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sad facts of life that are actually freeing, A THREAD
1. "Life is suffering" — Buddha
to have a body and a mind is to suffer. some suffering is truly debilitating, but a lot of it we MAKE debilitating by fighting the idea of suffering itself, as if we could EVER be perfectly happy and comfortable (which is a fantasy)
to have a body and a mind is to suffer. some suffering is truly debilitating, but a lot of it we MAKE debilitating by fighting the idea of suffering itself, as if we could EVER be perfectly happy and comfortable (which is a fantasy)
2. success won't make you happy
it can't! because success is external. so many miserable people have, as far as we can tell, everything a person could want… riches, fame, respect. and yet they are miserable.
so why ruin your life for something that won't even "work"?
it can't! because success is external. so many miserable people have, as far as we can tell, everything a person could want… riches, fame, respect. and yet they are miserable.
so why ruin your life for something that won't even "work"?
3. you're not special.
we think things are uniquely awesome or difficult because they happen to us, and our only experience is our experience. but your problems? millions of people have had them exactly before you. there's comfort & advice available in being one of a million.
we think things are uniquely awesome or difficult because they happen to us, and our only experience is our experience. but your problems? millions of people have had them exactly before you. there's comfort & advice available in being one of a million.
4. people will eventually forget you when you're dead.
only the tiniest fraction of people did things still known 100 years after death — but nobody remembers THEM, as a person.
"legacy" is often a justification for making your LIFE miserable, but it doesn't pay.
only the tiniest fraction of people did things still known 100 years after death — but nobody remembers THEM, as a person.
"legacy" is often a justification for making your LIFE miserable, but it doesn't pay.
5. most of us are, realistically speaking, powerless
you can fight the power — but the belief that you HAVE power, and therefore DEFINITELY SHOULD BE ABLE to effect change, is debilitating. because when you fail, you feel too crushed to try again.
you can fight the power — but the belief that you HAVE power, and therefore DEFINITELY SHOULD BE ABLE to effect change, is debilitating. because when you fail, you feel too crushed to try again.
6. people will dislike you or even hate you — and there's nothing you can do about it
you can turn yourself into knots trying to change the minds of people who don't even SEE you, or you can spend that energy on becoming someone YOU respect. you have to live with you, after all
you can turn yourself into knots trying to change the minds of people who don't even SEE you, or you can spend that energy on becoming someone YOU respect. you have to live with you, after all
7. your actual choices reflect your actual values
many of us spend a ton of time claiming our choices don't reflect "the real me," but this pours our limited energy into denial, rather than acceptance and change.
many of us spend a ton of time claiming our choices don't reflect "the real me," but this pours our limited energy into denial, rather than acceptance and change.
8. most effort is wasted
……but all creative efforts involve a lot of waste (which is how i'm rebranding "failure"). waste doesn't PRODUCE results, much less GUARANTEE them, but it's an unavoidable part of the process.
……but all creative efforts involve a lot of waste (which is how i'm rebranding "failure"). waste doesn't PRODUCE results, much less GUARANTEE them, but it's an unavoidable part of the process.
