Instagram/@chriswillx
This infamous clip of Williamson sharing an insight he had gained from Naval Ravikant left people questioning accepted truths about life. It says in the viral post: Williamson describing how he realized, while with someone in Thailand, “Someone has to be the happiest person in the world, so why not be that person?”
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The transcript captures Williamson expressing that happiness is purely a matter of choice and not a final achievement. In fact, one potential fear of being happy might deter other people in their ambition, meaningful only if their success is meaningful for themselves. Another famous quotation from this viral clip very summarizingly expresses the same construct: “We sacrifice the thing we want for the thing that’s supposed to get it,” which means success gets picked by people instead of happiness.
These words began a plethora of comment conversations. One merged the ideas into “Happiness is an inside job,” while another attributed their own experience with manifesting happiness to better days. The reposter @groomforwealth was thrilled at being able to experience happiness in the here and now.
Yet not everybody agreed wholeheartedly with the statement. One commenter refuted the statement by saying, “Happiness is not the goal,” thus setting off a slight debate as to what really matters in life. Another chimed in from a philosophical perspective, stating capitalism programs individuals into believing unhappiness is necessary at a motivation; conversely, kids, and are naturally happy.
The oddest of the bunch probably was the one reading, “Everyday there’s someone that takes the biggest shit in the world,” thus insinuating maybe all human experiences and bodily functions run along a continuum.
Many expressed love for the wisdom shared, one describing it as their favorite podcast episode; many mentioned specific insights they resonated with and urged for more content about Naval Ravikant, as multiple users requested that Williamson bring him back.
This conversation is interesting because it is a counterbalance to the old-school aphorism about success and happiness. This story that Williamson recounts about meeting a man who declared the conscious decision to be the happiest man in the world serves as a reminder that mindset comes before reality. With a deep dive into psychological constructs, it manages to stay tangible and practical.
The popularity of this post speaks to the hunger the masses have for such counterintuitive happiness literacy. In a world that equates success as suffering, being able to choose happiness and still hold onto one’s drive becomes an emancipating perspective for reconciliation. Surely, these concepts resonating with people at various stages up their journey into self-growth, is evident in the comments.
The conversation has become interruptive in the very thinking about happiness treatment that has either raised uproar or leaves us in disbelief. This clip getting even virus-worthy gives us a pointer to the fact that the hunger amongst people is still raging towards finding newer concepts that seek to reconcile careers and well-being.
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Moreover, anxiety and its impacts can challenge one’s perception of happiness, making discussions like this increasingly relevant today.