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There are two thoughts of self improvement in my opinion: “I am not my best self. I have been feeding my greatest insecurities and fears. I need to be better, for myself” and “Everyone else is pulling ahead of me in life. I’ve done nothing, I am worthless. I need to improve at something to stay in the running with everyone else” I think the former is healthy. Making yourself better for yourself is a project you should work on your whole life. The latter is insecurity incarnate and is a standard you’ll never meet. Self improvement is either a lifestyle or an addiction.
I don't know about that. I think what you're saying is what everyone else is saying. Self-improvement because we feel compelled by external forces, society, authorities to be better, to finally be enough and accepted, to finally "deserve" anything in life = bad. But self-improvement "for yourself", "for self-improvement's self" = good. To me this is exactly that distinction that is made between that surveillance society and the much more efficient "self-surveillance". The powers that be would be creaming their pants hearing you say that you don't need them to keep putting external pressure on you to keep becoming more productive, that you'll gladly do it "for yourself" or because "it's the right/healthy thing to do" (or whatever). Like, I'll be honest, I almost don't understand what the video is about. Sysiphus here does say something like "self-improvement isn't necessarily bad", as if the reason behind it or the degree to which it is taken determines whether it's "good" or "bad". But I think that's just the hamster running in its wheel, post hoc rationalization. It also seems to contradict what I understood to be the main point of the essay, that self-surveillance can be even more destructive than outside surveillance. In the end you're just doing exactly what "they" want you to do, and they don't care if it's because you feel forced to or somehow think it's healthy.
The latter incorrectly assumes that everyone is running the same race, or is running to the same destination. Or as Alan Watts said, "In music, one doesn't make the end of a composition the point of the composition. If that were the case, the best conductor would be those who played fastest."
@Hubcool367 it depends on what you define as self improvement. I used to have terrible self talk and would literally call myself a bitch, stupid, useless, and constantly thought about useless negative stuff like if I was a character in a book, all the readers would hate me and talk shit about me... stuff like that. Self help contents actually did help me. Now I don't talk to myself that way, I feel okay with myself and my decisions, even when I make a mistake I don't beat myself up like I did before. I believe this is self improvement. Would you say this is bad? Would you say that me becoming more confident and mentally healthy is actually benefiting the "big guys"?
@@OG-zc2zj to be honest? I think it benefits the big guys, yes 😛 Of course, this is a point of view like any other, and you may disagree. I'd like to start by saying that whatever helps you, I'm happy for you. Even if I think some solutions are far from ideal, I won't tell you that you, personally, are wrong for doing what you can to help yourself. But I'll say this: I actually don't think there is such a thing as "self talk". Sure, the specific voices at the specific moments you're referring to are happening in your head, but they don't originate from there, from your "self". They originate from the very real voices of other people, of "society". They are some kind of average of what people have been saying about you for years, how they made you feel. People who have never been told or been made to feel like they are "not enough", whether through family, people at school, social media, they won't have "self-talk" about being "not enough". I don't know how true it is, but I remember reading that the Dalai Lama, at some point getting more familiar with Western concepts, was absolutely confused by the concept of "self-hate"/"self-loathing". Like, there is no word for the concept in the Tibetan language (or something like that). You could hate others, but hating yourself was a totally alien concept, to a whole society. What I'm getting at is that everything that you refer to as "negative self-talk" is taught, it was socially imposed upon you. It is a burden that, if our society wasn't rotten to its core, you should have never had to bear, in my opinion. This means that, for me at least, the proper solution, getting to the root of the problem, would be fundamental changes to cruel societies that make such a huge amount of people feel so totally worthless. Of course, easier said than done. I completely understand that this might feel impossible and that you'd rather address just your own self-talk, even if that's only treating the symptoms and not the causes of the disease. You gotta do what you gotta do to survive. But yeah, while you may have saved yourself, if you stop there and not address the root causes, it means that people will keep being thrown into the meat grinder. And ultimately, that would be all to the benefit of the big guys: their inhumane system and society is able to chug along another day, unchallenged. They didn't even have to waste resources replacing that cog that was about to break down as the cog fixed itself. No need to take a step back and reflect on a machine that keeps breaking its cogs.
The problem is not with self improvement, the issue is with the societal values that people are measuring themselves against. As you point out, the grind set is many peoples attempt at self improvement, but those people are optimising themselves to fulfil societies value that more money=better person, it's the nature of capitalism that only a minority of people can achieve this goal, hence the high number of people getting burnt out trying. If we held values like having a strong happy community in equally high regard, then everyone can achieve that and people wouldn't burn out trying to achieve it.
I think it is deeper than that like the video is saying. I've felt the very same thing you're describing while trying to make myself "a loving and kind and patient person." There is something to the need for us to do things for the sake of the experience of the thing itself in order to be happy. The error comes when we take on other people's values instead of looking inward to intuit what it is that is really good for us, which are the things that feel good or "harmonious" when we do them (which is distinguished from feelings like pleasure or happiness).
Except that has nothing to do with 'societal values' lmao. The desire for a larger pool of resources is as natural as can be. Even squirrels covet as much as they can before the season ends. Wealth equates to a larger standard of living & a greater control over ones external environment; as well as serving as an 'enabler' for any costly desires (of which the world is full of, take your pick). Also, it has nothing to do with Capitalism that only a few will have the great majority of resources; that's just how the world works. Look into The Pareto Principle or The Iron Law of Oligarchy, it is inevitable that the elite minority of adept organisms will outcompete the large majority of inept ones for a greater share of resources. This pattern repeats itself across all domains, both natural & creative. Human society is just one expression of this, and it'll happen regardless of political ideology. Capitalism is just here to grease the gears lol
@@NykandrosWe are not squirrels. Plus Squirrels collect so much because they end up forgetting a large portion of their caches anyways. Isolated tribes usually do not care about wealth or acquiring as many resources and material possessions as possible unless their societies have been radically effected by the outside world so as to induce social pressures within those tribes to covet those things.
The difference here is that this is what you truly want instead of an internalized societal goal Spontaneity in this video is a weird way to describe things we intrinsically want but it works well enough
Lol I did enough 🍄 that I genuinely don't really care much about self improvement but I can appreciate the benefits that wealth accumulation brings to society as a whole in the long term so I try to continue to be productive as capitalist society desires. Who knows though once the weath baselinereaches a point in which no one really has to work for much, the mental aspect of life may get worse, but my prediction is that it will get way better since everyone will have the opportunity to pursue spontaneity, hence why I believe the accumulation of weath is still valuable. Only time will tell though 🙂
'Never be satisfied' is a bad mantra. It's the mantra of the seller, of the marketer, of the advertiser. Too many people have bought what they are selling. 'Be content and humble' is considered a death sentence to most people as it is a death sentence to the seller, the marketer, the advertiser. They would themselves be bought by their own money to be owned by the seller, the marketer, the advertiser.
The reason this brainwashing work’s is because most people are ignorant of the power of marketing, social proof, and the power of influencers. I’m a salesman, and i often find it strange how ignorant people are of the power of marketing. When i talk about sales/marketing most just brush it of with « i’m in control of my consumption». Like the hundreds of billions spent on marketing and sales had no influence on their decisions at all. Most think their aspirations come from them selves. When in reality it’s mostly social background, marketing behind my guess 98% of most peoples spending paterns, and aspirations. The working class dreams of becomeing middle class. The middle class dreams of beeing promoted to the higher middle class. And consumes 5-10% more than they earn ( credit), on products that makes them seem to be in the class they aspire to be in. We the marketeers now everything about peoples dreams. Because we created them. That is most of them are not dreams at all. Simply reactions to the influence. Personaly i protect myself with addblocks, ublock and other anti-comersial tech ( subcription). And live highly minimalistic. I fear marketing, because i know it’s power to brainwash
@@Ikaros23 yeah, i agree with you. i used to think that i control my consumption, but then i noticed how consuming the products did't really give me any fufilment. I was simply consuming because i was "told" to. I try to be mindfull about all the marketing strategies i know these days, that's the only way youc an really protect yourself from companies that prey on your incecurities.
i take "never be satisfied" oppositely. a lot of people feel instant gratification from purchases, but realizing that dopamine is meaningless makes you understand that you dont need to be the satisfied customer. i get ur point tho, just imo
The same beautiful message as Oliver Burkeman's 4000 Weeks: Do not do things as investments for an unknown future, constantly clawing at a never ending goal. Do things for the sake of doing the things themselves, the experience and the moment.
Yeah you can learn because you enjoy learning and you can run because you enjoy running but if you force yourself to get up every day at 4 am, go for a run and then try to read 100 pages of some book every morning just because you think it will make you a millionaire then that isnt sustainable. Everyone trying to be a millionaire and not trying to just help their community or be a good role model etc
@@JDirty-w-tha-30 I'm sorry, but it seems you may have misunderstood Burkeman's message. If you read his book, you would realize that he believes hedonism is just as detrimental as the endless pursuit of optimization. He recommends not prioritizing things that offer instant gratification, but rather focusing on activities that bring long-term fulfillment to your life. Burkeman doesn't advocate for abandoning long-term goals; instead, he suggests not becoming fixated on a future that hasn't arrived yet and learning to appreciate the journey. While achieving goals can bring satisfaction, solely focusing on that end result can leave you feeling empty once you attain it. Essentially, Burkeman isn't suggesting that your goals are worthless because they lie in an uncertain future; he simply offers a shift in perspective to discourage fixating on the notion that achieving certain goals will bring ultimate happiness. Instead, he encourages embracing the process and enjoying the journey toward those goals, regardless of the outcome. Regarding Sisyphus, I respectfully disagree with your assessment. While he may be young at 25, it's prudent to approach his ideas with a degree of skepticism. However, he demonstrates a commendable depth of knowledge in various philosophical subjects and excels at presenting them in easily digestible formats. Additionally, his podcast has afforded him opportunities to engage with intellectuals across diverse fields, and the fact that they treat him as an equal underscores the credibility of his insights. Nonetheless, it's important for individuals to conduct their own research and form their own perspectives. However, this shouldn't diminish the quality of Sisyphus's content.
@@JDirty-w-tha-30 I'm sorry, but it seems you may have misunderstood Burkeman's message. If you read his book, you would realize that he believes hedonism is just as detrimental as the endless pursuit of optimization. He recommends not prioritizing things that offer instant gratification, but rather focusing on activities that bring long-term fulfillment to your life. Burkeman doesn't advocate for abandoning long-term goals; instead, he suggests not becoming fixated on a future that hasn't arrived yet and learning to appreciate the journey. While achieving goals can bring satisfaction, solely focusing on that end result can leave you feeling empty once you attain it. Essentially, Burkeman isn't suggesting that your goals are worthless because they lie in an uncertain future; he simply offers a shift in perspective to discourage fixating on the notion that achieving certain goals will bring ultimate happiness. Instead, he encourages embracing the process and enjoying the journey toward those goals, regardless of the outcome. Regarding Sisyphus, I respectfully disagree with your assessment. While he may be young at 25, it's prudent to approach his ideas with a degree of skepticism. However, he demonstrates a commendable depth of knowledge in various philosophical subjects and excels at presenting them in easily digestible formats. Additionally, his podcast has afforded him opportunities to engage with intellectuals across diverse fields, and the fact that they treat him as an equal underscores the credibility of his insights. Nonetheless, it's important for individuals to conduct their own research and form their own perspectives. However, this shouldn't diminish the quality of Sisyphus's content.
I haven't read the book, so I can't really analyze it, but I think it's definitely a balance. Sometimes preparing for an unknown future is beneficial, like being frugal even when you don't need to. You never know when the economy will collapse or you'll lose your health insurance. On the flip side, compulsively stashing money away and depriving yourself of fun is mentally damaging. You need both to be happy.
Im so happy the other side of self improvement is quickly spreading through social media... We rapidly became obsesed with bettering ourselves, with hating our own weakness and fragility... Human, all too human... But we also had the capacity to see this, the futility of making ourselves "worth it", realizing our worth lies within us, and that without seeing this, no self improvement could help
Surely there is a difference between making a living and chasing the endless self aggrandizing/improvement "best self"...be a billionaire with a 6 pack in your dream castle crap?
@@who_we_are______5926 this isn't hypocrisy. This is understanding that, while we may not like or agree with it, we still have to survive in our given system and getting paid to disparage said system is a pretty good deal.
Sisyphus made me realise something with the 'Myth of Normal' concept, that many people including myself are guilty of 'focusing on ourselves' or chasing goals to avoid real connection with ourselves and others and it can get especially toxic when people take on the mentality that they don't need others or that they're too busy being productive. Which only makes us all the more isolated and more focused on our goals, also makes self-improvement feel quite unfulfilling. I'm not saying that you need people to validate your actions or their permission to do what you want, that's something you give yourself, but you do need help from people other than yourself. People should make connection a goal, because that will literally fuel all aspects of your life, as you'll have circle of support, directly or indirectly also makes the whole self-improvement fun, you get to share your journey and join others' journies which is beautiful to experience and not many peole do. We're all responsible in reaching out and have choice but its not easy and you're definetly not alone.
hmm i do agree with you. As you said it could functions as a mechanism to avoid real connection with ourselves and others, but it could also be a distraction from loneliness. It's a bit of a cycle, too. The "grind" makes you lose touch with others, isolating you from people and in turn making you even more lonely, prompting you to keep exploiting yourself and the cycle goes on.
What you're describing is a self-indulging collectivist fantasy that people create when they lack the means to change themselves. Ironically, this mindset is kind of what created the entire degenerative culture that caused the rise of self-improvement content on UA-cam. Children being trained by the internet into believing that they're entitled to having their feelings and sensibilities validated all the time, that their egos should be protected, that with all the world's unwavering adversity and hardships, you should instead seek refuge in these online circlejerks where people mentally jerk each other off and tell each other what they want to hear, instead of facing your problems in the real world. This kind of culture prays on insecure and mentally unwell people, particularly depressed and socially inept teems who are probably confused with their sexuality and looking for a sense of identity. Ironically, all this ever did was make everyone's conditions worse. It's made everyone more mentally unwell, more egotistical, more narcissistic, and more emotionally vulnerable. It's like a morbidly obese person who's depressed because of their obesity, and they cope by eating more food, worsening their condition in the process. The internet has successfully conjured up a culture of pathetically insecure low lives who's entire identity revolves around constant approval from other strangers on the internet. You're talk about collectivism and helping each other is literally the same exact self-indulging fantasies that exist specifically to indulge the type of people who constantly beg for other people to conform to their sensibilities. The idea that you could make your life more manageable just by begging for other people to feel bad for you. You can't always rely on people, they wont always be there for you. Besides, before you learn to help other people, you first need to learn how to help yourself. The whole point of "self-improvement" is to basically shatter your entire worldview of an "easier life" and force you to confront reality, that the world is unwavering in it's suffering and pain, and the only option you have is to grit your teeth and start moving forward. Life is not gonna get easier, the world isn't waiting on you. You can't always live off of the sympathy and validation of others.
I met a friend that completely changed my view of the world he is a simple guy, he likes food and anime so he does exacly that, no more no less, he is content with his imperfect life. I like food and anime but i wanted more and stopped doing the things i like, i was sad with my supposed "perfect" life I learned to accept and become myself
@@sieurchan So replace food and anime with with rock climbing and art, or literally anything else. Regardless the activity, there is still the concept of having things you enjoy, and allowing yourself to enjoy those things without feeling the need to give them up to chase an amorphous sense of "being better"
I understand where you are coming from, but perhaps you are looking in the wrong places. There are people like yourself all over, the idiots that lead us simply take the spotlight.
I feel that sometimes but when I think about how people actually act it doesn’t make sense. Nobody chooses to do the wrong thing. Yea there are terrible people who chose to hurt others but they see some sort of justice or righteousness in causing that pain to others. They are doing what is in their mind right. I think people are confused I guess. Maybe I’m confused too idk
Who cares what society strives for lol, you exist as you. Only care about what you desire, and take what you want by any means. Let the rest of them fail & wander aimlessly, what does it matter?
As someone in my middle 20s and building my career I think about that a lot. I know this will get drowned in the sea of comments, but here are my thoughts about it. I'm unfortunately trapped in this burn out cycle, and I do realize that I'm self exploiting myself. However, I feel that this is the necessary path in today society. I want to stop improving myself and just stabilize, but I have people that rely on me financially. I'm not from a wealthy background so I need to keep working to provide safety for those that I love. I have a clear goal that I want to reach that I defined years ago. I always keep in mind that right now I am self destructive, so that when this goal is reached I will stop. Some people might think that once a reach this objective I might just set higher goals and maintain the cycle. That is something that I fear as well. So I always try to foster this fear. The problem is not wanting to climb the stairs, unfortunately for those from a poor background this is a necessity, and I recognize that I will destroy pieces of myself in the process. The real problem is to know when to stop climbing.
I feel that, for most of us, there is no choice but to grind. Self improvement is just an excuse we give ourselves to motivate ourselves to get better at making money
I want to believe that there is a way to grind and stay mentally healthy and present in our actions. Personally I try to do that by checking in with myself and being mindful of my thoughts and behaviors. Slowly cutting out all the noise of technology, social media and all that stuff helps a lot. Meditation and yoga also go a long way
Hope this finds you well. The goals you set for yourself, the 'necessary path' and the desire to provide for people or to be relied on, were designed to entrap you in the cycle in the first place. The natural human life has been studied and gamified, locked behind paywall and reward system. The story of being human has changed to be this. I hope you find a process, a life, that you enjoy for its own sake, rather than any end goal. My own thoughts, feel free to discard them 😆
this is important for all of the privileged self-improvement junkies to hear - i would just say don't go at it out alone. There are far more than you think in your position, and part of the narrative of the modern, corporate state is that we are individual units and the burden is yours alone to bear. It isn't. The people united will never be defeated...
You gotta redirect your drive. Find what your purpose in life is. Much much easier said than done, but I can promise you that the grind isn’t your purpose. Think of what deserves your attention and energy more
The problem with societies of any kind, whether they be more libertarianistic or totalitarianistic, collectivistic or individualistic, etc., is that societies make demands of those who live within them. One cannot exist in a society without meeting its demands. Without those demands, I might be able to argue that the idea of a society couldn't exist. So the freeest of people (and yes, "freeest" evidently is in fact a word) are technically hermits, or anyone who deliberately puts great distance between themselves and society in general. However, one could argue that this itself is, in many ways, a prison. Because if you have needs that society can provide for, whether they be physical needs or emotional, then you yourself would be shielding yourself from having your needs met in what many would consider to be convenient ways. In the end, I think Søren Kierkegaard thought it best: "Do it, or don't do it-- You will regret both." The only freedom we truly get in life is in the choosing of what imprisons us, and choosing our own regrets, as I believe Christopher Hitchens once said.
By that fragile mindset, the very act of being born bestows 'demands' unto someone. You need to eat & fend yourself from the elements. The reality is that we don't have any 'demands', we have desires; what differentiates us is the strength & will to realize them.
the imaginary choice og staying with the group never feeling good enough and rejecting its values becoming a lone wanderer free to do anything he wants. Both end up in some form of discontent, as the only way to truly escape it is to embrace it without it letting get to you, finding the right people out of thousants upon thousants. self improve but allways think you are good enough, find people who think alike, embrace every moment of it, THAT is my recipy for hapiness
@@Nykandros My therapist is an incredibly good person to argue and discuss with, after talking out many topic I truly think It's worth the money. For some people therapy is a lesson, similar to the ones the schools offer but additionaly a person gets to talk out deeper, more philosophical themes.
So many of your videos resonate so deeply with the questions I've been asking myself for so long. Sometimes I don't even realize I've been questioning something until I watch one of your videos, and suddenly it seems to put words in place of some deep-seeded subconscious feeling or idea that I had been mislabeling or misunderstanding. What's even better is the fact that so many of your videos propose such wonderful new perspectives or solutions for the topic at hand. It's fantastic. The synthesizing work you do to bring so many philosophies, ideas, and writings together in one cohesive, helpful, and clear essay is so impressive. Thank you for doing what you do.
7:15 "In today's America, narcissism and sociopathy are strategies. And they're successful strategies". I'm from Argentina and I feel the same happens here, at least, in the capital Buenos Aires. And I would risk the same phenomenon has spread in the rest of the west, China, Japan, among others. The issue is that we're in a vicious cycle. A self fulfilling prophecy. Where if you don't play the game the odds are against and you will probably lose. But if you don't "enjoy" being a narcissist/sociopath or doesn't come out naturally as it happens for some people you lose as well because you feel fake and suffer more stress than the "natural" narcissists.
@y The alternative was the prime minister of the ex-government. Government of the party that ruled 16 of the last 20 years and brought back inflation in the 2000s and many other disasters such as the destruction of our currency. So thank you, but understand we didn't have other choice really.
Same here in Brazil. I'm tired of seeing work colleagues who engage in misdemeanors (and even financial crimes) to be considered examples to be followed. Things are just crazy nowadays.
Argentina, eh? I heard you guys elected a prime minister who's committed to reducing inflation and cutting down on the government waste that has objectively contributed to the state that your once prosperous country now finds itself in. My thoughts are with you. ✊😔
Narcissism & Sociopathy have always been, and will always be, successful strategies; regardless of time or place lol. The most powerful, successful individuals throughout history were narcissistic sociopaths. Alexander The Great thought he was a God & marched his army through the desert when they refused to continue his conquests, so that he may starve them out of spite. Julius Caesar conquered a sub-continent then returned home bragging about how he "exterminated one million Gauls & enslaved another million more!". Napoleon slaughtered the French revolutionaries point-blank with cannon fire, got promoted for it & said the day was the happiest he'd ever been in his life. Welcome to the real world. Bring your fangs & claws, leave the morals at the door.
I recently had a similar thought when it comes to art. I've grown so tired of seeking validation through it, and people "letting me down" when they don't give it to me. I'm currently taking a break of all these things, being very self-indulgent (I'm learning French and getting a driver's license so I can drive through France and enjoy good food, I'm playing video games again, smth I haven't done in a while because my art peers thought it's a waste of time, I'm drinking lattes again, etc.) It's weird to get off from a life of rigid discipline, but it does feel good to allow myself to have a break and just enjoy doing whatever I want before society forces me to get back into the ratrace :)
My life has only gotten better since the summer. Best 7 months of my life i can remember. Maybe because i stopped listening to the people telling me to not enjoy life untill ive retired. Now i rave hang out with my friends and balance it with work and gym. Feels good
While watching this video, I'm having frozen blueberries with sugar. I'm actually enjoying this A LOT (the video too btw). But if I were to pass this simple snack as some sort dessert recipe, I'd be afraid of judgement, because it's no blueberry cake or blueberry pie. Worse yet, I could feel awful at myself because I was unable to bake some sort of presentable dessert out of these blueberries. One might even think eating these frozen berries is kinda sad. But you know what? I'm really the only person that gets to decide that right now. And I choose to enjoy this. Or rather...there is no choice, there is only... yum.
Some fools don't know what they're missing; we have fresh strawberries that we cut up and add sugar to, they're amazing just like that or on top of some shortcake or ice cream. Sometimes simple can really go a long way~ 🍓🫐
“the depressed individual is unable to measure up; he is tired of having to become himself.” this perfectly describes the way i’ve felt for such a long time. social media markets the idea of “healing” as if being healed is a destination you reach. while that is the case for some people and some situations, there are some situations that can never be healed from and some people who are never fully able to heal just because of how their minds work. i’m one of those people, and it’s exhausting constantly trying to improve myself because that’s what has been engraved into me. i can’t even feel my emotions without feeling guilt for being sad and not productive or being angry and not forgiving. “healing” can become toxic and tiring. and it can get to the point when you no longer have any idea of what to do with yourself anymore.
I think the real problem is that too many people focus on "self improvement" as some _capitalist_ designed version and not _MORAL_ self improvement which is what we _REALLY_ should be doing, trying to develop the virtues of _character_ - courage, Strength, honesty, integrity, compassion, LOVE, etc. .
As someone currently trying to embrace this philosophy of life, being 20, finding myself finishing a college career and learning to let go from external desires while trying to find the key to emotional self-sufficiency, this video is a true gem. While self-improvement might detach us from the superficial problems of modern, fast-paced society, it can also lead to uncontrollable individualism and burnout. Greatly explained, looking forward to your next video :).
@gabrieleacquaroli8743 please DO NOT take this video as any legitimate life advice. It represents the opposite of modern understanding of developing an engaged and fulfilled life and I recommend to do anything but disregard self improvement
The sort of self-surveilling mindset described here is very prevalent in graduate school. I've caught myself in the traps the philosophers cited in your video numerous times. It's a tricky thing, since I enjoy the process of research and the satisfaction of piecing together a coherent model of something you're studying, but at the same time the workload on top of research (grading, proofreading, assignments) requires a ridiculous amount of organization to keep on top of. When I've been unable to keep up with work I've found myself embracing "grindset" mentality just to get through difficult times. But sometimes I question the idea of suffering so much to reach an end goal. Are any of us really self-motivated? It scares me to stay disconnected from myself, so I try to stay spontaneous as often as I can. It is the most beautiful thing in the world, and in a perfect world we could all spend time with our friends and create all day, but hey. Nothing's perfect.
nobody will ever know how much this video helped me im not going to vent here because i dont really have the energy for it right now but whatever this was was just a miracle to me
I think at the very least, its not about constant self improvement like we arent good enough, but since our surroundings are always changing at the very least we should self improve as just adaptation to our surroundings i think.
The fact is noones perfect and we need to be in touch with this. Self improvement needs to be fueled by us, ourselves, and not started for purely someone or something else. We should seek to self improvement because we love and respect ourselves and want the best for ourselves as people in our one of a kind experience of lives
Reminds me of the horse from animal farm, who worked himself to death striving to provide for his community and ideals and then was rewarded with a trip to the glue factory. Im considering taking a month to try and live a more structured life and work towards goals that I’ve been afraid to strive for, and I know that I need to keep a clear mind about why I’m working and when it’s necessary to step off the gas pedal.
being yourself is what truly makes sense in this world. embodying authenticity. of course, indulging in creativity. no matter what your passion is, put love into it and all is okay. burn our doesnt exist. that is an external chase, nothing that comes within. be yourself. let the light of your crafts bring happiness in this world. that's what i've recently discovered. it doesn't mean what you do, as long as you do it yourself, not chasing to meet someone else's norms or to be afraid of judjements. remember in order to not be afraid of judgements, you should also abstain from judgement. people who are afraid are usually the ones that cause other people to be afraid - understanding that, gives an ultimate power to be aware of your existence, your consiousness. i wish all a great day and quick mention here that this channel is great and a lot of effort is put in the content creation. stay safe and be a light somewhere
You're...literally just parroting the same "be yourself" shit that's already been parroted millions of times already. Spoiler Alert: Being yourself is complete bullshit.
By the same principle when children internalize the attitude of their parents towards them, adults internalize the attitude of the overarching socio-economic system towards them. This survival adaptation comes from apparent powerlessness of individuals to change the structure and systems they unwittingly find themselves in.
I like that you differentiate between externally motivated self improvement and healthy intrinsically motivated self improvement. They are not the same but can be easily confused for one another by the untrained eye.
Maybe I am reaching, but I kept thinking how neurodivergence (ADHD/Autism) makes this kinda the norm. Cause the only way to find some fulfillment and happiness say with adhd is to embrace the spirit of play, spontaneity and doing things for the sake of doing them, cause the other path of self improvement and discipline is just very difficult, painful and self pathologizing. Spontaneity, having multiple interests , while believing that you enough is difficult in these times, but understanding this and your videos, help. Thank You
I been stuck in this loop for a while and feel burnt out. I feel guilty even doing something fun since there is so much "PRODUCTIVE" tasks I need to do. I needed to listen to this. Thank you.
I think a lot of people succumb to their insecurities and do tasks they don't want to do. I find it easier to just do stuff i find fun , i like cardio , i joke a lot that it's because one day i will need this endurance to hunt wild animals because i will live in a forest or something but i genuinely like cardio , the process of it , feeling tired until the chemicals in my brain get released. I play guitar , i am decent at best , i don't really have a goal , i just like playing it , i can make melodies from really simple notes and chords, i don't really feel like getting better at it because i can express myself well enough, ( until i feel like i need to improve) . I don't think the problem is self improvement, i think the alienation is , the lack of familiarity with our self is. I think if everyone was more comfortable in their skin to an extent this wave of burnout wouldn't be so bad.
Great video and great timing to watch! After a layoff and few month long burnout, I came around to a lot of ideas like this and it’s so neatly put into words here. On some level the self-improvement pull up bar will always be there to exercise on whenever you need to, but it’s so liberating just to be able to say “you’re right where you need to be” and go along for the ride instead of being paralyzed by how much you feel you need to get better. Love all of the content!
Crazy crossover. makes sense tho. In my own life I feel like sometimes my grades, while supposed to represent what I am striving for, take priority over actually learrning, and turn into burnout. I would imagine that as a creator views and currency, while supposed to be product of skating and creating themselves, could sneak in as priority and take priority. George Paulos recently started to pivot his content to challenge this idea which i think is cool. keep making what you make for the sake of making it john!! its sick and the real ones are here for whatever feels most authentic
so like you basically explained the base of our existence, the reason why of pretty much everything that happens, also explained my anxiety of being myself and spontaneous
I feel mentally exhausted. I frequently think there's something wrong with myself. I've been trying to "better" myself for years but I feel like I have to stop that, just enjoy and live in the present.
I think a human, given an infinite choice of possibilities of what their life can become struggles with choosing anything. We are most happy when some external entity tells us what to do. It's easy to feel good when the responsibility of your actions is assigned to something other than you. That way, if you mess up, if you sacrifice other things in your life, if you realize after 20 years of doing the same thing that it was a waste of time, you can at least be comforted by the fact that it wasn't entirely 100% your choice to do that. This applies not only to things like peer pressure and society's expectations on you but also on the latest fads. "Self improvement" is a guise which we bundle our actions into to justify our existence. To justify getting up out of bed.
I've been on that "let them cook" mentality lately. Whatever or whoever I encounter, I just kind of laugh to myself and keep going. Makes the external and internal insanity feel a little less sad.
In the past I have fallen into the self-improvement rabbit hole. That happened when I was recovering from depression. It ended up in a burnout. I felt depressed, but have eventually got over it. Now I am working hard on turning my dreams into reality, while also making sure I am not going overboard. I am much happier now.
This was a very eye opening video. I struggle with self improvement by constantly weighing down my time with things in order to be better. Education, physical activity, etc. and in turn, I judge others who simply enjoy their lives. In reality, I’m enough but that’s the real thing I struggle with. Thank you for such thought-provoking content.
I am the most anti-establishment, most unorthodox human I know... Self-improvement & discipline are the top reasons I am alive & keep doing better with time Anyway, when I get tired, I take a 3 day break without putting myself down... "depression" (they tried to medicate me on several occasions, I had serious adverse events...) used to last months, until I just learn to relax without guilt... Which was one of the biggest "Self-improvement" steps I have taken
Same. While there is a long road ahead, if I didn't start on the self-improvement train, I would have been dead. I still struggle with suicidal tendencies but as I keep working on myself, the better it is getting to fight and wing against my demons. I'm not completely there yet when it comes to relaxing without guilt but I still take breaks when it gets too much.
Going through a breakup rn and Im watching your videos & I am really floored at the skill that you have to both validate and humble someone gently enough to self reflect. Thank you for this stuff, it’s genuinely enlightening and reassuring that things will get better ❤️
I spent my early 20’s on the self-improvement hamster wheel. Now as I’ve attained much of what I wanted (dream job, fit body, great relationship, more money) I can see clearly that self-improvement doesn’t make you as happy as allowing yourself to be, here and now, paying close attention to who and what is actually there. Don’t get me wrong now, it definitely feels better to be on the winning side of the societal game than when I felt like a loser fresh out of college! Lol But so many people reach their mountaintop so to speak, and instead of sitting with themselves in the feeling of emptiness or disappointment (that it hasn’t made you magically happy forever) they keep moving up, thinking the next achievement will be THE ONE to complete them. I know there is no goal I could achieve or thing I could possess that could ever make me more fulfilled than the little, simple things in life, as cliche as that sounds. Now self-improvement is just a fun thing to pass the time sometimes, as my sense of self and value isn’t so tied to it. I’m working on spending more time intentionally doing nothing and being spontaneous, rebelling against the machine! Excellent video as always!
While I don't disagree with much of the content in this presentation, there is very much a point of attainment that one much reach to both survive and be happy. If you, for example, were in a remote tribal community, you would have to improve your speer throwing skills, fishing skills, thatch weaving skills or whatever, in order to position yourself for a comfortable future. Your time and effort spent in your twenties was well spent. I congratulate you. I was not so successful at the same age. Society imposes demands upon you not for your sake, but the sake of others. Earn more, spend more, pay more tax, pay more interest, eat out etc. That should not stop you from placing demands on yourself. Become a faster runner, a better painter, martial artist or musician or whatever it is that you may want to perfect or at least endeavour at. That is not to say that you have to place those demands on yourself, but a word of warning, without such endeavours you may become unpalatable to both yourself and to others. Rebelling against the machine is a fruitless and painful endeavour. The machine must be made to work for you. Understand your needs in the short, medium and long term and tune the machine to suit. You cannot fight the machine, but you can guide it. Guide it well.
Your story should represent an absolute refutation of this video's central premise. You applied self improvement both in short and long term time-frames and now reap the benefits. Why would you discard those lessons to clap for a video that would have left you a lesser version of yourself?
i cant explain to you how this video was all i ever wanted to articulate. thank you so much for this. please, keep making videos, they make me a fuller person. and please, don’t change a bit! don’t change for more views or likes, the one thing i love the most about this channel is its purity. thank you
as someone who’s recently started their health journey at the gym, with a consistent morning routine I needed this, while my journey has been helpful I want to remain humble and philosophical, as best I can. ur vids are the best
Im at the burnout stage so hard right now, I’m not even fighting it- just listening to my body after years of fighting. Patience with yourself is the same patience you have with everything else, right?
"[I] get depressed [even] if I don't follow a schedule." Yes, but you are still bound by societal expectations. It's still ingrained. This culture leads to burn out and neuroticism from pursuing its demand for endless self-improvement, and depression if you don't participate.
You're a genius for bringing brilliant, The Myth of Self Improvement and Byong-Chul Han into the same video, it's the pinnacle of the metairony, in the veins of a modern Luther Blisset.
I was thinking about this last night, though could not find a strong resolution. Thanking you for making a video on this topic. You have given so many ample ideas to contemplate...
I liked the video, my one note is that reading the quotes out of sync with the speed that you talk is distracting. I love the editing choice of having a quote type up one word at a time, it makes a block of words more digestible! I just cant focus on the words when I'm hearing them before I see them, or especially when it flip-flops between jumping ahead or falling behind. Just one little thing that would make the quotes stick better! ❤
Self-improvement and self help is key to your success. In whatever area of life, be it students, mentors, and therapists. You may bitter about other people not helping you.. but then you realise that is blessing. At some point in your life, you will very thank full they didn't help. You will say "thank you a thousand times"
Great video, as always. I don't know if you take requests, but I think it would be greatly beneficial for myself, as well as probably many other viewers, if you devoted a video to explaining the different philosophical concepts of the self, the ego, the persona and so on. I know you've mentioned and explained those in various previous videos, but I still feel like I don't have a good grasp on what those things really are, and how to look for them in myself. You reference those concepts in nearly every video, and although I can kind of figure out what you mean, it would be nice to have a good grasp on your definition of those terms. Again, amazing content - please keep going!
When I was 12 I fractured my spine doing gymnastics. My doctor and other adults in my life, including my mom, said I would never be able to safely do gymnastics again. I was absolutely devastated and threw myself into physical therapy, in the hope I would prove them wrong. When I was cleared for physical activity after a literal year, I started lifting weights after school, 2 hours a day, 5 days a week. I got super strong and was laser focused on my goal of getting back into a gym. I got really into hustle culture, and would save motivational gym bro quotes, pin them on my walls, (i.e. "pain is just weakness leaving the body") etc. It took up a huge portion of my life. I did eventually get back to my sport, but that mindset pretty much started applying to every other area of my life. I genuinely felt very empowered by having achieved this huge goal, and I got into the whole "12 atomic habits" scene and made all these other goals. Instead of thinking to myself "hey, i want to hang out with my friends more. I should call them." it would be "I want to hang out with my friends a minimum of 3x/week to maximize my mental health and therefore, my proficiency in life." It was like I had paywalled my own humanity. Over the years it began to feel more like an oppressive mold than anything else, and I stopped working out and started to hate and dread it. My progress slowed and I became so angry at myself, yet I had no interest in doing anything anymore. Every time I did something "good" (ate healthy, had a positive relationship of literally any kind, found new music i liked, got a good grade, started a new hobby, literally anything) I would make a new folder in my brain for that thing, tallying all the times I partook in it and trying to maximize my participation so as to achieve this golden trophy feeling of having "won". It was like looksmaxxing, except like, with all my hobbies instead. I could not stop studying myself. It's a very ingrained mindset that helped me during a time I was really low and needed it (recovering from an injury) but now it's just wearing me down and my brain is rejecting it and refusing to let me enjoy my old hobbies, even working out. This essay really put a lot of my frustration into words, and I didn't even fully realize how I was engrained in it
@@sxyKYx4Ko7CBWTv yeah like there’s a difference between going to the gym 3/4 days a week vs literally being 24/7 inside of it, or something like trying to beat unhealthy habits vs cutting off every single thing you enjoy out of your life, most people don’t see the middle ground
It’s great to have goals and projects. I have, like, dozens. But I never let go of my willingness to take breaks from them to just play, laugh, and disconnect. I try to leave my house and see a family member or friend that I love every single day, and when I mix that spontaneous fun into days that also have learning and progress towards my goals, I almost always have a good day.
IMO (and I believe this is emphasized in several spiritual texts) it’s the idea of self improvement for selfish gain that leads to despair. Improvement in itself isn’t a bad motive, (it is also not new or limited to modern societies) because life moves along regardless of whether we like it or not, and it’s easy to let it get ahead of you. I think viewing improvement not as a means to get social status or wealth, but instead as a natural way of embracing the life you’ve been given is the key. Realizing that in reality, nothing you do will make you immortal, and the attention you get from improving is fickle and unimportant, but gaining skills and experience is a gift that’s given to us. You are free to do whatever you please with the time you have, so for me personally, I want to keep testing myself to see what is possible because I think improvement alongside others can benefit the collective.
That’s one way to look at it. I have observed that many people are wanting what they believe is expected from them. Offer people what they want, but actually give them what they need and you will make all better.
Wow! I really struggle with pushing myself too much, and I’ve watched many videos on the topic. This is by far the best one! Thank you for sparking new thoughts.
The self help industry feels like a continuation of the personal responsibility rhetoric to me.. Every situation in your is really complex and doesnt have a magic code someone from the outside can tell you to use.. The real self help for anyone is simply good self empowerment and good self esteem.. However crazy life might get.. try to give yourself a second chance..👍🎉
Aren’t we just trading one form of self-exploitation for another? The spontaneous, more open mode of being could easily end up just as consumerist as the first, potentially more hedonistically driven. The solution still ends up being ego driven, an ego project of the present instead of the future.
i've been in therapy for several years working on the issues discussed in the video (overachievement, seeking external validation, feeling of being not good enough and etc) on a personal lever. the silly yet fascinating thing is that the final derived conclusion is very much similar to the final though of the video, but put into words and language that is more often used in therapy and psychology. obviously, there was a lot more to it when it comes to the things i learned on the journey of attending therapy for so long, as well as there are a lot of other points made during the video, but still it is interesting how we come to the same/similar conclusion with different approached to the issue (personal vs systematic), indicating that we are more likely correct in out conclusion :) have a nice day and thank you for your videos
Your videos never fail to align with my current experiences & I feel like they guide me to clarity. Thank you for inspiring me to think broader and find joy in the present.
@@kukurudza0o random people around, mostly its brick form, $0.20 a gram (can get for even less in bulk), expensive is like $1.01 a gram. Not very easy to get here in brazil
I don't have much to say except thank you. I watched this video multiple times because of how impactful and emotionally validating it was. Thank you, Sisyphus. :)
Brilliant, being the sponsor of this episode is pretty ironic...isn't he saying that the constant pursuit of improving adds to lots of bad emotional outcomes?
I think this video joined up a lot of dots and made sense of a lot of feeling I’ve been having as of late. I think you did a good job pulling all of these different sources/ideas together into one point
i came across your videos just a few days ago and I have to say that they are truly amazing. I have been doing therapy for more than a year and all your videos summarize very important points that i have been working on, definitely I'm gonna rewatch your videos because there is so much to analyze in just 12 minutes. thanks man.
To try everything Brilliant has to offer-free-for a full 30 days, visit brilliant.org/Sisyphus55/ . The first 200 of you will get 20% off Brilliant’s annual premium subscription.
sigma grindset 🤔
Secret to happiness is Acceptance
Worst sponsor fit ever?
We r less free then before. I have never seen parent control their ki, ds then now. There is no such thing as school back in the days.
@@Looking_at_the_viewerit's despair. Not happiness. You just copy pasted that quote. That's just shallow.
Great! Now that i know i can plan to be more spontainious.
lol bruh
I'm going to create an app that let's people track their spontaneity and reminds them to be spontaneous. I'll make millions.
Do it FR.@@griffin3964
@@griffin3964this is kinda insane but also a good idea if marketed well 😭
lmaoo@@griffin3964
One must imagine Sisyphus self improving
is he stupid?
Sissypuss
Sisyphitness.
Syphilis
Sissyfit
Bro just posts on whatever I’m thinking about in that moment
Its either that or he chooses topics that are universal and very "in the moment" 🤔
im literally doing a project on burnout and i picked up hans work from the library lmao
This video was proof we live in the matrix
Been thinking about this topic for about a week, glad to know we’re all on the same idea frequency here
Ikr? It's like me and this guy is journeying through almost the exact dame life together
There are two thoughts of self improvement in my opinion:
“I am not my best self. I have been feeding my greatest insecurities and fears. I need to be better, for myself” and “Everyone else is pulling ahead of me in life. I’ve done nothing, I am worthless. I need to improve at something to stay in the running with everyone else”
I think the former is healthy. Making yourself better for yourself is a project you should work on your whole life. The latter is insecurity incarnate and is a standard you’ll never meet. Self improvement is either a lifestyle or an addiction.
I don't know about that. I think what you're saying is what everyone else is saying. Self-improvement because we feel compelled by external forces, society, authorities to be better, to finally be enough and accepted, to finally "deserve" anything in life = bad. But self-improvement "for yourself", "for self-improvement's self" = good. To me this is exactly that distinction that is made between that surveillance society and the much more efficient "self-surveillance". The powers that be would be creaming their pants hearing you say that you don't need them to keep putting external pressure on you to keep becoming more productive, that you'll gladly do it "for yourself" or because "it's the right/healthy thing to do" (or whatever). Like, I'll be honest, I almost don't understand what the video is about. Sysiphus here does say something like "self-improvement isn't necessarily bad", as if the reason behind it or the degree to which it is taken determines whether it's "good" or "bad". But I think that's just the hamster running in its wheel, post hoc rationalization. It also seems to contradict what I understood to be the main point of the essay, that self-surveillance can be even more destructive than outside surveillance. In the end you're just doing exactly what "they" want you to do, and they don't care if it's because you feel forced to or somehow think it's healthy.
I agree with your assessment 👍
The latter incorrectly assumes that everyone is running the same race, or is running to the same destination.
Or as Alan Watts said, "In music, one doesn't make the end of a composition the point of the composition. If that were the case, the best conductor would be those who played fastest."
@Hubcool367 it depends on what you define as self improvement. I used to have terrible self talk and would literally call myself a bitch, stupid, useless, and constantly thought about useless negative stuff like if I was a character in a book, all the readers would hate me and talk shit about me... stuff like that. Self help contents actually did help me. Now I don't talk to myself that way, I feel okay with myself and my decisions, even when I make a mistake I don't beat myself up like I did before. I believe this is self improvement. Would you say this is bad? Would you say that me becoming more confident and mentally healthy is actually benefiting the "big guys"?
@@OG-zc2zj to be honest? I think it benefits the big guys, yes 😛 Of course, this is a point of view like any other, and you may disagree. I'd like to start by saying that whatever helps you, I'm happy for you. Even if I think some solutions are far from ideal, I won't tell you that you, personally, are wrong for doing what you can to help yourself. But I'll say this: I actually don't think there is such a thing as "self talk". Sure, the specific voices at the specific moments you're referring to are happening in your head, but they don't originate from there, from your "self". They originate from the very real voices of other people, of "society". They are some kind of average of what people have been saying about you for years, how they made you feel. People who have never been told or been made to feel like they are "not enough", whether through family, people at school, social media, they won't have "self-talk" about being "not enough". I don't know how true it is, but I remember reading that the Dalai Lama, at some point getting more familiar with Western concepts, was absolutely confused by the concept of "self-hate"/"self-loathing". Like, there is no word for the concept in the Tibetan language (or something like that). You could hate others, but hating yourself was a totally alien concept, to a whole society. What I'm getting at is that everything that you refer to as "negative self-talk" is taught, it was socially imposed upon you. It is a burden that, if our society wasn't rotten to its core, you should have never had to bear, in my opinion. This means that, for me at least, the proper solution, getting to the root of the problem, would be fundamental changes to cruel societies that make such a huge amount of people feel so totally worthless. Of course, easier said than done. I completely understand that this might feel impossible and that you'd rather address just your own self-talk, even if that's only treating the symptoms and not the causes of the disease. You gotta do what you gotta do to survive. But yeah, while you may have saved yourself, if you stop there and not address the root causes, it means that people will keep being thrown into the meat grinder. And ultimately, that would be all to the benefit of the big guys: their inhumane system and society is able to chug along another day, unchallenged. They didn't even have to waste resources replacing that cog that was about to break down as the cog fixed itself. No need to take a step back and reflect on a machine that keeps breaking its cogs.
The problem is not with self improvement, the issue is with the societal values that people are measuring themselves against. As you point out, the grind set is many peoples attempt at self improvement, but those people are optimising themselves to fulfil societies value that more money=better person, it's the nature of capitalism that only a minority of people can achieve this goal, hence the high number of people getting burnt out trying. If we held values like having a strong happy community in equally high regard, then everyone can achieve that and people wouldn't burn out trying to achieve it.
I think it is deeper than that like the video is saying. I've felt the very same thing you're describing while trying to make myself "a loving and kind and patient person." There is something to the need for us to do things for the sake of the experience of the thing itself in order to be happy. The error comes when we take on other people's values instead of looking inward to intuit what it is that is really good for us, which are the things that feel good or "harmonious" when we do them (which is distinguished from feelings like pleasure or happiness).
Except that has nothing to do with 'societal values' lmao. The desire for a larger pool of resources is as natural as can be. Even squirrels covet as much as they can before the season ends. Wealth equates to a larger standard of living & a greater control over ones external environment; as well as serving as an 'enabler' for any costly desires (of which the world is full of, take your pick).
Also, it has nothing to do with Capitalism that only a few will have the great majority of resources; that's just how the world works. Look into The Pareto Principle or The Iron Law of Oligarchy, it is inevitable that the elite minority of adept organisms will outcompete the large majority of inept ones for a greater share of resources. This pattern repeats itself across all domains, both natural & creative. Human society is just one expression of this, and it'll happen regardless of political ideology.
Capitalism is just here to grease the gears lol
koolaid death cults can provide a strong happy community too.
@@NykandrosOf course it's Capitalisms fault. The system is built to benefit the rich. This would indeed go away under a more equal system.
@@NykandrosWe are not squirrels. Plus Squirrels collect so much because they end up forgetting a large portion of their caches anyways.
Isolated tribes usually do not care about wealth or acquiring as many resources and material possessions as possible unless their societies have been radically effected by the outside world so as to induce social pressures within those tribes to covet those things.
I enjoy Sisyphus 55, the funny reason why I watch Sisyphus 55 is because I want to self improve.
same lol
even the sponsor is kinda funny claiming SIX times faster learning ww
Wisdom is not self-improvement
The difference here is that this is what you truly want instead of an internalized societal goal
Spontaneity in this video is a weird way to describe things we intrinsically want but it works well enough
Lol I did enough 🍄 that I genuinely don't really care much about self improvement but I can appreciate the benefits that wealth accumulation brings to society as a whole in the long term so I try to continue to be productive as capitalist society desires. Who knows though once the weath baselinereaches a point in which no one really has to work for much, the mental aspect of life may get worse, but my prediction is that it will get way better since everyone will have the opportunity to pursue spontaneity, hence why I believe the accumulation of weath is still valuable.
Only time will tell though 🙂
The irony of the brilliant ad is just unbeatable.
I mean hey he makes good content and needs money to support himself
@@jimbohanhe could of had any other ad
@@lukasgarke9933 it’s a beautiful revelation of the paradoxical nature of participating in society while recognizing its inclinations.
@@Ricky-qb6mw very well said
'Never be satisfied' is a bad mantra. It's the mantra of the seller, of the marketer, of the advertiser. Too many people have bought what they are selling. 'Be content and humble' is considered a death sentence to most people as it is a death sentence to the seller, the marketer, the advertiser. They would themselves be bought by their own money to be owned by the seller, the marketer, the advertiser.
@@NykandrosSome mudslops are better looking then you actually you shouldn't underestimate their beauty.
The reason this brainwashing work’s is because most people are ignorant of the power of marketing, social proof, and the power of influencers.
I’m a salesman, and i often find it strange how ignorant people are of the power of marketing. When i talk about sales/marketing most just brush it of with « i’m in control of my consumption». Like the hundreds of billions spent on marketing and sales had no influence on their decisions at all. Most think their aspirations come from them selves.
When in reality it’s mostly social background, marketing behind my guess 98% of most peoples spending paterns, and aspirations.
The working class dreams of becomeing middle class.
The middle class dreams of beeing promoted to the higher middle class. And consumes 5-10% more than they earn ( credit), on products that makes them seem to be in the class they aspire to be in. We the marketeers now everything about peoples dreams. Because we created them. That is most of them are not dreams at all. Simply reactions to the influence.
Personaly i protect myself with addblocks, ublock and other anti-comersial tech ( subcription). And live highly minimalistic. I fear marketing, because i know it’s power to brainwash
@@Ikaros23 yeah, i agree with you. i used to think that i control my consumption, but then i noticed how consuming the products did't really give me any fufilment. I was simply consuming because i was "told" to. I try to be mindfull about all the marketing strategies i know these days, that's the only way youc an really protect yourself from companies that prey on your incecurities.
i take "never be satisfied" oppositely. a lot of people feel instant gratification from purchases, but realizing that dopamine is meaningless makes you understand that you dont need to be the satisfied customer. i get ur point tho, just imo
Do you deserve a Mercedes?
The same beautiful message as Oliver Burkeman's 4000 Weeks: Do not do things as investments for an unknown future, constantly clawing at a never ending goal. Do things for the sake of doing the things themselves, the experience and the moment.
I literally just watched his video on that then the notification for this one popped up
Yeah you can learn because you enjoy learning and you can run because you enjoy running but if you force yourself to get up every day at 4 am, go for a run and then try to read 100 pages of some book every morning just because you think it will make you a millionaire then that isnt sustainable. Everyone trying to be a millionaire and not trying to just help their community or be a good role model etc
@@JDirty-w-tha-30
I'm sorry, but it seems you may have misunderstood Burkeman's message. If you read his book, you would realize that he believes hedonism is just as detrimental as the endless pursuit of optimization. He recommends not prioritizing things that offer instant gratification, but rather focusing on activities that bring long-term fulfillment to your life. Burkeman doesn't advocate for abandoning long-term goals; instead, he suggests not becoming fixated on a future that hasn't arrived yet and learning to appreciate the journey. While achieving goals can bring satisfaction, solely focusing on that end result can leave you feeling empty once you attain it.
Essentially, Burkeman isn't suggesting that your goals are worthless because they lie in an uncertain future; he simply offers a shift in perspective to discourage fixating on the notion that achieving certain goals will bring ultimate happiness. Instead, he encourages embracing the process and enjoying the journey toward those goals, regardless of the outcome.
Regarding Sisyphus, I respectfully disagree with your assessment. While he may be young at 25, it's prudent to approach his ideas with a degree of skepticism. However, he demonstrates a commendable depth of knowledge in various philosophical subjects and excels at presenting them in easily digestible formats. Additionally, his podcast has afforded him opportunities to engage with intellectuals across diverse fields, and the fact that they treat him as an equal underscores the credibility of his insights. Nonetheless, it's important for individuals to conduct their own research and form their own perspectives. However, this shouldn't diminish the quality of Sisyphus's content.
@@JDirty-w-tha-30
I'm sorry, but it seems you may have misunderstood Burkeman's message. If you read his book, you would realize that he believes hedonism is just as detrimental as the endless pursuit of optimization. He recommends not prioritizing things that offer instant gratification, but rather focusing on activities that bring long-term fulfillment to your life. Burkeman doesn't advocate for abandoning long-term goals; instead, he suggests not becoming fixated on a future that hasn't arrived yet and learning to appreciate the journey. While achieving goals can bring satisfaction, solely focusing on that end result can leave you feeling empty once you attain it.
Essentially, Burkeman isn't suggesting that your goals are worthless because they lie in an uncertain future; he simply offers a shift in perspective to discourage fixating on the notion that achieving certain goals will bring ultimate happiness. Instead, he encourages embracing the process and enjoying the journey toward those goals, regardless of the outcome.
Regarding Sisyphus, I respectfully disagree with your assessment. While he may be young at 25, it's prudent to approach his ideas with a degree of skepticism. However, he demonstrates a commendable depth of knowledge in various philosophical subjects and excels at presenting them in easily digestible formats. Additionally, his podcast has afforded him opportunities to engage with intellectuals across diverse fields, and the fact that they treat him as an equal underscores the credibility of his insights. Nonetheless, it's important for individuals to conduct their own research and form their own perspectives. However, this shouldn't diminish the quality of Sisyphus's content.
I haven't read the book, so I can't really analyze it, but I think it's definitely a balance. Sometimes preparing for an unknown future is beneficial, like being frugal even when you don't need to. You never know when the economy will collapse or you'll lose your health insurance. On the flip side, compulsively stashing money away and depriving yourself of fun is mentally damaging. You need both to be happy.
Im so happy the other side of self improvement is quickly spreading through social media... We rapidly became obsesed with bettering ourselves, with hating our own weakness and fragility... Human, all too human... But we also had the capacity to see this, the futility of making ourselves "worth it", realizing our worth lies within us, and that without seeing this, no self improvement could help
Our worth lies within us, but I still wanna make cool stuff lol
@@Amaling I know. Me too
So you're saying that my next step in self improvement should include less self improvement, I'll add it to the list
@@calvineagar1863 🤓😆
"Why then do we continue to endorse and embrace such a culture?"
"This video is sponsored by Brilliant."
Glad to see others catch the hypocrisy in these virtue signalers
Surely there is a difference between making a living and chasing the endless self aggrandizing/improvement "best self"...be a billionaire with a 6 pack in your dream castle crap?
@@who_we_are______5926 that was almost certainly intentional and done as a joke
@@who_we_are______5926 this isn't hypocrisy. This is understanding that, while we may not like or agree with it, we still have to survive in our given system and getting paid to disparage said system is a pretty good deal.
@@isisneteru1013surely you are not just manufacturing a strawman.
Sisyphus made me realise something with the 'Myth of Normal' concept, that many people including myself are guilty of 'focusing on ourselves' or chasing goals to avoid real connection with ourselves and others and it can get especially toxic when people take on the mentality that they don't need others or that they're too busy being productive. Which only makes us all the more isolated and more focused on our goals, also makes self-improvement feel quite unfulfilling. I'm not saying that you need people to validate your actions or their permission to do what you want, that's something you give yourself, but you do need help from people other than yourself. People should make connection a goal, because that will literally fuel all aspects of your life, as you'll have circle of support, directly or indirectly also makes the whole self-improvement fun, you get to share your journey and join others' journies which is beautiful to experience and not many peole do. We're all responsible in reaching out and have choice but its not easy and you're definetly not alone.
Truth. It's so difficult to exist without connection.
I totally agree with you.
hmm i do agree with you. As you said it could functions as a mechanism to avoid real connection with ourselves and others, but it could also be a distraction from loneliness. It's a bit of a cycle, too. The "grind" makes you lose touch with others, isolating you from people and in turn making you even more lonely, prompting you to keep exploiting yourself and the cycle goes on.
Agreed, but you can self improve and become rich and do these things 😂
What you're describing is a self-indulging collectivist fantasy that people create when they lack the means to change themselves. Ironically, this mindset is kind of what created the entire degenerative culture that caused the rise of self-improvement content on UA-cam. Children being trained by the internet into believing that they're entitled to having their feelings and sensibilities validated all the time, that their egos should be protected, that with all the world's unwavering adversity and hardships, you should instead seek refuge in these online circlejerks where people mentally jerk each other off and tell each other what they want to hear, instead of facing your problems in the real world. This kind of culture prays on insecure and mentally unwell people, particularly depressed and socially inept teems who are probably confused with their sexuality and looking for a sense of identity. Ironically, all this ever did was make everyone's conditions worse. It's made everyone more mentally unwell, more egotistical, more narcissistic, and more emotionally vulnerable. It's like a morbidly obese person who's depressed because of their obesity, and they cope by eating more food, worsening their condition in the process. The internet has successfully conjured up a culture of pathetically insecure low lives who's entire identity revolves around constant approval from other strangers on the internet.
You're talk about collectivism and helping each other is literally the same exact self-indulging fantasies that exist specifically to indulge the type of people who constantly beg for other people to conform to their sensibilities. The idea that you could make your life more manageable just by begging for other people to feel bad for you. You can't always rely on people, they wont always be there for you. Besides, before you learn to help other people, you first need to learn how to help yourself.
The whole point of "self-improvement" is to basically shatter your entire worldview of an "easier life" and force you to confront reality, that the world is unwavering in it's suffering and pain, and the only option you have is to grit your teeth and start moving forward. Life is not gonna get easier, the world isn't waiting on you. You can't always live off of the sympathy and validation of others.
The irony is not lost on me that a video about self improvement is sponsored by brilliant
Was thinking the same!👍
This 55 guy's a hypocrite, as Marxists usually are.
This 55 guy's a hypocrite, as Marxists usually are.
I always thought brilliant was less about self improvement and more infotainment, it's not the place I would go for a proper education.
I met a friend that completely changed my view of the world
he is a simple guy, he likes food and anime so he does exacly that, no more no less, he is content with his imperfect life.
I like food and anime but i wanted more and stopped doing the things i like, i was sad with my supposed "perfect" life
I learned to accept and become myself
Your friend sounds kinda cool.
I don’t want to be inspired by anyone who receives joy from just consumption of media/food
@@sieurchan So replace food and anime with with rock climbing and art, or literally anything else. Regardless the activity, there is still the concept of having things you enjoy, and allowing yourself to enjoy those things without feeling the need to give them up to chase an amorphous sense of "being better"
Stepbrothers says this pretty well... "Never lose your dinosaur."
@@coreykrochmal3465I enjoy being filthy stinking rich. It’s good that y’all “don’t focus on money”, leaves plenty for me.
The timing on this upload is actually crazy
Right?
real
REAL
wait why?
fr. 0_o
I feel like enough, i more feel like I'm trapped in a society that actively chooses not to be good and strives to be worse
I understand where you are coming from, but perhaps you are looking in the wrong places. There are people like yourself all over, the idiots that lead us simply take the spotlight.
one who feels that their soul is full cannot function in a society in which “having enough” is an alien concept (capitalism strikes again)
I feel that sometimes but when I think about how people actually act it doesn’t make sense. Nobody chooses to do the wrong thing. Yea there are terrible people who chose to hurt others but they see some sort of justice or righteousness in causing that pain to others. They are doing what is in their mind right. I think people are confused I guess. Maybe I’m confused too idk
@@BRO_TOASTI agree, so if you are at least we confused together :)
Who cares what society strives for lol, you exist as you. Only care about what you desire, and take what you want by any means. Let the rest of them fail & wander aimlessly, what does it matter?
As someone in my middle 20s and building my career I think about that a lot. I know this will get drowned in the sea of comments, but here are my thoughts about it.
I'm unfortunately trapped in this burn out cycle, and I do realize that I'm self exploiting myself. However, I feel that this is the necessary path in today society. I want to stop improving myself and just stabilize, but I have people that rely on me financially. I'm not from a wealthy background so I need to keep working to provide safety for those that I love.
I have a clear goal that I want to reach that I defined years ago. I always keep in mind that right now I am self destructive, so that when this goal is reached I will stop. Some people might think that once a reach this objective I might just set higher goals and maintain the cycle. That is something that I fear as well. So I always try to foster this fear.
The problem is not wanting to climb the stairs, unfortunately for those from a poor background this is a necessity, and I recognize that I will destroy pieces of myself in the process. The real problem is to know when to stop climbing.
I feel that, for most of us, there is no choice but to grind. Self improvement is just an excuse we give ourselves to motivate ourselves to get better at making money
I want to believe that there is a way to grind and stay mentally healthy and present in our actions. Personally I try to do that by checking in with myself and being mindful of my thoughts and behaviors. Slowly cutting out all the noise of technology, social media and all that stuff helps a lot. Meditation and yoga also go a long way
Hope this finds you well.
The goals you set for yourself, the 'necessary path' and the desire to provide for people or to be relied on, were designed to entrap you in the cycle in the first place. The natural human life has been studied and gamified, locked behind paywall and reward system.
The story of being human has changed to be this. I hope you find a process, a life, that you enjoy for its own sake, rather than any end goal.
My own thoughts, feel free to discard them 😆
this is important for all of the privileged self-improvement junkies to hear - i would just say don't go at it out alone. There are far more than you think in your position, and part of the narrative of the modern, corporate state is that we are individual units and the burden is yours alone to bear. It isn't. The people united will never be defeated...
You gotta redirect your drive. Find what your purpose in life is. Much much easier said than done, but I can promise you that the grind isn’t your purpose. Think of what deserves your attention and energy more
The problem with societies of any kind, whether they be more libertarianistic or totalitarianistic, collectivistic or individualistic, etc., is that societies make demands of those who live within them. One cannot exist in a society without meeting its demands. Without those demands, I might be able to argue that the idea of a society couldn't exist.
So the freeest of people (and yes, "freeest" evidently is in fact a word) are technically hermits, or anyone who deliberately puts great distance between themselves and society in general. However, one could argue that this itself is, in many ways, a prison. Because if you have needs that society can provide for, whether they be physical needs or emotional, then you yourself would be shielding yourself from having your needs met in what many would consider to be convenient ways.
In the end, I think Søren Kierkegaard thought it best: "Do it, or don't do it-- You will regret both." The only freedom we truly get in life is in the choosing of what imprisons us, and choosing our own regrets, as I believe Christopher Hitchens once said.
By that fragile mindset, the very act of being born bestows 'demands' unto someone. You need to eat & fend yourself from the elements. The reality is that we don't have any 'demands', we have desires; what differentiates us is the strength & will to realize them.
@@Nykandros As a buddhist stuck in the cycle of samsara, yea being born already bestows upon us the demands of living lmo
This is depressing.
the imaginary choice og staying with the group never feeling good enough and rejecting its values becoming a lone wanderer free to do anything he wants. Both end up in some form of discontent, as the only way to truly escape it is to embrace it without it letting get to you, finding the right people out of thousants upon thousants.
self improve but allways think you are good enough, find people who think alike, embrace every moment of it, THAT is my recipy for hapiness
@@kacperochowiak9043 I agree. Most of the times we find happiness in a healthy balance
Been going to therapy for about 6 months, crazy how long ive never felt enough and the reasons behind it.
Same here, mate.
@@Nykandros My therapist is an incredibly good person to argue and discuss with, after talking out many topic I truly think It's worth the money. For some people therapy is a lesson, similar to the ones the schools offer but additionaly a person gets to talk out deeper, more philosophical themes.
@@Nykandrosbad bait try harder
Same, I almost can't remember it being any different
The most baffling part is how deep ones experiences connect with such feelings.
So many of your videos resonate so deeply with the questions I've been asking myself for so long. Sometimes I don't even realize I've been questioning something until I watch one of your videos, and suddenly it seems to put words in place of some deep-seeded subconscious feeling or idea that I had been mislabeling or misunderstanding. What's even better is the fact that so many of your videos propose such wonderful new perspectives or solutions for the topic at hand. It's fantastic. The synthesizing work you do to bring so many philosophies, ideas, and writings together in one cohesive, helpful, and clear essay is so impressive. Thank you for doing what you do.
Social media made this very obvious to me. Unplugging and choosing the things i wanna work on vs instagram telling me what i "should be".
7:15 "In today's America, narcissism and sociopathy are strategies. And they're successful strategies".
I'm from Argentina and I feel the same happens here, at least, in the capital Buenos Aires. And I would risk the same phenomenon has spread in the rest of the west, China, Japan, among others. The issue is that we're in a vicious cycle. A self fulfilling prophecy. Where if you don't play the game the odds are against and you will probably lose. But if you don't "enjoy" being a narcissist/sociopath or doesn't come out naturally as it happens for some people you lose as well because you feel fake and suffer more stress than the "natural" narcissists.
@y The alternative was the prime minister of the ex-government. Government of the party that ruled 16 of the last 20 years and brought back inflation in the 2000s and many other disasters such as the destruction of our currency. So thank you, but understand we didn't have other choice really.
Same here in Brazil. I'm tired of seeing work colleagues who engage in misdemeanors (and even financial crimes)
to be considered examples to be followed. Things are just crazy nowadays.
Argentina, eh? I heard you guys elected a prime minister who's committed to reducing inflation and cutting down on the government waste that has objectively contributed to the state that your once prosperous country now finds itself in. My thoughts are with you. ✊😔
Literally every country would reward narcissim and sociopathy. It's human nature that narcissists and sociopaths tend to gravitate towards power.
Narcissism & Sociopathy have always been, and will always be, successful strategies; regardless of time or place lol. The most powerful, successful individuals throughout history were narcissistic sociopaths. Alexander The Great thought he was a God & marched his army through the desert when they refused to continue his conquests, so that he may starve them out of spite. Julius Caesar conquered a sub-continent then returned home bragging about how he "exterminated one million Gauls & enslaved another million more!". Napoleon slaughtered the French revolutionaries point-blank with cannon fire, got promoted for it & said the day was the happiest he'd ever been in his life.
Welcome to the real world. Bring your fangs & claws, leave the morals at the door.
I recently had a similar thought when it comes to art. I've grown so tired of seeking validation through it, and people "letting me down" when they don't give it to me. I'm currently taking a break of all these things, being very self-indulgent (I'm learning French and getting a driver's license so I can drive through France and enjoy good food, I'm playing video games again, smth I haven't done in a while because my art peers thought it's a waste of time, I'm drinking lattes again, etc.) It's weird to get off from a life of rigid discipline, but it does feel good to allow myself to have a break and just enjoy doing whatever I want before society forces me to get back into the ratrace :)
My life has only gotten better since the summer. Best 7 months of my life i can remember. Maybe because i stopped listening to the people telling me to not enjoy life untill ive retired. Now i rave hang out with my friends and balance it with work and gym. Feels good
While watching this video, I'm having frozen blueberries with sugar. I'm actually enjoying this A LOT (the video too btw). But if I were to pass this simple snack as some sort dessert recipe, I'd be afraid of judgement, because it's no blueberry cake or blueberry pie. Worse yet, I could feel awful at myself because I was unable to bake some sort of presentable dessert out of these blueberries. One might even think eating these frozen berries is kinda sad. But you know what? I'm really the only person that gets to decide that right now. And I choose to enjoy this. Or rather...there is no choice, there is only... yum.
heck yeah! enjoy those frozen blueberries and don’t let anyone, or bad brain thoughts, stop you
Some fools don't know what they're missing; we have fresh strawberries that we cut up and add sugar to, they're amazing just like that or on top of some shortcake or ice cream. Sometimes simple can really go a long way~ 🍓🫐
“He is tired of having to become himself” yeah. That’s it. Never been able to put into words until I saw that quote. Thanks, S 55.
“the depressed individual is unable to measure up; he is tired of having to become himself.” this perfectly describes the way i’ve felt for such a long time. social media markets the idea of “healing” as if being healed is a destination you reach. while that is the case for some people and some situations, there are some situations that can never be healed from and some people who are never fully able to heal just because of how their minds work. i’m one of those people, and it’s exhausting constantly trying to improve myself because that’s what has been engraved into me. i can’t even feel my emotions without feeling guilt for being sad and not productive or being angry and not forgiving. “healing” can become toxic and tiring. and it can get to the point when you no longer have any idea of what to do with yourself anymore.
I think the real problem is that too many people focus on "self improvement" as some _capitalist_ designed version and not _MORAL_ self improvement which is what we _REALLY_ should be doing, trying to develop the virtues of _character_ - courage, Strength, honesty, integrity, compassion, LOVE, etc. .
As someone currently trying to embrace this philosophy of life, being 20, finding myself finishing a college career and learning to let go from external desires while trying to find the key to emotional self-sufficiency, this video is a true gem. While self-improvement might detach us from the superficial problems of modern, fast-paced society, it can also lead to uncontrollable individualism and burnout. Greatly explained, looking forward to your next video :).
@gabrieleacquaroli8743 please DO NOT take this video as any legitimate life advice. It represents the opposite of modern understanding of developing an engaged and fulfilled life and I recommend to do anything but disregard self improvement
The sort of self-surveilling mindset described here is very prevalent in graduate school. I've caught myself in the traps the philosophers cited in your video numerous times. It's a tricky thing, since I enjoy the process of research and the satisfaction of piecing together a coherent model of something you're studying, but at the same time the workload on top of research (grading, proofreading, assignments) requires a ridiculous amount of organization to keep on top of. When I've been unable to keep up with work I've found myself embracing "grindset" mentality just to get through difficult times. But sometimes I question the idea of suffering so much to reach an end goal. Are any of us really self-motivated?
It scares me to stay disconnected from myself, so I try to stay spontaneous as often as I can. It is the most beautiful thing in the world, and in a perfect world we could all spend time with our friends and create all day, but hey. Nothing's perfect.
nobody will ever know how much this video helped me
im not going to vent here because i dont really have the energy for it right now but whatever this was was just a miracle to me
Power to you!
Probably isn’t let’s be honest you’ll forget you even watched this by tomorrow
@@BriBriBrosthank you BriBriBros very cool
@@someoneontheinternet4518 don’t be offended that the UA-cam video you watched didn’t change your entire life
@@BriBriBros whats with the attitude no one said this video will change our entire life
if you want to go deeper into the rabbit hole, 'Unveiling Your Hidden Potential by Bruce Thornwood is a must-read
I think at the very least, its not about constant self improvement like we arent good enough, but since our surroundings are always changing at the very least we should self improve as just adaptation to our surroundings i think.
The fact is noones perfect and we need to be in touch with this. Self improvement needs to be fueled by us, ourselves, and not started for purely someone or something else. We should seek to self improvement because we love and respect ourselves and want the best for ourselves as people in our one of a kind experience of lives
Reminds me of the horse from animal farm, who worked himself to death striving to provide for his community and ideals and then was rewarded with a trip to the glue factory. Im considering taking a month to try and live a more structured life and work towards goals that I’ve been afraid to strive for, and I know that I need to keep a clear mind about why I’m working and when it’s necessary to step off the gas pedal.
A trip to the glue factory would be the best possible outcome for a lot of self improvement philosophy types that follow this and Shool of Life.
being yourself is what truly makes sense in this world. embodying authenticity. of course, indulging in creativity. no matter what your passion is, put love into it and all is okay. burn our doesnt exist. that is an external chase, nothing that comes within. be yourself. let the light of your crafts bring happiness in this world. that's what i've recently discovered. it doesn't mean what you do, as long as you do it yourself, not chasing to meet someone else's norms or to be afraid of judjements. remember in order to not be afraid of judgements, you should also abstain from judgement. people who are afraid are usually the ones that cause other people to be afraid - understanding that, gives an ultimate power to be aware of your existence, your consiousness. i wish all a great day and quick mention here that this channel is great and a lot of effort is put in the content creation. stay safe and be a light somewhere
Creativity isn’t indulgence. Creativity is essential
You're...literally just parroting the same "be yourself" shit that's already been parroted millions of times already.
Spoiler Alert: Being yourself is complete bullshit.
@@namedrop721You can indulge in it too. Food is essential but you can indulge in that too. Same thing for drinks.
By the same principle when children internalize the attitude of their parents towards them, adults internalize the attitude of the overarching socio-economic system towards them. This survival adaptation comes from apparent powerlessness of individuals to change the structure and systems they unwittingly find themselves in.
It’s crazy that this was posted just as I was thinking about it, thank you for this
I like that you differentiate between externally motivated self improvement and healthy intrinsically motivated self improvement. They are not the same but can be easily confused for one another by the untrained eye.
Maybe I am reaching, but I kept thinking how neurodivergence (ADHD/Autism) makes this kinda the norm. Cause the only way to find some fulfillment and happiness say with adhd is to embrace the spirit of play, spontaneity and doing things for the sake of doing them, cause the other path of self improvement and discipline is just very difficult, painful and self pathologizing. Spontaneity, having multiple interests , while believing that you enough is difficult in these times, but understanding this and your videos, help. Thank You
I been stuck in this loop for a while and feel burnt out. I feel guilty even doing something fun since there is so much "PRODUCTIVE" tasks I need to do. I needed to listen to this. Thank you.
I think a lot of people succumb to their insecurities and do tasks they don't want to do. I find it easier to just do stuff i find fun , i like cardio , i joke a lot that it's because one day i will need this endurance to hunt wild animals because i will live in a forest or something but i genuinely like cardio , the process of it , feeling tired until the chemicals in my brain get released. I play guitar , i am decent at best , i don't really have a goal , i just like playing it , i can make melodies from really simple notes and chords, i don't really feel like getting better at it because i can express myself well enough, ( until i feel like i need to improve) . I don't think the problem is self improvement, i think the alienation is , the lack of familiarity with our self is. I think if everyone was more comfortable in their skin to an extent this wave of burnout wouldn't be so bad.
Great video and great timing to watch! After a layoff and few month long burnout, I came around to a lot of ideas like this and it’s so neatly put into words here. On some level the self-improvement pull up bar will always be there to exercise on whenever you need to, but it’s so liberating just to be able to say “you’re right where you need to be” and go along for the ride instead of being paralyzed by how much you feel you need to get better. Love all of the content!
Wow, this is exactly the video I needed
Crazy crossover. makes sense tho. In my own life I feel like sometimes my grades, while supposed to represent what I am striving for, take priority over actually learrning, and turn into burnout. I would imagine that as a creator views and currency, while supposed to be product of skating and creating themselves, could sneak in as priority and take priority. George Paulos recently started to pivot his content to challenge this idea which i think is cool.
keep making what you make for the sake of making it john!! its sick and the real ones are here for whatever feels most authentic
Sisyphus55 be like "Self improvement will mess with your brain... but first checkout this advertising for self improvement!"
so like you basically explained the base of our existence, the reason why of pretty much everything that happens, also explained my anxiety of being myself and spontaneous
Oh yea?
@@iwantyourjob alright i felt silly now and changed the start of the comment and i think it's better now ok i get it sorry mf haha
I feel mentally exhausted. I frequently think there's something wrong with myself. I've been trying to "better" myself for years but I feel like I have to stop that, just enjoy and live in the present.
Nice! Your insightful perspective already predicts who’ll be making my latte at the nearest Starbucks.
You cant do both?
@@bigbrainmoment2732 no one loves you
“Trying to be the best person I can is hard” is not a valid excuse 😂
Something tells me you spend a huge chunk of your time complaining about Nazis on Twitter.
I think a human, given an infinite choice of possibilities of what their life can become struggles with choosing anything. We are most happy when some external entity tells us what to do. It's easy to feel good when the responsibility of your actions is assigned to something other than you. That way, if you mess up, if you sacrifice other things in your life, if you realize after 20 years of doing the same thing that it was a waste of time, you can at least be comforted by the fact that it wasn't entirely 100% your choice to do that. This applies not only to things like peer pressure and society's expectations on you but also on the latest fads. "Self improvement" is a guise which we bundle our actions into to justify our existence. To justify getting up out of bed.
That’s a lotta words to dance around: “it’s hard to near impossible to afford basic food medicine and shelter if you’re not born into wealth”
That's certainly one interpretation. Not a true one though
Thanks!
I've been on that "let them cook" mentality lately. Whatever or whoever I encounter, I just kind of laugh to myself and keep going. Makes the external and internal insanity feel a little less sad.
In the past I have fallen into the self-improvement rabbit hole. That happened when I was recovering from depression. It ended up in a burnout. I felt depressed, but have eventually got over it. Now I am working hard on turning my dreams into reality, while also making sure I am not going overboard. I am much happier now.
Perfect timing with this video. Thanks a lot for your work! Hope it will be easier from now on to notice when self-improving starts choking.
This was a very eye opening video. I struggle with self improvement by constantly weighing down my time with things in order to be better. Education, physical activity, etc. and in turn, I judge others who simply enjoy their lives. In reality, I’m enough but that’s the real thing I struggle with.
Thank you for such thought-provoking content.
I am the most anti-establishment, most unorthodox human I know...
Self-improvement & discipline are the top reasons I am alive & keep doing better with time
Anyway, when I get tired, I take a 3 day break without putting myself down...
"depression" (they tried to medicate me on several occasions, I had serious adverse events...) used to last months, until I just learn to relax without guilt...
Which was one of the biggest "Self-improvement" steps I have taken
Same. While there is a long road ahead, if I didn't start on the self-improvement train, I would have been dead. I still struggle with suicidal tendencies but as I keep working on myself, the better it is getting to fight and wing against my demons.
I'm not completely there yet when it comes to relaxing without guilt but I still take breaks when it gets too much.
Going through a breakup rn and Im watching your videos & I am really floored at the skill that you have to both validate and humble someone gently enough to self reflect.
Thank you for this stuff, it’s genuinely enlightening and reassuring that things will get better ❤️
I spent my early 20’s on the self-improvement hamster wheel. Now as I’ve attained much of what I wanted (dream job, fit body, great relationship, more money) I can see clearly that self-improvement doesn’t make you as happy as allowing yourself to be, here and now, paying close attention to who and what is actually there.
Don’t get me wrong now, it definitely feels better to be on the winning side of the societal game than when I felt like a loser fresh out of college! Lol But so many people reach their mountaintop so to speak, and instead of sitting with themselves in the feeling of emptiness or disappointment (that it hasn’t made you magically happy forever) they keep moving up, thinking the next achievement will be THE ONE to complete them.
I know there is no goal I could achieve or thing I could possess that could ever make me more fulfilled than the little, simple things in life, as cliche as that sounds. Now self-improvement is just a fun thing to pass the time sometimes, as my sense of self and value isn’t so tied to it. I’m working on spending more time intentionally doing nothing and being spontaneous, rebelling against the machine!
Excellent video as always!
While I don't disagree with much of the content in this presentation, there is very much a point of attainment that one much reach to both survive and be happy.
If you, for example, were in a remote tribal community, you would have to improve your speer throwing skills, fishing skills, thatch weaving skills or whatever, in order to position yourself for a comfortable future. Your time and effort spent in your twenties was well spent. I congratulate you. I was not so successful at the same age.
Society imposes demands upon you not for your sake, but the sake of others. Earn more, spend more, pay more tax, pay more interest, eat out etc.
That should not stop you from placing demands on yourself. Become a faster runner, a better painter, martial artist or musician or whatever it is that you may want to perfect or at least endeavour at. That is not to say that you have to place those demands on yourself, but a word of warning, without such endeavours you may become unpalatable to both yourself and to others.
Rebelling against the machine is a fruitless and painful endeavour. The machine must be made to work for you. Understand your needs in the short, medium and long term
and tune the machine to suit. You cannot fight the machine, but you can guide it. Guide it well.
Your story should represent an absolute refutation of this video's central premise. You applied self improvement both in short and long term time-frames and now reap the benefits. Why would you discard those lessons to clap for a video that would have left you a lesser version of yourself?
i cant explain to you how this video was all i ever wanted to articulate. thank you so much for this. please, keep making videos, they make me a fuller person. and please, don’t change a bit! don’t change for more views or likes, the one thing i love the most about this channel is its purity.
thank you
I think the Brilliant ad actually goes well with the final message: "The secret of happiness is this: let your interests be as wide as possible...".
Thanks
The problem isn't self improvement.. The problem is thinking you have to be perfect.
as someone who’s recently started their health journey at the gym, with a consistent morning routine I needed this, while my journey has been helpful I want to remain humble and philosophical, as best I can. ur vids are the best
the irony of a video on self improvement = bad sponsored by a company that sells self improvement
Im at the burnout stage so hard right now, I’m not even fighting it- just listening to my body after years of fighting. Patience with yourself is the same patience you have with everything else, right?
I'm not sure I'm entirely against the idea of rigidity considering I frankly get depressed if I don't follow a schedule.
self imposed rigidity is different from hierarchically imposed rigidity
How come?
@@cdw2468That’s a good distinction to make, thanks for pointing that out
"[I] get depressed [even] if I don't follow a schedule." Yes, but you are still bound by societal expectations. It's still ingrained. This culture leads to burn out and neuroticism from pursuing its demand for endless self-improvement, and depression if you don't participate.
@@phillystevesteak6982What should we do then? Live in the woods? Literally pointless mental gymnastics. Just get good at something.
You're a genius for bringing brilliant, The Myth of Self Improvement and Byong-Chul Han into the same video, it's the pinnacle of the metairony, in the veins of a modern Luther Blisset.
I think striving is part of living but over striving is a negative i agree. Gotta know what you have control over i think.
I was thinking about this last night, though could not find a strong resolution. Thanking you for making a video on this topic. You have given so many ample ideas to contemplate...
I liked the video, my one note is that reading the quotes out of sync with the speed that you talk is distracting.
I love the editing choice of having a quote type up one word at a time, it makes a block of words more digestible! I just cant focus on the words when I'm hearing them before I see them, or especially when it flip-flops between jumping ahead or falling behind. Just one little thing that would make the quotes stick better! ❤
Self-improvement and self help is key to your success. In whatever area of life, be it students, mentors, and therapists. You may bitter about other people not helping you.. but then you realise that is blessing. At some point in your life, you will very thank full they didn't help. You will say "thank you a thousand times"
Great video, as always.
I don't know if you take requests, but I think it would be greatly beneficial for myself, as well as probably many other viewers, if you devoted a video to explaining the different philosophical concepts of the self, the ego, the persona and so on. I know you've mentioned and explained those in various previous videos, but I still feel like I don't have a good grasp on what those things really are, and how to look for them in myself. You reference those concepts in nearly every video, and although I can kind of figure out what you mean, it would be nice to have a good grasp on your definition of those terms.
Again, amazing content - please keep going!
+1, sounds like an interesting video
When I was 12 I fractured my spine doing gymnastics. My doctor and other adults in my life, including my mom, said I would never be able to safely do gymnastics again. I was absolutely devastated and threw myself into physical therapy, in the hope I would prove them wrong. When I was cleared for physical activity after a literal year, I started lifting weights after school, 2 hours a day, 5 days a week. I got super strong and was laser focused on my goal of getting back into a gym. I got really into hustle culture, and would save motivational gym bro quotes, pin them on my walls, (i.e. "pain is just weakness leaving the body") etc. It took up a huge portion of my life. I did eventually get back to my sport, but that mindset pretty much started applying to every other area of my life. I genuinely felt very empowered by having achieved this huge goal, and I got into the whole "12 atomic habits" scene and made all these other goals. Instead of thinking to myself "hey, i want to hang out with my friends more. I should call them." it would be "I want to hang out with my friends a minimum of 3x/week to maximize my mental health and therefore, my proficiency in life." It was like I had paywalled my own humanity. Over the years it began to feel more like an oppressive mold than anything else, and I stopped working out and started to hate and dread it. My progress slowed and I became so angry at myself, yet I had no interest in doing anything anymore. Every time I did something "good" (ate healthy, had a positive relationship of literally any kind, found new music i liked, got a good grade, started a new hobby, literally anything) I would make a new folder in my brain for that thing, tallying all the times I partook in it and trying to maximize my participation so as to achieve this golden trophy feeling of having "won". It was like looksmaxxing, except like, with all my hobbies instead. I could not stop studying myself. It's a very ingrained mindset that helped me during a time I was really low and needed it (recovering from an injury) but now it's just wearing me down and my brain is rejecting it and refusing to let me enjoy my old hobbies, even working out. This essay really put a lot of my frustration into words, and I didn't even fully realize how I was engrained in it
Many commenters seem incapable of discerning "self improvement" from "obsession of self improvement."
@@sxyKYx4Ko7CBWTv yeah like there’s a difference between going to the gym 3/4 days a week vs literally being 24/7 inside of it, or something like trying to beat unhealthy habits vs cutting off every single thing you enjoy out of your life, most people don’t see the middle ground
It’s great to have goals and projects. I have, like, dozens. But I never let go of my willingness to take breaks from them to just play, laugh, and disconnect. I try to leave my house and see a family member or friend that I love every single day, and when I mix that spontaneous fun into days that also have learning and progress towards my goals, I almost always have a good day.
When was the last time you felt like you are enough? Ooph. It's only the 0:24 sec. to be attacked that early
IMO (and I believe this is emphasized in several spiritual texts) it’s the idea of self improvement for selfish gain that leads to despair. Improvement in itself isn’t a bad motive, (it is also not new or limited to modern societies) because life moves along regardless of whether we like it or not, and it’s easy to let it get ahead of you. I think viewing improvement not as a means to get social status or wealth, but instead as a natural way of embracing the life you’ve been given is the key. Realizing that in reality, nothing you do will make you immortal, and the attention you get from improving is fickle and unimportant, but gaining skills and experience is a gift that’s given to us. You are free to do whatever you please with the time you have, so for me personally, I want to keep testing myself to see what is possible because I think improvement alongside others can benefit the collective.
Dude your video is always on point about what my recent thoughts it’s uncanny
I swear he knows what I'm thinking about
My self improvement is that I'm okay, and that every step of the way I'm better than I was yesterday. What doesn't kill one, makes them stronger.
The culture wants you to improve everything but your character.
That’s one way to look at it.
I have observed that many people are wanting what they believe is expected from them. Offer people what they want, but actually give them what they need and you will make all better.
Not to dog on anyone's paycheck,, but it is ironic that a video scrutinizing self help culture is sponsored by skillshare😅
It was sponsored by brilliant lol not skillshare
It’s not sponsored by skillshare
@@pixelzebra8440 way to miss literally the whole point of the comment
Yes and yes
Dog on 'em anyway. The system has no sapience.
Wow! I really struggle with pushing myself too much, and I’ve watched many videos on the topic. This is by far the best one!
Thank you for sparking new thoughts.
to skip the sponsor 3:05
I've always been incredibly hard on myself, which stems from both my upbringing and life experiences, but also this myth of self-improvement.
The self help industry feels like a continuation of the personal responsibility rhetoric to me..
Every situation in your is really complex and doesnt have a magic code someone from the outside can tell you to use..
The real self help for anyone is simply good self empowerment and good self esteem..
However crazy life might get.. try to give yourself a second chance..👍🎉
One of the best videos currently on YT
Aren’t we just trading one form of self-exploitation for another? The spontaneous, more open mode of being could easily end up just as consumerist as the first, potentially more hedonistically driven. The solution still ends up being ego driven, an ego project of the present instead of the future.
Frick you brilliant
???
Why?
it looks like sisyphus has sold out too
@@sivaramakrishnankn1721man he’s making bank, be happy for him
It's just a sponsor
i've been in therapy for several years working on the issues discussed in the video (overachievement, seeking external validation, feeling of being not good enough and etc) on a personal lever. the silly yet fascinating thing is that the final derived conclusion is very much similar to the final though of the video, but put into words and language that is more often used in therapy and psychology. obviously, there was a lot more to it when it comes to the things i learned on the journey of attending therapy for so long, as well as there are a lot of other points made during the video, but still it is interesting how we come to the same/similar conclusion with different approached to the issue (personal vs systematic), indicating that we are more likely correct in out conclusion :) have a nice day and thank you for your videos
it's the billionaires that are screwing us, not self improvement
Your videos never fail to align with my current experiences & I feel like they guide me to clarity. Thank you for inspiring me to think broader and find joy in the present.
This is probably your most important video to date. Thank you.
so i'm gonna keep smoking weed
where do u get it
Try a pharmacy
@@kukurudza0oyour moms
Same bro.. same
@@kukurudza0o random people around, mostly its brick form, $0.20 a gram (can get for even less in bulk), expensive is like $1.01 a gram. Not very easy to get here in brazil
I don't have much to say except thank you. I watched this video multiple times because of how impactful and emotionally validating it was. Thank you, Sisyphus. :)
Brilliant, being the sponsor of this episode is pretty ironic...isn't he saying that the constant pursuit of improving adds to lots of bad emotional outcomes?
I think this video joined up a lot of dots and made sense of a lot of feeling I’ve been having as of late. I think you did a good job pulling all of these different sources/ideas together into one point
Overpopulation is when you start feeling like a bug instead of something special.
I'm really starting to struggle with this thought.
@@stevendolan9054You mean you don't understand it?
i came across your videos just a few days ago and I have to say that they are truly amazing. I have been doing therapy for more than a year and all your videos summarize very important points that i have been working on, definitely I'm gonna rewatch your videos because there is so much to analyze in just 12 minutes. thanks man.
These are just impossibly well constructed. The amount of literature and knowledge that each video calls on to make its argument is beyond impressive