Run. Run faster. You’re almost 40 and you haven’t achieved enough. Everyone running this race is ahead of you. Look to the left – that woman has more money. She has a bigger job. She owns two properties. Look to your right – that man has published three books and started two businesses. He has his own podcast. I heard he’s worth $12 million, and he’s only 35...
There are three levels of happiness. The first level is reached through pleasure. We eat, drink, or experience something that feels good and we’re rewarded with dopamine. This level of happiness is CHEMICAL. The second level is reached through narrative. We look at our job, our achievements (or perceived lack thereof), our family life…and we tell ourselves a story about it all. A story of...
When you wake up with a toothache, you’re miserable. All you want is to NOT have a toothache. But when you wake up without a toothache, are you full of joy for not having a toothache? Probably not. When you have a toothache you’re a -10, and when you DON’T have a toothache, you’re just a 0. What a bad deal, huh? It’s like walking into a casino and playing a game that has no upside and...
I was sitting on a curb down a narrow alley in Kolkata. I’d befriended a young local who lived in the slums and had asked him what his favorite food was. “Whatever I get, I eat.” The moment I heard his answer I realized just how privileged the question was. I had a lot to learn about the line between necessity and luxury. Choice, favorites, preferences. These are all luxuries. It also occurred to...
Life is a puzzle. This weekend I got to put this puzzle together with my 3-year old niece. It may only be a 9-piece puzzle but when you factor in that she wanted to break it up and put it back together again 27 times it turned out to be quite the project. What struck me most was how excited she was every time she found a piece that fit. What started as a confusing pile of pieces slowly began to...
Rest In Peace. Rest. In peace. Isn’t that what we all want? To be able to rest…in peace? It’s ironic that these are the words we put on the graves of the dead. It’s as if our collective belief is that we can only reach this state when life is over. Instead of writing “Rest In Peace” on the graves of the dead I’d like to start writing it on the t-shirts of the living. I want people to know...
How many lives do you have? We’re told that we only have one life, and that we’d better make the most of it. As the story goes, we’re born and then we die. The time in between is our one life. But look a little closer. Are you sure that you’re born just once? Are you sure that you die just once? Put a photo of you at 5 years old next to a photo of you today. Are you that 5 year old? Do you still...
