‘If You Can’t Be Happy With A Coffee, You Won’t Be Happy With A Yacht’

"The little things help me appreciate the big things."

‘If You Can’t Be Happy With A Coffee, You Won’t Be Happy With A Yacht’

Image: BOAT International

The internet – and especially Twitter – might be a major factor in ruining our mental health. But sometimes golden quotes come along which provide us with some much-needed life perspective.


We’re forever being told money can’t buy happiness, but we challenge anyone to not feel even the slightest bit of satisfaction cruising around the Mediterannean on their own yacht.

Speaking of yachts, a quote posted on Twitter account @Navalism – which posts quotes spoken by American entrepreneur and investor Naval Ravikant – caught our attention and made us question how to go about determining true happiness.

The quote reads, “If you can’t be happy with a coffee, you won’t be happy with a yacht.”

While our initial reaction was to disagree, believing that coffee and yachts are two entirely different entities that would play completely different roles in one’s life, we thought about it a little more and came to a different conclusion.

It is implying that if we can’t feel happiness from the little things in life – such as a daily dose of caffeine – then we can’t seriously expect to be fulfilled by luxuries, or things we would deem to be ‘rewards’. We’re pretty sure Conor McGregor would disagree, but we digress.

Conor McGregor experiencing a moment of zen, aboard a luxury yacht.

It also brings to mind the belief that “you can’t love someone else until you learn to love yourself.”

Indeed, psychologists look for certain characteristics in a person to assess their happiness levels. Verywellmind says these signs include “feeling like you are living the life you wanted,” and “feeling positive more than negative.” What these (and other signs) indicate is that true happiness can only be found from within yourself, rather than through any material possessions you may own.

Verywellmind also mentions two distinct kinds of happiness posed by the Greek philosopher Aristotle. He called these ‘hedonia’ and ‘eudaimonia’. The difference between the two is, hedonia says “happiness is derived from pleasure,” whereas eudaimonia says “happiness is derived from seeking virtue and meaning.”

Finding the key to happiness has been a quest many have taken, and will take. American actor Matthew McConaughey has spoken about his experiences and claimed that journalling is one big source of happiness.

He’s previously said how he doesn’t just journal negative thoughts to get them out his head, but he writes down positive things and moments in his life when everything is going well. Speaking to Joe Rogan during an episode of his podcast, Matthew said, “My idea was that, hey, you’re going to get in a rut again. You lose your frequency, you might want this to go back and look at to help you recalibrate. And that proved to be true.”

“So many times we dissect failure and hardships, but we don’t dissect success.”

Others believe protocols such as cold water swimming can help invigorate your mood and have you feeling happy for days and even weeks.

DMARGE spoke with Luke McLeod, founder of the Soul Alive meditation app, and men’s lifestyle coach Blake Worrall-Thompson, to get their thoughts on the quote.

Luke agrees with the quote, adding, “I am big on something that I call a ‘mindfulness walk’ which is essentially where you walk around your surroundings and try to find 3-5 things that you have never noticed before. It brings your mind into the present moment and allows you to appreciate your surroundings.”

“There is joy in so many things around us, even if it is as simple as the pattern on a leaf in your house that you haven’t noticed before, or your morning walk.”

“One the yacht front, I do like a yacht, but I would probably need a coffee first to enjoy it as it is necessary for me in the morning. The little things help me appreciate the big things.”

Blake agrees with the deeper meaning of the quote, and suggests a number of ways to interpret it and how we can identify true happiness.

“Happiness is an inside job. I’m sure just about everyone has heard this before, the challenge is that our conditioning is so strong that it often overrules this knowing. And, for most of us, we need to reach these ‘heights’ (a new car, house, yacht) to realise it’s not the answer.”

Jim Carrey has talked about it before, saying ‘I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer’.”

Blake also speaks about how advertising can have a huge influence over us, “If you think about the role of an advertiser, it’s to tell us life is ‘ok’ but if we were to buy their service/product, then our life would be better/complete.”

“So we’re lead to believe that now isn’t good enough and that when we reach these elusive heights then everything will be great and our problems will be fixed.”

Ultimately, Blake says that we need to be content with our life as it is right now, before even thinking about anything else. “Self acceptance and striving. You are good enough as you are, but everything around us (the nice shiny yacht) has us believe otherwise. Embody gratitude and a love for life now and then the ‘yacht’ becomes a bonus.”

Of course, on the flip side, Patricia Reggiani, wife of Mauricio Gucci once said “It’s better to cry in a Rolls-Royce than be happy on a bicycle.” So, each to their own.

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