16 dec Problems don’t END

Happiness is not a solvable equation because problems are a constant in life. Problems simply never stop. They merely get exchanged or upgraded. So, does solving problems bring us happiness?

If the answer to this question is yes, it would instantly transform happiness into a form of action, an activity .. Not something that is passively bestowed upon us.

When problems never stop, solving problems will be a constant work-in-progress. Solutions to today’s problems will lay the foundation for tomorrow’s problems and so on. Which makes happiness a constant work-in-progress too. A constant work-in-progress doesn’t sound that easy, does it?

Whatever your problems are, the concept is the same: solve problems, be happy.

But for many people life doesn’t feel that simple. Unfortunately. And that’s because most of us fuck things up in at least one or two ways, which makes them feel better in the short term.

Denial: Some people deny that their problems exist in the first place. And because they deny reality, they must constantly delude or distract themselves from reality.

Victim Mentality: Some choose to believe that there is nothing they can do to solve their problems, even when in fact they could. Victims seek to blame others for their problems or blame outside circumstances. 

It has everything to do with entitlement. I’m awesome and the rest of you all suck, so I deserve a special treatment. I suck and the rest of you are all awesome, so I deserve a special treatment.

Deluding yourself into whatever feeds your sense of superiority. A failed strategy but an interesting one, because I see it happen a lot nowadays and with me numerous of professors and educators. They have noted a lack of emotional resilience and an excess of selfish demands in today’s young people. Most reactions are build upon the thought that they’re somehow unlike everyone else and that the rules must be different for them.

Mark uses the example that it’s not uncommon anymore for books to be removed from a class’s curriculum for no other reason than that they made someone feel bad. He connects it with the freedom we nowadays have to express ourselves.

The more freedom we’re given to express ourselves, the more we want to be free of having to deal with anyone who may disagree with us or upset us.

The disagreement or the upsetting part is relatable to having a problem. The more exposed we are to opposing viewpoints, the more we seem to get upset that those other viewpoints exist. In relation to solving your problem(s), other viewpoints can actually help.

I guess deep down, we all know.

Bron: The subtle art of not giving a f*ck – Mark Manson