Someone is manifesting YOU
So zoom the fuck out and be grateful
My aunt was five years old the first time she stood on a street corner in Vietnam, clutching a pack of cigarettes that wasn’t hers.
She could barely see over the cart she was leaning against, but she knew her job:
Sell enough cigarettes to bring something home for the family.
Most children at that age live in a world of imagination.
Her world was commerce, hunger, and endurance.
She didn’t complain.
She didn’t dream of fairness.
She understood.
She survived.
The Complacency Demon
There’s a demon that lives in all of us.
I call it the complacency demon.
It shows up when we zoom in too much on the pain, the conflict, the disappointments.
It feeds on our ruminations and magnifies our bitterness. The more we focus on the tiny cracks in life, the more broken the whole picture feels.
The more broken, we feel.
That’s the complacency demon.
But I have learned that there’s a way to starve this demon.
I don’t PRETEND things are fine.
I don’t DENY there is struggle.
It’s about perspective. And I believe perspective is choice.
It’s about learning to zoom the fuck out.
Because for anyone reading this—someone, somewhere, is manifesting your life.
The Struggle Up Close
I’ve been going to therapy for almost 9 years. It’s part of my mental health gym routine.
Yesterday, I left my therapy appointment feeling both heavy and light at the same time.
Heavy, because therapy sessions often force me to face the rawness of complex family dynamics.
Light, because I got a lot off my chest and shoulders.
I’ll be honest, I cried a ton yesterday. It was cathartic.
I have been holding in a lot of stress, and my sleep and well-being has suffered for it lately.
My execution has too, if I am honest with myself.
I’ve been dealing with such complex family dynamics for a long time now. I’ve sent checks home to my family since I was 18.
I checked my brother into the mental health hospital for what was diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenia years ago.
It was re-diagnosed as insomnia-induced psychosis recently.
I’ve had to bail him out of financial crises he got himself into, and find him when he went missing.
And so many more things.
I’ve been in so many positions that no brother wants to be in.
I’ve gone through endless roller coasters of:
I don’t have a brother anymore…
I have my brother back!
I don’t have a brother anymore…
Over. And over. And over.
It’s exhausting.
I feel so tired.
Family is complicated for me.
My parents were immigrants from Vietnam—I had a hard childhood growing up.
Old conflicts echo into the present, across generations.
Misunderstandings, resentments, and unspoken expectations pile up until the air between us feels thick.
And when I’m in that space—zoomed in—it feels suffocating.
It feels like this is EVERYTHING.
The voice of the complacency demon whispers:
Why is this still happening?
Why can’t it just be better?
Why can’t they just change?
Why can’t I just have a normal family?
Why. Why. Why.
And when I get caught there, it’s easy to forget anything good.
It’s HARDER to choose a different perspective.
The complacency demon makes you feel like you don’t have a choice.
But you do.
Remember that you always do.
At least I have…
But walking out of therapy yesterday, another thought slipped in.
At least I have a family.
At least I can go to therapy.
Those thoughts reframed everything.
Not everyone has a mom, dad, or brother with bullshit and baggage to complain about.
Not everyone has access to a therapist.
Not everyone has the time, the resources, or the cultural permission to sit in a room once a week and unravel themselves with a professional.
For me, therapy is not just treatment—it’s a privilege.
It’s evidence that I live in a world where help is available, and that I am lucky enough to reach for it.
When I zoom out, even on the days when family pain feels like the center of the universe, I see the bigger truth:
I am not alone.
I have tools.
I have support.
I am lucky to have the problems I have.
And that’s something to be deeply grateful for.
Gratitude Is Perspective in Action
Gratitude isn’t just “thank you” notes and good vibes.
Gratitude is a way of pulling back the camera.
It is a choice to take on a positive perspective.
It is a harder choice, than just ruminating and being negative.
It takes strength to look on the positive side, when all things are going to shit.
Zoomed in:
My life can feel messy, unfair, and frustrating.
That’s the complacency demon.
If I leave the complacency demon unchecked, I can obsess over
words unsaid,
wounds unhealed,
and relationships not where I want them to be.
But zoomed out, I can see:
I am grateful for a roof over my head.
I am grateful for friends who care about me.
I am grateful for the financial stability to pay someone to listen to me process my pain.
I am grateful for the time to sit down and reflect like this.
These are privileged thoughts and reflections.
Unlike my aunt at 5 years old, trying to just survive.
That’s what gratitude really is.
Zooming the fuck out.
It is not a denial of suffering, but a recognition that suffering doesn’t define the whole picture.
And that is choice.
Someone Out There is Manifesting Your Life
Someone, somewhere, is manifesting your life.
I come back to this thought often.
I think about my younger self, Little Robert.
I think about how much more agency and autonomy I have now versus being a poor kid putting myself through college, worried about rent and food.
Ambition can cause you to lose sight of what you have.
It certainly does for me, as I drive towards my dreams of leaving a billion+ people impact on the world.
So I try to remind myself constantly:
The very things you complain about might be someone else’s wildest dream.
Someone is praying for the job you think is beneath you.
Someone is wishing for the family drama you’re tired of, because at least it means they have family at all.
Someone is dreaming of the access you have to therapy, community, education, or even just safety.
When I remember this, I feel my bitterness, anger, anxiety, and fear soften.
It doesn’t erase my struggles, but it puts them in perspective.
It reminds me not to take the bigger picture for granted.
And the complacency demon stands no chance in the face of intentional gratitude.
Zooming Out in Practice
So how do you actually zoom the fuck out when you’re spiraling?
Here’s what helps me:
I express gratitude everyday.
Every single day.
I don’t skip the gratitude gym.
Most days I start with:
“I am grateful for a warm bed, and roof over my head.” because I remember when the only bed I had was one I found off the street because I couldn’t afford a new one. (Disgusting, I know)
Other days it’s “I am grateful for breathing easy” because I’ve nearly died before in a terrible accident and know what it is like to take painful sips of air.
Sometimes it’s, “At least I get to eat dinner tonight.” because I remember when I’ve been hungry as a poor kid putting myself through college.
It doesn’t need to be profound.
In fact, the simpler, the better.
Ask yourself, “What am I grateful for today?”
Start small.
Zoomed in, the argument with my family feels unbearable.
Zoomed out, what the fuck does it even matter?
I get to even HAVE a family.
So here’s my challenge to you
Someone, somewhere, is manifesting your life.
Say it out loud. Let it land.
I’m lucky to be here.
You are too.
And someone, is manifesting you.
So zoom out.
Be grateful.
Practice it—don’t just think about it.
DO it.
The next time you’re caught in the loop of bitterness, rumination, or self-pity, zoom the fuck out.
Ask yourself:
What is one thing I can be grateful for right now?
There is always an answer. Look for it, and savor it.
When you zoom out, you don’t erase your problems—you reframe them.
You remind yourself that the world is bigger than your pain.
And in that space, you’ll find relief.
Because peace, content, and happiness don’t come from the absence of problems.
It comes from perspective.
And perspective is choice.
YOU decide whether you feed the complacency demon, and YOU decide to cultivate peace, contentedness, and happiness.
It’s all you.
So get after it.
Liked this article?
💚 Click the like button.
Feedback or addition?
💬 Add a comment.
Know someone that would find this helpful?
🔁 Share this post.
P.S. If you haven’t already checked out my podcast, ABCs for Building The Future, where I reflect on my founder’s journey building a venture in the open. Check out my learnings on product, leadership, entrepreneurship, and more—in real time!
P.S.S. Want reminders on entrepreneurship, growth, leadership, empathy, and product?
Follow me on..
This was a really beautiful reflection, Robert. And one that I especially needed to read this morning. Thank you.