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.