Focus On Your Life Satisfaction Score

I wrote about jealousy yesterday, and I wanted to explore the idea in today’s post a little more and also introduce an interesting concept- Life Satisfaction Score.

Why do we suffer from feelings of jealousy?

As humans, we are all driven by the need for appreciation, admiration, and respect of family, friends, workplace, and society.

We satisfy our need for the admiration and appreciation of others through a set of external markers. We develop skills, work hard, create wealth, and try to look good.

Ironically, the very trait we want to be admired for matters less than the admiration itself. That Six Pack Ab matters less than the admiration of people around. Admiration is the currency we all dance for, and when we see someone with more of this currency, we become envious, jealous.

Desiring the appreciation of others is inherently not a bad thing. It is this desire that pushes us to act and achieve. We challenge ourselves to do something special, noteworthy, praiseworthy.

But sometimes, this desire for external validation becomes a core value that overwhelms everything else in our lives. We get into a false premise of success at all costs. We sacrifice our mental peace and relationships and make life choices that lead to regret, shame, broken relationships, and loneliness.

Life Satisfaction Score

I came across this lovely concept to explain the relationship between choices we make and our life satisfaction score. It looks like this.

Wealth, success, fame, and all those things we pursue are merely the numerator of our life equation. If our life denominator- shame, regret, unhappiness, loneliness- is too large, our life satisfaction score ends up being tiny and worthless even if all the material markers are there in abundance.

It is silly to selectively look at something someone has and feel jealous when you don’t know anything about the other person’s life satisfaction score. Instead, focus on your satisfaction score. If you are enjoying a positive number there, you are probably the source of envy for others around you.

To be truly successful in the game of life, we should optimize our life satisfaction score.