Moving Forwards, Moving Backwards: A Tool for Life
What if I am wandering aimlessly? Or doing things without a purpose? Sounds scary. So for a while now I have been in search of something. Ideas, principles, or foundations that can help define the way I live, the actions I take, and the decisions I make. Why do I choose something over something else? Why do I react to an event a certain way? In short, what moves me?
Most people’s way of living can be described as some form of hedonism. The purpose: maximizing short term pleasure at all costs. Eat this pizza, get this dopamine shot. Buy that product, get that dopamine shot. Open those apps, get those dopamine shots. Get one marshmallow today, instead of two tomorrow.
When it comes to the big decisions, like career or relationships, hedonists aim for the one with the largest and fastest status bump, and the one which promises to enhance the hedonist lifestyle. Is it prestigious? Great. Will it allow me to buy more pleasure? I’m in.
Looking back upon my own life, I think something even worse might have happened: I am not even a full-time hedonist. I’ll alternate periods of hedonism to periods of asceticism, like a sine wave. I can’t even stick to a bad way of life properly. In any case, it is high time to change that.
