In the Olympics, three people stand on the podium after an event: the Gold, Silver and Bronze medallist.

Imagine the silver medallist. Just one second faster and you would’ve won! Argh! You mull over the little imperfections in your performance, knowing that you stand there as the number one loser. Yikes.

But now imagine the bronze medallist. Just one second slower and you wouldn’t be here! Awesome! You smile brightly at the cameras, knowing full well that you fought a hard battle to stand where you are.

Often, where we focus determines our happiness. Do we look up, like the silver medallist, or look down, like the bronze medallist? Looking up can fill us with contempt and sadness. Looking down can fill us with gratitude and happiness.

One day, I was reading reviews on the iPhone 12 and wondered if I should replace my iPhone X. Well, I’ve had my phone for a while, I told myself. It’s pretty good, but not great. I started resenting people with iPhone 12s, knowing full well what I’m missing out on.

But then I realised: for what it does, my phone is seriously amazing. It has plenty of storage, a comfortable UI and a great camera. I literally filmed six YouTube videos on this phone! Why should I care about upgrading my phone when it does everything I need, plus much more?

This bronze medallist mindset saved me $1400 and put me in a great mood for the rest of the day.

On the other hand, if you’re being ambitious, it can be productive to adopt the silver medallist’s mindset. Being dissatisfied and always looking for more can be powerful drivers for improvement. As my dad used to say, If you want to be number one, just find the current number one and do one point better.

But if I could only choose one mindset to adopt, it’d be the bronze medallist. Being a silver medallist can be motivating, but comparing up can lead to a terrible cycle of chasing perfection. It depends what you want, I guess: ambition or gratitude. Looking up vs. looking down.