happiness

People are happy enough rich, and people are happy enough poor. But it’s hard to imagine anyone happy without a feeling that their actions have some impact, however small. Even if you’re not going to be remembered by history, you want to be remembered by your barista. The prisoner, though largely robbed of power, is probably happier if he can vex... See more

While doing the reporting for my book, I read a postmortem from a successful startup founder. They said something along the lines of: “One of the best things that can happen to you is to achieve professional success when you’re young. That way you can learn that it does little to change your happiness.” For better or worse, achieving your goals

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When I say you’re not getting your joy back, I mean that you’re looking in the wrong direction. What brought you joy in the past might not be what brings you joy in the future. And looking to recreate the past holds the risk of speedrunning you right back to the present. So when you say that you now loathe what you used to love that might be your... See more