If Only is Toxic

“‘If only’ is the opposite of love. If only I was more attractive, my children more appreciative, my colleagues more friendly, if only I earned more, achieved more. ‘If only’ is toxic to happiness. It focuses on what we don’t have instead of what we do. The consumer culture invites us to an existence of ‘if only’. It’s the worst investment in life.”

The Power of Ideas, pp. 116-117