Happiness, desires, values, and environments

“Desire is a contract that you make with yourself to be unhappy until you get what you want,” Naval Ravikant wrote. Sheryl Crow famously sang, “It’s not having what you want/It’s wanting what you’ve got.” Being happy with what you have is a reliable way to find happiness. The problem is it’s not so easy to shape this sense of satisfaction. Companies collectively spend over a trillion dollars to shape your desires and persuade you to make change. People are constantly on social media influencing each other. A saying attributed to Arthur Schopenhauer goes, “A man can do as he will, but not will as he will.” Rene Girard’s mimetic theory suggests that you want what the people around you want. One solution is to figure out what your core values are—your authentic desires—and to focus on taking action that aligns with them. Still, an awareness of your conscious values may clash with your unconscious desires. The key to alignment is in your physical and social environment. If you can shape…