In 7th grade, we were asked to bring our own mat. Every Wednesday, benches used to come out. It was a celebration when we got to use the benches instead of sitting on the floor. Most of us were not used to such luxury. So, naturally, we ruined it. We would draw lines to partition our area from another kid. As a result, the school stopped using the benches altogether. We were back to sitting on the floor.

It was an enjoyable experience, though—both in retrospect and at the time. We did not feel that we were being deprived of something that should have been the norm in schools. That realization came later, when I moved to a city and went to bigger schools where chairs and tables were common.

We simply did not know that every other school in India had benches and better facilities. Our world was right there, within us. We had no reference point for comparison. No confusion. Everyone who was supposed to be punished was being punished together. Ignorance was bliss, and we were experiencing it without even knowing it. We were truly focused on enjoying what we had once a week rather than being sad about what we did not have.

Later in life, I realized that if you applied this simple rule to everything in life, it would become much easier to enjoy every moment. If we had no way of comparing our lives with others, perhaps it would be much more fun to live.

Without knowing what others have achieved, you have no predefined goal that you feel compelled to achieve. There is a path to creativity because you are forced to be original. You can immerse yourself more deeply in the present because you do not have anywhere else to be.

Unless you are living in a jungle all by yourself, you will still have tiny reference points—your friends and family. You will still want to get the same haircut as your cousin. But the smaller the reference point, the lighter life becomes.

Only if we had less and less information would we learn to be grateful for more things in life.

Being grateful is important. Otherwise, it is very hard to make yourself happy with your life. If you are never satisfied with what you have and always have a next goal waiting, how can you call it a peaceful life?

With more information comes more comparison. The more we compare, the more restless we become. Our focus shifts from living the moment fully to improving the moment.

Every generation has its challenges, but today’s generation has perhaps the most of them. We have an unlimited amount of information, and therefore unlimited opportunities for comparison. And if the world does not make children feel compelled to compete, parents sometimes do.

In today’s world, it is equally important to be a responsible parent because you have experienced a life with less information. It becomes your responsibility to understand the pain that too much information can cause.

Comparison is not always the thief of joy. Sometimes, it pushes you toward betterment. It gives you a goal. A purpose to live by.

It becomes problematic when you start beating yourself up for what you do not have and what others have.

The goal should be to become a better version of yourself, not a version of your friend or a celebrity. It is easy to see what someone else has, but you do not know where they started. Everybody’s journey begins at a different starting point. That starting point often dictates the trajectory of your life.

The idea is to be content so you can enjoy the present.

Be unaware.

Be ignorant.

In a good way.