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Happy New Year! Here’s how not to be happy…

It may only be the start of January but it’s unlikely that 2016 will see a more remarkable ‘what I’ve learnt’ self-interview piece than this one from the hypnotist Paul McKenna in The Guardian.

Selected highlights:

I wish I could be zen and say I don’t love my Bentley. But it’s a piece of performance art. I am the man they made that car for. Everything about it is beautiful.

Every day, I get up and think: “What can I bring to this day?” I figure I have about 10,000 days left and I intend to spend every one having fun. But that’s not always possible. A few months ago, one of my friends just dropped down dead. I felt numb for a very long time.

Two very fine Accidental Partridges, but even better is this unimprovable Accidental Swiss Toni:

I’ve dated a lot of beautiful women. A friend pointed out I didn’t actually like them, and advised me to make an Excel spreadsheet to find out who I really loved. It came down to Kate [Davey, his long-time PA]. We’d worked together for many years; thankfully she felt the same way and now we’re engaged. I feel I’ve learned more with her in the last three years than the rest of my life.

However, the key snippet is this one:

Right now, I’m living rich. I’m healthy, in a happy relationship, and feel very lucky. Whenever myself and Ryan Seacrest, who I met in 2010, are having one of those rich moments, we text each other “LTD” – living the dream.

The poor fellow. I expect most if not all self-help gurus are equally unhappy and insecure. Imagine never being able to enjoy yourself without consciously thinking ‘I’m currently enjoying myself (and furthermore I must text the presenter of American Idol to alert him to the fact)’.

More generally, that fleeting moments of pleasure are now spoiled by the need to tell others that you’re experiencing them is one of the worst effects of Facebook.