Don’t Have Too Many Open Contracts

A few weeks back, I came across this riveting quote by Naval Ravikant that was very profound. It reads, ” desire is a contract that you make with yourself to be unhappy until you get what you want.”

Inspiration, like lightning, strikes in an instant. When I read this quote, It felt like an epiphany. This quote clarified in my mind a frame of reference to understand and process the source of any anxiety or unhappiness I may be experiencing anytime.

Now, when I am unhappy about something, I look for the trigger of an underlying desire that may be the source of my distress.

Work desire, personal desire, material desire, and relationship desire- We pile up a list of our wants and in the process we increase our dissatisfaction and lack of fulfilment. These wants are like open contracts that we are constantly rushing to close and they create a sense of anxiety and imbalance.

This constant desire for something is natural human nature and there is no sense in trying to do something that goes against our human nature. Instead a smarter idea is to choose our desires consciously and carefully. Instead of having too many open contracts, operate with one or two desires that you are willing to fight for at any time.