Jimmy Carr nailed something a lot of us feel but can’t explain.
We’re living better than 99.9% of humans who ever walked the earth, hot showers, modern medicine, endless entertainment, kids that actually survive infancy, yet so many of us feel miserable.
He calls it “life dysmorphia.” We get used to how good we have it (the hedonic treadmill), then compare ourselves to everyone else and tank our own happiness.
As he puts it: happiness = quality of life minus envy.
Marcus Aurelius put it perfectly: “Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself in your way of thinking.”
When was the last time you caught yourself feeling unhappy despite objectively having it pretty damn good?