I plow into my meal with vigor and bask in the simple pleasure of eating, a mini-epiphany strikes me.
Happiness doesn't mean a plush penthouse, a roaring supercar, or a pina-colada on a yacht.
Its source is far simpler — one you can summon from the comfort of your home.
In fact, from the comfort of your mind.
We Live in A “What Do I Lack?” Society
Social media is society’s poster boy for spreading poisonous levels of FOMO.
When you’re constantly bombarded with washboard abs, world-touring lovey-dovey couples, and pinstripes in supercars, you’ll naturally feel inadequate.
Exasperated, you puke into the cesspool as well—nitpicking the best photos from your best moments, a heavy dash of Photoshop, and tagging it #lazyday.
Social media is a worldwide “Make each other feel like sh*t” competition.
Repeated 24/7 and 365 days a year? You get record-high rates of depression, anxiety, and discontent.
Thanks to the internet, we’re hyper-connected — but our evolution hasn’t caught up. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors used to rove in hundreds — you probably have 10x more Instagram followers.
Hyper-connectivity breeds hyper-comparison and competition—masterful at something? There’s probably a Russian kid in his mom’s frozen basement who’s 10 times better.
Stuck in this, “I’m not good/I don’t have/I’m not doing enough”, we’ve blinded ourselves to what we possess, are good at, and are doing well.
No matter how bad you think your life is, there are tons of things worth being thankful for.
“Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.”
― Epictetus
Being Alive Is Itself a Privilege
If you’re reading this, you’re — not blind, literate, connected to the internet, safe in your home, and alive.
All of which are humongous privileges:
- About 50 million people are blind and around 300 million have severe vision impairment.
- Worldwide, over 770 million adults are illiterate.
- Nearly 3 billion people don’t have access to the internet.
- 100 million fellow humans are homeless and another 1.5 billion live in dilapidated ruins.
Blinded by our never-ending desires, we forget how stupendously privileged we are.
You’re alive, and that’s all the reason you need to feel amazing. Read that again.
“If I were to say, ‘God, why me?’ about the bad things, then I should have said, ‘God, why me?’ about the good things that happened in my life.”
— Tennis legend Arthur Ashe
Sink back into your chair, close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and visualize the positives of your life — memories, possessions, experiences, people, etc.
Summon up crystal-clear sounds, vivid visuals, nose-bristling smells, and the heart-warming feel of the thing or person you’re thinking about.
Let that budding smile stretch ear to ear and that welling warmth pervade your entire body.
That, my friend, is gratitude.
How to Ingrain Gratitude Into Your Life
Unlike most assume, gratitude isn’t a feeling — it’s a habit you hone through practice.
The previous section’s visualization is but one of many weapons in the gratitude arsenal:
- Spend time with underprivileged folks. Instead of condescending pity, empathize. Respect their struggle and be thankful that you’re better off.
- Gratitude journaling. Nothing solidifies things in your brain better than hand-writing on solid paper. Get this done in under 2 minutes using my free Notion-based journaling template.
- Drastically reduce your social media consumption. Strip clean the accounts you follow, set app-based limits, ditch the news, and avoid the “Recommendations” tab like the plague.
- Avoid comparing with the Joneses: Burning money to “out-class” your neighbors and friends is a recipe for disaster. Focus on your life, needs, and preferences.
- Reflect on your blessings. Visualization isn’t a one-time activity. Stick to it regularly to stay grounded and happy.
“A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues.”
— Cicero