5 Common Beliefs that Can Subtly Screw You Over

The issue with this statement is with our definition of "fair." We do not know how much one person suffers and whether it's more or less than we do. We also don't know whether something we find terrible today isn't life's greatest gift ten years from now.

There are things in life we can control and things we can't. Put your time and energy towards those things you can control.

"More is better" is a trap we fall into even though most people understand that materialism and conspicuous consumption are really empty pursuits. We want to travel more, see more, do more, more friends, more options, more, more, more.

More options tend to make us more unhappy instead of happier. We have to focus on a handful of pursuits and people and focus on them passionately.

Goals are great to have. You will be aimless without them. But goals do have some dangers. At times we become so obsessed with our goals that we sacrifice other parts of our life. And when we achieve our goals, if we're too invested in them, we feel empty afterwards.

Goals cannot make you happy. Goals are a means to an end, not an end in themselves. They are only supposed to give some direction.

Self-improvement has one dangerous drawback: the sense that it's accomplishing something can become a low-level addition. In the process, it will gut your emotional life.

The most meaningful moments in life do not show up on your calendar or to-do list. There is often value in doing something that provides no value. Drink a beer, laugh with a friend, talk to your kid, read a book, then sleep a little too late.

We can never be 100% right about anything. There is always room for improvement. If your dating life is a continuous disaster, consider your beliefs about relationships, for example, believing that people are only interested in relationships for what they can get out of it. Or, if you're continually overspending, consider your beliefs about money.

If you keep running into the same problems over and over again in your life, it's probably time to update your beliefs.