Underliving is usually a consequence of factors such as ignorance, mental blocks, emotional disturbances, trauma, a lack of imagination, the habit of underliving, having grown-up in a family and/or neighborhood where most people underlived, the lack of good examples and role models, and other foolish reasons such as
fear of success.
Because different people have different goals and standards, what one individual
may consider to be underliving, another individual
may consider to be living correctly, thus well.
Overall, compared to
Americans and people in other highly (materially) highly developed nations, approximately 90% of the people who live in developing nations can be
said to be underliving. Some
Americans also underlive.
The Ph.D. candidate realized that he was not eating and dressing as well as he could afford to because he was stuck in the habit of underliving.