This is terrific advice, enough so that I’m just pasting much of it below. I have my own slightly different take on it (in particular I think it’s more valuable to put effort into changing the world, in narrow, carefully selected, high-leverage ways), but Caplan’s is mostly pretty close. I don’t always manage to do it, but I’m a lot closer than I used to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n1. Amicably divorce your society. Don\u2019t get angry at the strangers who surround you, just accept the fact that you\u2019re not right for each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. Stop paying attention to things that aggravate you unless (a) they concretely<\/em> affect your life AND (b) you can realistically do something about them. Start by ceasing to follow national and world news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Pay less frequent<\/em> attention to things that aggravate you even if they do <\/em>concretely affect your life and you can <\/em>realistically do something about them. For example, if you check your email twenty times a day and find the experience frustrating, try cutting back to two or three times a day. If you need to know about world politics, read history books, not newspaper articles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5. Abandon your First World Problems<\/a> mentality. Consciously compare your income to Haitian poverty, your health status to Locked-In Syndrome<\/a>, your sorrow to that of parent who has lost a child. As Tsunami Bomb tells us<\/a>, \u201cBe grateful that you have a brain for thinking\/
And legs to take you places.\u201d For guidance, repeatedly read Epicurus\u2019 Letter to Menoeceus<\/a> and Julian Simon\u2019s Good Mood<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n8. Find a career you really enjoy. Ask yourself, \u201cWill I take daily pride in this work?\u201d and \u201cAre the kind of people I want to befriend statistically over-represented in this line of work?\u201d If you have to signal for years to get this job, sigh, signal<\/a>, and see Step 5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
10. Now that your own life is in order, you are emotionally ready to quixotically visit your ex-society. Maybe you want to publicly argue for open borders<\/a>, abolition of the minimum wage<\/a>, or pacifism<\/a>. Go for it. Bend over backwards to be friendly<\/a>. Take pride in your quixotic quest. Then go home to your Beautiful Bubble and relax.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n