There’s a certain level of neuroticism that I think is very useful for leading an examined life. If one is satisfied with their current impact on the world, they aren’t looking for ways to improve. Too much contentment can lead to complacency and stagnation. But too much discontentment feels miserable! What do?

I aspire to feel satisfied in the process of improvement. If, every day, I’m improving in some dimension, I’m content to be content! Of course, some types of improvements are more impactful than others; improving my 100 m sprint probably doesn’t translate well to improving others’ lives. But maybe it improves my self esteem or fitness or resilience or something, which advances my general competence, or maybe I just really like sprinting for its own sake!

While I think “positive impact on the world” should be (and is) my strongest signal for “am I satisfied with this thing called life?” I value other things intrinsically too! Too much neuroticism about impact (i.e., being a naive impact maximizer) can detract from my other intrinsic goals and probably will result in burn-out, dissatisfaction, and less impact overall. As with most goals, impact-chasers should take the middle path.