HackerTube

The 7 Habits of Highly Miserable People

CGP Grey11 HN recommenders · recommended in 8 months, 2017–2026
YouTube
explainer · general · evergreen · 2017–2026 on HN

CGP Grey's sarcastic animated video adapted from the book How to Be Miserable, listing habits that reliably make people unhappy. By inverting the advice, it shows what to avoid and prompts reflection on goals and routines.

HN recommends it widely in advice threads on depression, habits, and goal setting as a funny, memorable way to see what to do by seeing what not to do.

12 comments from Hacker News

@foxhill2018-06 · in “Habits of Highly Miserable People”

having been, for want of a better term, ‘highly miserable’ in the past, the entirety of this article comes across as insidiously toxic and detrimental to the mental well-being of those who are suffering. there is a.. loosely similar CGP Grey video, which approaches the matter in a much more rational context [1] for anyone suffering, i emplore you to not read this and watch this instead; [1] - ▶ this video

Strongly recommends View on HN
@extraduder_ire2023-10 · in “How to burnout a software engineer, in 3 easy steps”

I really like this format of telling people how to do the thing they don't want. Works way better, and is more memorable than doing the more common thing of telling people how to avoid the thing they don't want. CGP grey did a video like this that's still my favourite example of the format: ▶ this video

Recommends View on HN
@spurgu2021-12 · in “Ask HN: Please Give Me Advice”

Here's a great video going over the same concepts but in a humorous way. 7 ways to maximize misery: ▶ this video

Recommends View on HN
@madmads2021-07 · in “Suppose I wanted to kill a lot of pilots”

There is a good book employing the TRIZ mindset for self-improvement called "How to Be Miserable: 40 Strategies You Already Use"[0]. Although some of the outcomes the book lead you to can seem banal, if you approach them from the perspective of how to optimize misery, it can give you a new perspective. It certainly did for me in some areas. CGP Grey also made a video based on the book, called "7 Ways to Maximize Misery"[1] that may be easier to digest. [0] link [1] ▶ this video

Recommends View on HN
@cosmojg2021-01 · in “Setting goals for 2021 – A brief guide about personal goal setting”

CGP Grey has an excellent video on this exact kind of goal setting: ▶ this video And another on New Year's resolutions more generally: link

Recommends View on HN