Josh Gessner Profile picture
Aug 12 19 tweets 5 min read Read on X
Most people are unhappy.

So, I've spent 100 hours studying Naval Ravikant over 2 years .

What I found?

Naval's Happiness Theory: Image
Happiness is a skill that can be learned.

Over the years, Naval went from a 2/10 to 9/10 in happiness.

"Happiness... is a highly personal skill that can be learned, like fitness or nutrition.
Happiness is a choice.

Nature has no concept of happiness or unhappiness.

You’re born, you have a whole set of sensory experiences and then you die.

How you choose to interpret them is up to you - its your choice.
Happiness is when nothing is missing.

It's when you remove the sense that something is missing from your life.

We constantly walk around thinking:

"I need this, I need that"

Which keeps us trapped in unhappiness.
Happiness is the absence of desire.

"Desire is a contract you make with yourself until you get what you want."

We go about our lives desiring things all day long and wonder why we're unhappy.

One overwhelming desire, let go of everything else.
Happiness is presence.

A very small percentage of our brain is focused on the present.

Most of the time, its worry about the future or regretting the past.

This is what makes being grateful so hard.
Happiness is total insignificance of self.

The universe doesn't conform to your desires.

We're insignificant bacteria in the vast universe.

Life is just the way it is. And accepting that - brings peace.
Happiness is peace.

During moments of great pleasure:

• kite-surfing
• laughing with a friend
• looking at an incredible sunset

Your mind goes silent.

You're at peace.
Happiness is less anxiety

Anxiety is a series of running thoughts, the constant chattering of the mind.

How Naval combats anxiety:

“Would I rather be having this thought right now, or would I rather have my peace?”
Happiness is in the mind.

The mind is as malleable as the body.

We try to change the external world, all while neglecting our minds.

"Memory and identity are burdens from the past preventing us from living freely in the present."
Happiness is not success.

We all encounter hedonic adaptation: we quickly get used to anything.

Happiness is separate from your external situation.

"The idea you’re going to change the outside world, to bring you peace, everlasting joy, and happiness is a delusion"
Happiness is destroyed by envy.

Envy is poison that can eat you alive if you let it follow you around.

"If you’re not willing to do a wholesale, 24/7, 100 percent swap with who that person is, then there is no point in being jealous."
Happiness is built by habits.

• Meditation
• Eliminate desires
• Spend your time learning, earning or relaxing.

"Essentially, you have to go through your life replacing your thoughtless bad habits with good ones"
Happiness is acceptance

We don’t always get what we want, but sometimes what is happening is for the best.

The sooner you can accept it as reality:

The sooner you can adapt to it, and find peace.
Happiness is embracing death.

You’re going to die one day, and none of this is going to matter.

"Enjoy yourself. Do something positive. Project some love. Make someone happy. Laugh a little bit. Appreciate the moment."
Happiness is all there is.

There is no legacy.

There’s nothing to leave.

We’re all going to be gone.

Our children will be gone.

"In the grand scheme of things, the Universe has been around for ten billion years. It’ll be around for another ten billion years."
Happiness is a responsibility.

Our lives are a blink of an eye firefly in the night.

We need to take advantage of the time we have here.

We have the responsibility to be happy for the small amount of time we have.
If you enjoyed this or learned something:

1. Retweet this thread to someone it might help

2. Follow me @GessnerJosh for more writing like this.
These insights came from @naval and The Almanack of Naval Ravikant.

navalmanack.com/almanack-of-na…

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More from @GessnerJosh

Aug 8
Lessons I learned after struggling with the yips for 3 years:

1. It's not that you don't have feel - you're just a b*tch.
Yes - you might've lost feel for the ball.

But blaming it on feel doesn't help.

The yips are a mental issue - caused by your fears, anxieties and insecurities.

Recognize that, take responsibility, and your throwing will improve.
2. You're not 1 cue away.

The trap I fell into was thinking I just needed 1 cue to cure the yips.

I experimented with everything - Glove hand, arm slot, mechanics...

What I didn't know - there was a deeper mental issue.
Read 13 tweets
Jul 26
This is Ben Patrick.

The man behind KneesOverToesGuy.

He's revolutionizing training for athletic performance, mobility and longevity.

Here's 7 of my favorite lower body exercises (that you have to start doing): Image
1. ATG Split Squat

Yeah... it looks weird.

But it'll bullet-proof your knees and increase mobility at the same time.

Goal is to do your BW for 10 reps.
2. Flat Nordic Curls

One of the best exercises for sprinting speed.

From NHL, NFL, track athletes... all use the nordic to train their hamstring power.

Goal is 5 reps from a dead stop.
Read 11 tweets
Jul 24
This is Willie Calhoun.

He went from getting cut, visiting death row to becoming an 8 yr MLB player...

All while being one of the shortest players in the league.

Here's his comeback story (that you need to hear): Image
There he was. San Quentin State Prison.

Home to the largest death row facility in the United States.

The stories were true. It was terrifying.
As he followed the guard, an apple flew from above and cracked him in the head.

The inmates roared with laughter.

Yup.

After these eight hours, life would never be the same.
Read 20 tweets
Jul 22
In 2019, I was plagued by the 'Yips'.

For 3 years, I struggled with the crazy phenomenon.

Here's what it is (and how to overcome it):
The yips are a phenomenon that leads to the sudden inability to throw accurately.

Its attacked the careers of many baseball players.

• Jon Lester
• Daniel Bard
• Steve Blass

Most famously Rick Ankiel:
He played in the MLB as a 20 yr old, and was considered a rising star.

This came to an end during the 2000 post season... Image
Read 26 tweets
Jul 20
This is Mason Miller.

He went from Division III and Type 1 Diabetes to sitting 100mph in the MLB .

Yet - most don't know how he got there.

Here's his behind the scenes story (that you need to hear): Image
"He should be in a coma — or dead."

Instead, he set the record for the fastest pitch in an MLB All-Star game.

But... how did he get here?
Growing up, Miller dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player.

But he didn’t see success until his junior year of high school.

By that point, reality started to sink in...
Read 21 tweets
Jul 18
This is George Mumford.

The man behind Kobe Bryant's legacy.

He taught Kobe a technique that helped him win 5 NBA Championships...

Here's the technique: Image
Every morning, Kobe performed a zen technique:

Mindfulness meditaion.

And this... helped him enter 'the zone'. Image
Kobe called it being in 'the zone'.

He feels supreme confidence.

Every shot feels like it goes in.

He's fully present and focused on the task at hand.
Read 18 tweets

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