Seven ways to be miserable, and how to avoid them
by Mark Frauenfelder from on (#2RCZ3)
People often do things that make them miserable. CPG Grey presents seven of the most effective misery makers:
- Stay still - don't go outside, don't exercise.
- Screw with your sleep - vary your bedtime and sleep in a day or two a week. Never sleep or wake up at the same time.
- Maximize your screentime - let the screen keep you awake. Let a screen be the first thing you look at when you wake up.
- Use your screen to stoke your negative emotions - feed your anxiety and anger about things over which you have no control.
- Set v.a.p.i.d. goals - vague, amorphous, pie-in-the-sky, irrelevant, delayed. Do not set s.m.a.r.t. goals, which are specific, measurable, actionable, (goals for which you are) responsible, time-bounded.
- Pursue happiness directly - Expect that unending bliss is possible.
- Follow your instincts - do what makes you immediately happy even when you know it will make you sadder in the long run.
The video is based on Randy Paterson's book, How to Be Miserable: 40 Strategies You Already Use.