What If This Were Enough?: Essays

by Heather Havrilesky

Capitalism is exquisitely designed to remind us at every turn that not only is our happiness contingent on our ability to purchase more stuff, but our inability to do so makes our unhappiness all but guaranteed.

Being capable and productive feels somewhat beside the point these days. Either you’re popular, and therefore exciting and successful and a winner, or you’re unpopular, and therefore unimportant and invisible and devoid of redeeming value.

As attention and popularity start to feel more important than ever but also, somehow, cheaper and emptier than ever, maybe it’s time for more of us to savor the luxury of remaining mysterious, of staying hidden.

But a vast swath of white Americans seemed more in touch with some fantasy in their heads than they were with reality. At least this way, something exciting will happen, they seemed to say.

It requires conscious effort not to waste your life swimming furiously against the tide, toward some imaginary future that will never make you happy anyway.

Many of us learn to construct a clear and precise vision of what we want, but we’re never taught how to enjoy what we actually have.

We have to recognize that when we feel conflicted and sick about our place in the world, that’s often true because our world was built to sell us things and to make us feel inadequate and needy.