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How should we manage changes in fortune? - Coggle Diagram
How should we manage changes in fortune?
Money doesn't buy happiness
Aristotle: "The life of money-making is one undertaken under compulsion, and wealth is evidently not the good we are seeking: for it is merely useful and for the sake of something else"
Duhigg: When he reconnects with his classmates at a reunion who had gotten prestigious jobs, they seemed miserabe.
Specifically, when he refers to the person who invests $5M a day and makes $1.2M a year, he uses him as an example to emphasize purpose. He thinks to himself, "When I die, is anyone going to care that I earned an extra percentage point of return?"
Is this a valid question to ask yourself to see if your life is fulfilling? "What will my legacy be when I die?"
Confucius: When comparing the junzi and the small man; "The junzi comprehends according to right, the small man comprehends according to profit"
Chasing happiness doesn't work
Ettison: Fell into a deep depression when he asks himself whether he would be happy if all his goals were achieved. He answered "No" and all he felt like he had no purpose anymore.
References the hedonic treadmilll and Schopenhauer's idea of a swinging prendulum between pain and boredom
Ben-Shahar: Mentions how people who directly pursue happiness often become less happy and more prone to depression.
References the metaphor of the sun, where if you look at the sun directly it's going to hurt your eyes. Instead, we should view life as a continuous matter and lifelong journey.
Brooks: References college students like us who have been chasing happiness through getting into an elite college, finding a "good" job, etc.
In reality, as the Harvard student said, "you jump through this huge hoop of getting into Harvard, and you just want to jump through more to get this adrenaline going again"
Embracing the uncomfortable and reframing setbacks/struggles as a means of getting stronger, rather than weaker
Ben-Shahar: "There are only two kinds of people who do not experience painful emotions. The first kind are the psychopaths. The second kind are dead." Alludes to the fact that painful emotions are inevitable and necessary to growth.
Antifragility: As opposed to resilience, which is just bouncing back to where you were, antifragility means growing stronger from pressure. ex) muscles when working out
Duhigg: Personal annecdote of being rejected from every elite firm he applied to. When he went into journalism, he said that the rejections saved him. Having a "smooth" life path is not always what brings us satisfaction.
Aurelius: When facing a setback, accept the"obstacle itself" cheerfully and turn to "what's feasible instead."
All three aspects say that good fortune itself can't be the foundation of a happy life. Based on this module's readings, wealth and status turn out to be empty, and reaching the goals we chase leaves us unsatisfied or hungry for the next one. In my opinion, the best way to handle changes in fortune is to stop tying our happiness to outcome. Instead, we can treat setbacks and discomfort as chances to grow.