Last month, I got rid of a bad habit without even intended to.
I deleted Facebook from my phone before a trip, as my phone was running low on storage. At the same time, I also started reading sci-fi fiction for the first time in years. I stopped scrolling in the evenings. Got genuinely hooked on a story about a fictional future society that has absolutely nothing to do with my morning routine, my goals, or my nervous system.
It felt slightly wrong at first.
“Shouldn’t I be doing something useful with this time?”
That voice. The one that turns a walk into a cardiovascular investment, a conversation into a networking opportunity, a book into a self-improvement vehicle. I’d been listening to it for so long I’d forgotten it was optional.
Today in 4 minutes or less, you’ll learn:
✔️ Why doing things purely for enjoyment feels uncomfortable – and what that discomfort is actually telling you
✔️ The difference between preparing for a life and living one
✔️ One small permission to give yourself this week
Doable ideas 💭
This week, do one thing with zero ROI.
Not a walk because Andrew Huberman said morning light is good for your circadian rhythm. A walk because you feel like walking. Not a book that will make you more disciplined, more financially literate, more productive. A book because the story sounds good.
Notice the discomfort if it shows up. “Shouldn’t I be doing something useful?”
That discomfort is data. It tells you how deep the over-optimisation goes.
You don’t have to fix it. Just notice it – and do the useless thing anyway.
Reflections 🪞
When was the last time you did something purely because you wanted to – not because it would make you better, healthier, more productive, or more interesting?
Mindfulness 🧘🏻♀️
For years, I consumed self-improvement content the way some people consume calories – constantly, deliberately, always with an eye on the outcome. Podcasts on my commute. Books on habit formation, discipline, financial literacy. Frameworks for optimising my time, my attention, my energy.
And it worked. I learnt things. I built things. I became clearer on who I was and what I wanted.
But somewhere in the last year, I noticed something: I’d stopped acting on any of it. Not from laziness. More like… I’d run out of things to update. I already knew my values. I already knew my goals. Another framework wasn’t going to change either. More consumption wasn’t growth anymore. It was just noise that sounded productive.
The preparation had quietly become the thing itself – and I’d almost missed the moment to start actually living what I’d prepared for.
So I started reading Red Rising instead. A story about a fictional dystopian society with a caste system and a rebellion. Completely useless. Deeply enjoyable. I’m three books in and I’ve stopped doom-scrolling in the evenings almost entirely – not because I implemented a screen time strategy, but because I’d rather find out what happens next.
That’s the thing about genuine enjoyment. It crowds out the noise naturally. You don’t have to optimise your way into it.
Here’s what I’m sitting with: intentionality doesn’t always mean efficiency. Sometimes it means choosing the walk you actually want to take, for no reason other than you want to take it. Cooking something because it sounds delicious, not because it fits your macros. Reading something that has nothing to teach you and everything to offer.
The over-optimised life is exhausting in a way that’s hard to name because it looks so productive from the outside. Every minute accounted for. Every habit tracked. Every choice justified by its return on investment.
But a life is not a portfolio. And the moments that end up mattering most are rarely the ones you optimised for.
Somewhere between the deleted app and the sci-fi trilogy, I remembered what it felt like to just be in my life rather than constantly improving it.
Life is beautiful.
Not because everything is going perfectly. Because I’m actually here for it.
Ideas Worth Pondering 🧠
Ultimately, this is what it means to build a life of Mental Wealth: to live according to your own purpose, to believe in your own ability to grow, change, learn, and develop, and to find your definition of peace, calm, and solitude in a fast-moving world.
– Sahil Bloom
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If so, please let me know by either:
- #1: Forwarding this to a friend whom you think would benefit from actionable well-being tips
- #2: Hitting reply. Send me a sentence or two about what you enjoyed. I meant it when I say I’d love to hear from you. Typing into the void isn’t nearly as fun as interacting with real humans 🙂