Happiness Doesn’t Need to Wait (Or Why I Got Netflix)

Yesterday I spoke about the fact that personal development is a subtractive process, not an additive one, and that often times, it’s the things we don’t do that are more powerful than the things we do.

Today I wanted to continue that theme by talking about the fact that the idea goes beyond the physical realm of actions we take or stuff we eliminate.

More specifically, it includes the stories we tell ourselves.

One of the most common stories that follow this trend, and one that I suffer from regularly, is the feeling that we need to first struggle and suffer a little before we can enjoy the benefits or rewards.

Now that might sound pretty harmless on the surface, but if you really think about it, adopting this kind of belief means we’ll never truly be satisfied since there’s always going to be a new target to aim for.

And if scarcity is where we come from, scarcity is what we’re gonna get.

The answer, I believe, lies in not only enjoying the process (another major life coach cliche!) but also allowing ourselves to experience and enjoy the rewards for our hard work already.

Which brings me to Netflix…

See, before, I prided myself on never watching TV, preferring to use every hour either working, working out, spending time with my family, or eating.

I had this story that if I was watching TV, it meant I was wasting time I could have been using somewhere else more constructively.

Which, obviously, is BS.

But then I began noticing that some of the people I admire like Robin Sharma were mentioning documentaries that were only available on Netflix.

It was like a little lightbulb came on.

Two major realizations came to mind:

1. I could give myself permission to experience joy NOW; I didn’t need to wait.
2. Things like Netflix, just like social media, are just tools. It’s up to us how we decide to use them.

With that in mind, I signed up for Netflix and Spotify premium 🙂

That second point above is important. Yes, I could choose to spend all day on the couch watching series instead of focusing on the next important task for my business. Or, I could choose to leverage it as another tool that supports my growth:

• I’ve saved a bunch of documentaries on people I admire and want to learn more about.
• I’ve discovered new music that raises my mood and energy (and paying to remove ads!)
• We’ve created Family Fridays where we order pizza and watch a movie as a family.
• My wife and I found a series to watch as an extra way to spend time together.
• And I’ve given myself permission that it’s okay to take some time out NOW, before reaching my goals.

Two lessons I wanna leave with you today.

First, you don’t HAVE to struggle and suffer before enjoying some rewards or experiencing happiness.

And second, everything is just a tool which you get to decide how to use.