I am sad for the state of what Americans have become. They start talking like regular people when inflation hits hard.

it takes long time to reach there - reducing expectation

sounds kinda like a cop out to me. what is "happy" anyway? if you want stuff and dont get it, are you "unhappy" by definition? how about living a passionate, driven life with high expectations and just keep going when they aren't met? or is that not happy?

No, it's keeping your gratitude higher than your expectations.