Scarcity Brain: Fix Your Craving Mindset and Rewire Your Habits to Thrive with Enough

by Michael Easter

When we ask ourselves, “Do I want to be right or happy?” we take the long view and insert perspective into the equation. But we can also bend the question. It could be “do I want to look good or be happy?” Or “do I want to one-up this person or be happy?” Or “do I want to be right or be a good friend, co-worker, or significant other?” And on and on. Play with it. Choosing the latter option can be uncomfortable in the immediate short term (we’re fighting against our pit bull brain). But over time, it has a way of dissolving the bullshit that causes our everyday suffering. And when bullshit dissolves, it becomes fertilizer, bringing growth. “Do I want to be right or happy?” can even give us perspective and clarity to see another important fact: We probably aren’t right in most arguments. And neither is the other side. Time changes our worldviews. Most of us can look back on past arguments and realize that there are very few where we were totally, undeniably, universally right. We overreact more than we underreact—another tendency that helped us survive in the past. Like a smoke alarm. It rings the same whether the smoke is from lightly burnt microwave popcorn or a massive blaze.