Unsatisfied: a Whole Generation of Envious Folks

Some days ago I had a chat with one of my friends. “Ah, lucky you! You live in Malta, where you can go to the seaside 356 days per year!” he wrote me. I looked outside the window and it was so windy and so cloudy you could tell you were in Sweden, not in a little island in the middle of the Mediterranean sea. And no, I wasn’t in my bikini, working from a wonderful beach. I was in my flat, wearing a warm sweater and working on my laptop. Of course, if you check my Instagram profile, my life seems amazing: travels, outdoor activities, very high quality food, breathtaking panoramas. And even on Facebook I don’t use to post pictures of me while staying at home in my worst outfit and trying to find my to-do list among the stack of sheets of paper I have on the kitchen desk. Of course I don’t. And nobody does.

So, when you scroll your social media’s home you can see just the best side of everyone’s life. The mean girl you used to hate during high school has now an handsome boyfriend and a fairy tale-like love story (no matter if they fight everyday because of jealousy). Your chubby desk-mate at the primary school is now a cool PR who drives a very expensive BMW (no matter if he has still some traumas of bullysm he suffered during his childhood). And, worst of all, you can read also a lot of inspiring stories of strangers who travel a lot, found famous social enterprises and live in places where you’ve never been neither for a small holiday break. “Hey, Internet: Stop Trying to Inspire Me” is a piece of art that describes this feeling of I-want-more-because-other-people-have-more.

This is a little guide to be happy of your life, even if you think it’s sucks compared to your social media’s friends.

Do what you love, and you’ll never work another day in your life

We are thought we should follow our passions and transform them in our job, so we will be happy. If you have a “normal” job, you cannot be happy and you cannot have a real impact on the world, which makes your life worthless and frustrating. That’s not true. I mean, high five if you manage to do so, but if you don’t you can be happy anyway.

Near my home, there is this little shop dedicated to animals and plants run by an old man. I’ve never seen a client inside the shop and he used to wait all day for a customer. But when it turns 6 in the evening, he starts playing electric guitar in the shop and he seems the happiest person in the world. Now he’s looking for a drummer and a bassist to found a jazz band. (Please apply, if you’re in Malta right now!). Do what you love — even just during your spare time — and you will be happy no matter what job you have.

Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer

It’s a lie. After one month and a half travelling, my bank account can tell you the truth. I know that is “richer” in terms of experiences and openmindness, but still, I can understand if somebody can’t or doesn’t want to travel. And if you’ve never been in Thailand or in Costa Rica, it’s totally fine.

One of my best friends lives all her life in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, which is a very small region in the north-east of Italy, between Austria and Slovenia, and she’s still discovering wonderful hiding places just an hour by car from her home. Every weekend she sends me such breathtaking photos of her outdoor activities that also a global traveler would be envious of her small trips.

If your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough

I was one of that people who wanted to become the first Italian female Prime Minister, I didn’t manage to be elected yet (and I’d like to think that it’s just because I’ve never joined a party :P). The fact is that sometimes if your dreams are too big and you don’t reach them, you will feel useless.

Think about how to divide your big dream into smaller ones you can easily reach in your way to realize your big big big dream, so even if you are just in the middle of your path, you’ll be happy anyway. Of course, if you take a look at the articles about successful people doing great stuff you can see just that they reached the top, but you don’t how.

Once, I interviewed this young guy, who sold his startup to Facebook. He told me that some months before signing this big deal, he was so poor he lived in a so tiny room without any window that after 8 hours of sleeping inside it he was obliged to leave it because he could barely breath. Dream big, but dream also small, so you can be strong to do the next step. And remember that behind every good story you read there are a series of depressing moments that probably you’ll never know.