Optimizing for Happiness.

Posted on December 22, 2023

The age old question that secretly lives in the back of every post-adolescents mind:

“Should I spend my money now to enjoy my youth, or should I save my money to set myself up for later in life?”

If you are anything like me, you have had this debate more than a few times with yourself. Sometimes I envy the people that travel the world in a van and live off of ramen and cereal. After all, I am a firm believer that there is always money to be made. So, why not enjoy the money now?

When it comes to answering this question, the most reasonable response is, “Somewhere in the middle. It’s about balance!” Yes, everything in life requires balance. However, you can’t actually experience the benefits of either option if you aren’t fully embracing that identity. This is especially true for late adolescents (18-23). I believe the solution isn’t as simple as “balance.” Let me explain.

If you’re not intentionally avoiding any unnecessary expenses and saving every penny, you won’t have maximized your potential gains in the future. At the same time, if you aren’t spending all your money to enjoy life in your youth, you won’t have maximized your experiences and fully created lasting memories.

Then, if the answer isn’t as simple as “balance,” then what is it?

The answer is to optimize for happiness throughout your entire life.

In order to optimize for happiness across the course of an entire lifetime, we must effectively understand how we personally value the different areas of our life. Whether you value friendships, sports, music, travelling, or anything else — to optimize for happiness is to allocate the appropriate amount of time, energy, and resources to these areas.

For me, I value building relationships and travelling the world above most things. So what does optimizing for happiness look like for me?

Well, I know that spending $1,000 to visit a foreign country with my friends would return me more happiness than having the extra $1,000 when I am 45. I also know that investing an extra $1,000 now will provide more happiness when I am 45 than spending $1,000 on clothes while I’m young.

It looks different for everyone.

As you can see, we must fundamentally understand what we value most in life, what it is we want to achieve, and why. Otherwise, we will never be able to accurately allocate our efforts toward these areas.

For the people my age travelling the world in a van — they clearly value exploring the world more at a young age than they value becoming financially free by 30….and that is totally fine, because that is what they value most. It is important to keep in mind that the way we value certain areas may change overtime. But, if we reallocate our resources as these new areas present themselves, we will still have optimized for happiness in the long run.

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the author of “Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience” talks about how there is a common misunderstanding around what creates “happiness.” We often visualize happiness as being on a beach somewhere with our feet kicked up enjoying a cold drink. However, research shows that happiness derives from anything that causes us to be in the moment.

When we feel present and in the moment, we enter this state of “flow.” Some of us experience a flow state when playing the guitar for hours on end. Others may experience flow state when they are reading a companies quarterly financial statements. Regardless of what it is, happiness occurs in these moments of flow (hint: they are usually things that are in some way challenging). Like I said, it looks different for everyone.

Life is short.

Think deeply about what it is you want most out of this life, then do that. Don’t wait any longer. No one is coming to pull you into this new reality you want to achieve. When you look back on your life, you will want to have a collection of memories and experiences that are spent with those you love. The best part is, you are in control.

It’s about “who” and “how,” not “what” and “where.”

Oftentimes, it doesn’t even matter what we are doing or where we are, but who we are doing it with and how we are doing it.

Surround yourself with people you care about and love. Do work that you care about, and do this work wholeheartedly. Be grateful for what you have, and the opportunities to come. Gratitude is one of the greatest influencers of self peace - your external environment will never stop changing, but as long as you are the person you want to be, none of that will matter. Start to optimize for happiness.