You’re unhappy because the world keeps you in a constant state of desire

Yesterday I scrolled through my Facebook feed that I never use and saw countless “reels” of scantily clad women pop up.

On Twitter, the amount of threads I see saying “I make $80,000 per month online, here’s 3 steps you can use to get there, too” are ridiculous.

And on Medium it’s the same damn thing.

Everyone, everywhere, all at once, is telling you about all the great stuff they’re doing — leaving you feeling like complete garbage.

We’re left in this constant state of wanting. Wanting the men/women we see on social media. Wanting the 6-figure business someone built. Wanting the fame and attention that somebody else is getting.

We’re always wanting more.

Doesn’t that get tiring for you?

I’ll be honest with you here..

I used to be the guy who wanted to be with every hot girl he saw. I just couldn’t stop myself from looking this way that way and the other.

During that time I was an extremely popular vlogger in the Philippines, made 6-figures per year in my business, and had a girlfriend of my own.

I should’ve been happy.

I really wasn’t, though.

I was morally bankrupt and left in a constant state of wanting every pretty thing with two legs that walked by.

The moral of the story is that when we’re trapped in this category 5 storm of wanting, nothing we currently have will ever be enough. And that makes life a living hell.

I love the show Succession, and one thing that’s appalling about it is just how unhappy everybody is. The Roy family has more money than 99.99% of families in the world, and absolutely none of them are happy because they keep scheming for more power.

Unbelievable.

I finally learned my lesson at age 28 that constantly wanting more is a game you’ll never win. J. Cole is one of my favorite artists, and in his song Love Yourz he says:

“Always gon’ be a whip that’s better than the one you got
Always gon’ be some clothes that’s fresher than the one’s you rock
Always gon’ be a bitch that’s badder out there on the tours
But you ain’t never gon’ be happy ’til you love yours

No such thing as a life that’s better than yours (love yours)
No such thing as a life that’s better than yours (love yours)
No such thing as a life that’s better than yours (love yours)
No such thing, no such thing”

The point is, there’s always going to be something better out there than what you currently have. Always.

And in this hyper-Americanized GET AFTER IT MOTHER ****ER!!! world we live in, the pursuit of more is not just part of our culture, but thought to eventually give us happiness.

I spoke to my wife the other day about her aunts who live in Veracruz, Mexico. From what she tells me, they live a very simple life.

They came to my house for a few days and they were the happiest people I’ve met in years.

They reminded me a lot of the folks I knew in the Philippines living in the provinces outside of Metro Manila.

I really don’t want to glorify being poor here, but I do want to say that these people know SOMETHING about happiness that us in the United States don’t.

I get the feeling that the simplest things give them happiness, like having a coffee with family and engaging in mild gossip about meaningless stuff. I feel they appreciate things more and have an incredible ability to stay in the present moment.

Contrast that with us in the USA — a country full of people who are always looking at the future as the time they will finally be able to grasp happiness. When they achieve or get closer to “more.”

“A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind. This one a long time have I watched. All his life has he looked away… to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was.”

- Yoda

This is our reality.

We are a culture of “more.”

And I have a feeling this is the cause of a lot of mental health problems we currently deal with in our society.

It’s hard because people we respect and admire on social media encourage us to chase “more.”

Don’t listen to them.

I don’t care how many Bugattis they have. I don’t know about you, but if I had enough money to afford a few Bugattis, I wouldn’t be posting anything on social media.

I’d be living my best life.

I’d be eating tacos at a local taco stand or something.