It’s like Diane’s response when Bojack Horseman asks if he’s “a good person, deep down”:<p>“I don’t really think there is a deep down. I think we are just the things we do.”<p>That line really resonated with me. It stings, but it also motivates. I think if more people recognized it, they might do more good things (and/or stop being so hard on themselves if they’re already in the habit of doing good things).
Eh, this is not great. It's funny that it links to Last Psychiatrist, an early version of modern bro Substacks whose main thing was calling you a narcissist and constantly using rhetorical techniques like "I can tell you believe X, don't you? Huh? Huh? Well too bad it's actually Y!" and I'm like "but I don't believe X".<p>> The World Only Cares About What It Can Get from You<p>> What You Produce Does Not Have to Make Money, But It Does Have to Benefit People<p>I think these are conflicting…<p>> What You Are Inside Only Matters Because of What It Makes You Do<p>This one's true though.
" Because the girl in the bookstore that you've been daydreaming about moisturizes her face for an hour every night and feels guilty when she eats anything other than salad for lunch. She's going to be a surgeon in 10 years. What do you do? "<p>Oh yeah, every cute girl is going to come up with AGI or become a surgeon it's only the guys that are worthless and bringing nothing to the table. The girl in the bookstore loves handsome men and she barely cares about his GPA. This idea that women see right through you needs to die. It's mostly about looks.
People in this world often convince themselves they're religious, but under cover they operate in some of the most spineless and inconsiderate ways... It's one of the big contradictions in life.<p>Do you save the environment? Or do you sell people cars (which ultimately destroy the environment and create toxic waste) under the guise of "saving the environment"?<p>Do you act like you're a lion that really cares about gazelle lives being protected?<p>This is the conflict of selflessness we are constantly presented with.<p>There is a way to succeed while living well and not being a total douchebag, especially if you can ignore the fact that many won't like you, that you won't have extreme wealth, and that you may never become famous... It's a much better way to live if you are indeed a "spiritual" or somewhat ethical person.<p>The apex/alpha mentality is very toxic and destructive. Even though many people adore it and exalt this brand of selfish/egotistical bad behavior, the damage it does to society and others far exceeds it's benefits in material gains. Material things only have temporary value, your soul (or legacy if you're not spiritual) however can potentially infinite value to others. My recommendation is for people to keep those 2 aspects in balance... That way you won't have to ask for forgiveness or regret your life on your death bed.
Rene Daumal quote with a similar message:<p>I am dead because I lack desire,<p>I lack desire because I think I possess,<p>I think I possess because I do not try to give,<p>In trying to give, you see that you have nothing,<p>Seeing that you have nothing, you try to give of yourself,<p>Trying to give of yourself, you see that you are nothing,<p>Seeing that you are nothing, you desire to become,<p>In desiring to become, you begin to live.
In <i>Childhood's End</i>, Arthur Clarke wrote:<p>"No utopia can ever give satisfaction to everyone, all the time. As their material conditions improve, men raise their sights and become discontented with power and possessions that once would have seemed beyond their wildest dreams. And even when the external world has granted all it can, there still remain the searchings of the mind and the longings of the heart."<p>A century ago "harsh truths" pushed child laborers into mines and mills. Those whose minds are searching and hearts are longing also need intangible benefits for which "What You Are Inside" very very much matters, despite the reality tunnel of the Cracked Philosopher. Great parents and teachers know this.