I’ve been an avid reader my whole life. Audiobooks and journals have only made this enjoyment easier. One of my guilty pleasures is listening to The Economist on audio, on their app, weekly.
Reading is the secret to contentment, I have discovered. When you read, especially journals such as The Economist or even Medium, you are constantly given new paradigms of the world.
And because happiness is determined by wins and losses from a neutral starting point, reading becomes the ultimate reset button.
So, as an example, let’s say I’m a person with $1 million, and I lose half on a bad investment. Now I’m sad because I only have $500,000.
But what if I’m a person with 20 grand, and someone gifts me 30 grand? Now I’m happy because I have $50,000.
As you can see, you can imagine a situation where you are sad with $500,000; and another situation where you are happy with $50,000. This is because, as mentioned earlier, happiness is determined by wins and losses from a neutral starting point.
Now, the reality is that both the winner and loser are fools in their game. As the loser is experiencing despair, and the winner is experiencing vanity, that will ultimately turn to despair at an inevitable eventual loss. We all die in the end.
So therefore, contentment is achieved by resetting to a neutral starting point as soon as possible after either a win or a loss. Reading aids in this reset.
By constantly reading, especially journalism, you will find certain paradigms that bring you hope during times of loss. And other paradigms that bring you humility during times of gain. It is the person who constantly reads who can reset their disposition to contentment.
