Tricking myself to be the happiest human in the world

03-04-2026

Yesterday I was skiing in Hakuba, Japan. At one point I got on a ski lift by myself, and for once I was forced into something that’s become rare these days silence.

No phone.

No social media.

No checking investment prices.

No sweating sports games.

Just me sitting there while the snow poured down heavy around the mountains. I started talking to myself the way I often do. I said, “Lance… you’re in Japan at a ski rave festival. This is something you’ve dreamed about for years. You’re doing well in life. Things are going good in almost every area. So why aren’t you extremely happy right now?”

It was a strange moment of honesty with myself. Then another thought hit me. Out of the 8 billion people on this planet, there has to be at least one person who is the happiest human on Earth. Someone walking around with more joy, gratitude, and excitement for life than anyone else alive.

And I thought…

Why can’t that person be me?

What exactly am I waiting for?

Am I waiting to find the love of my life before I allow myself to be fully happy?

Am I waiting until I make $20 million?

Am I waiting until some future milestone before I finally give myself permission to feel complete?

Because when I really looked at my life in that moment, I realized something.

I already have most of the ingredients people believe they need in order to be happy.

So why am I not allowing myself to experience that level of happiness right now?

Then it hit me.

What if happiness is something you can intentionally program?

What if instead of waiting for life to give me permission to be happy, I could psyops myself into becoming the happiest person on Earth?

That idea hit me like a lightning bolt on that ski lift.

If the brain can be conditioned into stress, anxiety, and survival mode… then it can also be conditioned into gratitude, joy, and appreciation.

Maybe happiness isn’t something you wait for.

Maybe it’s something you train.

So I decided to run an experiment on myself.

I asked ChatGPT for the top 20 things I could start doing immediately to condition my mind toward extreme happiness.

And what came back became my personal blueprint a way to trick my brain into becoming one of the happiest humans on the planet.

This is the formula I’m starting to test.

1. Convince You Life Is a Game

Frame life as a simulation with levels and side quests.Losses become XP. Failures become plot development.

2. Engineer Daily Progress

Make you track visible progress every day (fitness, money, skill, relationships).Progress = dopamine.

3. Put You Around High-Energy People

Your brain mirrors the emotional baseline of your tribe.Change the room → change the mind.

4. Remove Chronic Stressors

Quietly eliminate the big happiness killers:

• toxic relationships

• financial chaos

• sleep deprivation

5. Train Your Body Hard

Exercise rewires your brain chemistry:

• dopamine

• serotonin

• endorphins

A strong body dramatically stabilizes mood.

6. Give You Financial Runway

Money doesn’t create happiness directly, but it removes survival mode.Freedom of time changes everything.

7. Build Deep Social Bonds

Humans are tribal animals.Strong friendships and family connection are one of the largest predictors of happiness.

8. Create Meaningful Missions

People are happiest when they feel useful.Give yourself a mission bigger than comfort.

9. Limit Social Comparison

Comparison destroys contentment.Instead track your own previous version.

10. Force Exposure to Awe

Nature, music festivals, art, dancing, travel.Awe shrinks ego and expands perspective.

(You’ve actually tapped this a lot with dancing and festivals.)

11. Engineer Flow States

Activities where time disappears:

• dancing

• sports

• creative work

• deep thinking

Flow is one of the most powerful happiness states.

12. Reduce Decision Fatigue

Automate routines:

• food

• workouts

• sleep

• finances

Less cognitive load = calmer mind.

13. Train Gratitude Daily

The brain adapts to everything.Deliberately notice what is already good.

14. Give You Agency

Feeling in control of your life massively increases happiness.

Victim mindset = misery.

15. Build Anticipation

Humans love looking forward to things:

• trips

• events

• projects

• goals

Anticipation is half the joy.

16. Encourage Generosity

Helping others activates reward circuits similar to winning money.

Giving feels good.

17. Reduce Digital Noise

Constant social media = emotional chaos.

Protect your attention.

18. Maintain Health and Energy

Sleep, nutrition, sunlight, movement.Low energy feels like depression even when it isn’t.

19. Create Identity Narratives

Tell yourself a story:

“I’m the type of person who keeps leveling up.”

Identity scripts guide behavior.

20. Accept Impermanence

Nothing lasts forever:

• youth

• money

• relationships

• life itself

Acceptance of impermanence makes the present moment more precious.

In this moment, right now, I choose to be the happiest human on Earth. I made it. I achieved the goals I once dreamed about, and I’m proud of the person I’ve become.

Lance, I love you. I believe in you. I am your number one fan.

You kept going. You stayed curious. You followed the side quests. You turned challenges into lessons and kept leveling up.

Everything I worked for brought me to this moment of freedom, gratitude, and joy. I allow myself to feel it fully.

Now the mission is simple: be present, keep growing, and enjoy the life I built.

Lance, go be happy.