Somewhere between avocado toasts, 2x speed podcasts, and scrolling past 23 reels about how to “manifest millions,” we’ve become deeply, existentially miserable. Not sad. Not tired. But chronically discontent — like there’s a default setting on our souls that reads: “meh.”
And no, it’s not just the economy (although, yeah, paying $7 for a tomato doesn’t exactly spark joy). This is bigger. It’s psychological. It’s generational. It’s… trending.
It’s 2025 and we are drowning in mental clutter. Ironically, we have more access to knowledge, therapy apps, yoga poses, and guided meditations than ever before — and yet we feel worse. Why? Because we spend more time trying to look fine online than to actually be fine offline.
Social media didn’t just change how we communicate. It changed how we evaluate ourselves. In real life, if you got a haircut and one friend said “Nice,” that was a win. Now if your post doesn’t get 97 likes in the first ten minutes, you spiral into an existential crisis.
And then there’s this new cultural hobby: blaming everyone else for our unhappiness. Politicians. Successful people. Our parents. That guy from high school who now sells protein powder and crypto dreams. It’s always someone else’s fault. Meanwhile, personal responsibility has quietly left the group chat.
We live in a time where “hustle” is preached, but effort is optional. Everyone wants the win. Few want the work. Free stuff is glorified. Courses, advice, exposure — yes please. Actual commitment? Maybe next week, after I realign my chakras and rewatch The Office for the 8th time.
Take fitness, for example. Used to be: “I need to exercise.” Now it’s: “What’s my body type? Maybe I’m an ‘emotional sprinter’ with inherited cortisol.” Translation: I’m not going to move, but I’ll spend 40 minutes researching it.
We’re overwhelmed, not because we’re doing too much, but because we’re feeling too much — about things we can’t control. Global politics? Yup. AI taking over jobs? Sure. That celebrity breakup we pretend not to care about? Absolutely.
Meanwhile, the stuff we can change — our routines, our habits, our mindset, the fact that we haven’t drunk water since Tuesday — gets overlooked. We have full-blown breakdowns over the future of the planet, but can’t bring ourselves to take out the trash.
And that’s the heart of it. We’re miserable because we spend more time worrying about what we can’t change than doing something about what we can. We let algorithm-fed doom loops hijack our focus, while the actual work that could make us happier — showing up, learning a skill, being present — sits untouched, like a salad at a pizza buffet.
If we want to be less miserable, maybe we need fewer productivity hacks and more personal accountability. Less time yelling at the system, more time fixing our schedule. Less comparing, more creating. Less blame, more effort.
Or at the very least… drink some water, log off Instagram, and go for a walk. That’s not everything — but it’s a start.
Thanks for tuning in. I’ll see you in the next one.
