7 Life Truths Only Few Understand
A nuanced take on what it means to be human
Ambition, goals, selfhood, memories, loneliness, events, simplicity. Ordinary elements of life we can look at in different ways.
I believe that nuance is a superpower we ought to cultivate — but all too often disregard.
Here are seven nuanced perspectives that reveal otherwise hidden truths about life.
01
In a world where you believe you can achieve everything, nothing will ever be good enough.
The beautiful message of anything is possible makes everything seem insufficient. When expectations of ourselves balloon, we naturally feel inadequate — which masks an important truth of life:
We don’t have to be extraordinary to be good enough.
02
Goals are intrinsically meaningless. They only matter in relation to the process around them.
Whatever goal you set for yourself, it is meaningful only insofar as one of the following is true:
It makes the process of living life more enjoyable after you have reached it.
The pursuit of the goal is in itself enjoyable. Achieving it is secondary.
Ideally, you have both.
03
We don’t relate to others as who we are — who we are is based on how we relate to others.
Whatever character trait you think of as essential to “who you are” — would this even have any meaning if you were the only human being? Chances are, the answer is no.
There is no such thing as being who you are by yourself.
04
The past isn’t sealed. It’s open to reinterpretation.
The past lives in the present only insofar as we contextualize it. Why did this happen? What did this cause? What does it mean?
We create stories around these questions. Our answers are assumptions. Beliefs. Narratives.
Narratives can be changed.
05
You can feel lonely without being alone. You can be alone without feeling lonely.
Solitude can be beautiful. Togetherness can be depressing.
Loneliness does not depend on someone’s physical presence — but on our emotional bonds with them.
Being around people is no remedy for not feeling connected.
06
We overestimate the importance of what happens and underestimate the importance of what doesn’t happen.
Absence of evidence isn’t evidence of Absence. “History is peace punctuated by war, not war punctuated by peace.” (N. Taleb)
What we don’t do matters at least as much as what we do.
07
Simplicity after understanding complexity is genius. Simplicity before understanding complexity is ignorance.
A simple message can uncover a complex truth — or distort it. Simple versions of complex topics are either a sign of deep understanding — or a complete lack of it.
Complexity is real and you can’t skip it.
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To nuance,
Phil
P.S.: If you want to feed your mind with more ideas that matter, feel free to check out the books I wrote about Self-determination and other topics.