Today we have access to more of almost everything.

Never in history has there been more labour-saving devices, more access to education and more choice. 

We have access to food with no need to produce it. We have all the water we need without a need to collect it. We have all the entertainment we could watch, and we can connect to anyone on the planet.

So why the hell aren’t we the happiest we’ve ever been?

The lie we’ve been telling ourselves

It was ‘more’ that got us here, so it seems logical that ‘more’ will get us ‘there’. But it’s not true. What is true is that our technology has given us time, and we use a great deal of that time comparing ourselves and our ‘stuff’ to other people and their stuff. We see a difference, and because of our critical nature, we tell ourselves we’re lacking in some fashion. Since it was more that got us here, we go looking for more. Except you can never have enough of what you don’t need, so nothing fundamentally changes.

The heart of the problem:

We’re comparing how someone else looks on the outside with how we feel on the inside. 

• That’s not a good strategy.
• We’re attributing the difference we see and feeling to something outside ourselves – Clothes, significance, followers, salary, cars, houses, stuff – you get the idea.
• You’ve moved your happiness entirely out of your control.

If you want to be happy

You need the source of your happiness to be inside your control.

Tips:

• Be you and embrace your whole self.  You are different, we all are, and that makes you amazing. 
• No amount of stuff is going to make you a better person
• Get clear on the life you want to live, not what you think is expected, not what society suggests is right – the one you want.  Then go do that.
• Do work that is intrinsically rewarding. 
• Remember – Be kind to yourself – no one’s perfect and everyone has crap in the basement.

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