The point isn't to optimize for contentment at the end of life. Rather, it's a technique for getting to the 50,000-foot view of one's life. There's a saying "

The point isn't to optimize for contentment at the end of life. Rather, it's a technique for getting to the 50,000-foot view of one's life. There's a saying "what you focus on gets bigger." If you live in the day-to-day, it's easy to turn the minutiae into your whole life. Also, "pleasure" and "happiness" are fairly orthogonal. Living in the day-to-day arguably prioritizes pleasure over happiness.