I’m reading The Myths of Happiness by Sonja Lyubomirsky and can’t help thinking about how Bitcoin helps us to avoid the trappings of contemporary living. Lest you think that I’m putting Bitcoin on a pedestal and attributing panacea status to it, hear me out.

First, using Bitcoin in place of fiat checks us out of social comparison since we are still early adopters. While the rest of the world is going gaga over spot BTC ETFs, we are staking the real thing, one sat at a time. Many Bitcoiners place a premium on privacy and put in a concerted effort not to doxx themselves online, much less flex their material possessions and novel experiences on social media. Tuning into the mindset that things should be kept private and confidential diverts our attention from examining our income coequals. If they are into conspicuous consumerism and runway materialism, it is frankly none of our business.

Next, using Bitcoin may shield us from the effects of hedonic adaptation. Fiat comes with it the mentality that more is better and better will lead to more happiness. That’s why pay raises and bonuses lead us to feel emotionally empty after we get used to it. Heaven forbid that we fall prey to lifestyle inflation because we will then find that our enhanced salaries are actually inadequate to fulfill our increased “needs”. Bitcoin is, however, paired with a “stay humble, stack sats” mantra. The emphasis is not on attaining various predetermined financial targets, but on a lifelong pursuit of accumulating sats. Spend what your earn, and then replace. Since the focus is on the journey rather than the end goal, Bitcoiners may find the act of acquiring sats a flowing spring that affirms life and keeps on giving.

Also, some Bitcoiners will be interested to see how their sats can contribute to their communities and humanity. Orange pilling your favourite merchant may be troublesome, but doing so successfully stimulates upward spirals of positivity - including streams of endorphins, euphoric vibes and happy moods - because we successfully introduce a pleb to the best way of living there is. Stackers’ combined efforts to donate to Anita Posch’s work in Africa is another example.

Has Bitcoin bettered your mental health? Let me know in the comments below.