I have met people from all walks of life. I have met millionares and people living on benefits. I have met people who are doing fine, and people in deep depressions. I have met people that grew up in a strict household, and I have met people who had to raise themselves.

However, I have found one primary way to gauge how happy people are.

Are they doing something that they consider meaningful?

It doesn't have to be their main source of income, it can just be a hobby, but it has to meaningful for them.

Boredom

For us youngsters that grew up in the time of the internet, we have been very protected from boredom. We have always had access to stimuli. Even if you didn't have a brick of doom smartphone, you could hamper boredom with a dumb phone. While waiting for the bus, you could play a game of snake.

Humans are hard wired to find stimuli, in the same way we are hard wired to eat energy dense food, and hard wired to try to fit in. However, in todays post-scarcity, these forces aren't as helpful anymore — actually they tend to be counter productive.

Can you imagine yourself sitting in a silent room, with no stimuli, for an hour? This shouldn'te be a insurmountable task, but it still seems so. This isn't your fault, but you can do something about it. Your brain isn't broken.

You could just as well imagine if you were a nudist for a year. Wearing clothes after that would be really weird, uncomfortable and itchy. But in no way would it be insurmountable to start wearing clothes again?

Happiness

But who cares about boredom? Boredom is something negative, and should be avoided. Even if scrolling can't give you happiness, it can still hamper boredom, and that is comfortable.

Now I'm not going to hype up boredom being a cure-all, other people have done that and have more data to prove it. However, I would like to point out that neither boredom nor mindless scrolling gives you any meaning. However, boredom gives some you agency and motivation to do something meaningful. When you are bored, you will find motivation to work on your hobbies. When you are bored, you suddenly have a lot of time to use. Scrolling provides neither of these.

What is meaningful then?

Well that depends on you as a person. My political value consider local resiliency and keeping money local as good things. Hence, I value local art and crafts. A relative of mine finds meaning in painting, and I can proudly say that many of their paintings live on my walls.

I find value in doing things myself, even if they aren't great when compared to others. I paint with hand-me-downs and Ali Express brushes. I am proud of some of my paintings, even if they are nowhere near what my relative makes. But I find value in it, because the result isnt what is important, I guess it's the feeling of improving myself that drives me, along with a strong leniency towards myself. Doing something poorly is infinetly better than not doing it at all.

I guess that I am in a financially stable enough position that most of my meaning comes from sharing and participating in the human experience. I love reading blogs, instead of social media. I specifically find the lack of comments a necessary limitation, quick discussions and fast quips arent meaningful.

Here is a quickfire list of other things I have done that I felt was meaningful

• (Failing to) Make soap from scratch
• Produce my own firewood
• Every now and then, cook something more impressive
• Keep my old 60's family sedan rolling
• Supporting local artisans
• Code on my own hobby projects, however small and janky they may be
• Join the local volunteer firebrigade

Quality of life only gets you so far

To be happy, you need your base needs fulfilled. However, after that, you quickly fall down the "status spiral". Most of the things I consider meaningful are cheap, and generally don't use too much time. Whenever I see people who actually use social media, especially those who are very invested in it, it seems like everything they strive for is to improve their image.

Modern social media promotes comparing yourself to others. When you try something new, comparing yourself to others is a surefire way to fail, especially if you compare yourself to people who actually post it on social media.

Modern social media also promotes the mindless consumerism we struggle with today. Remind yourself that your status, image and wealth isnt what gives you meaning, it simply hampers your boredom and desire for meaning. Go achieve something meaningful instead!