The Story of Jesus & Struggle - Issue 12 - 5th June 2022
There is an endless amount of people who embraced struggle in order to achieve or produce meaning and purpose in the world. Each story is evidence of the power of embracing struggle, rather than meaninglessness of living in comfort and pleasure. The story of Jesus Christ, whilst it is disputed for it’s validity or truth, there is no doubt that he embraced struggle for his meaning and his beliefs. First, the story of The Temptation of Christ is chronicled in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke in which The Devil appeared to Jesus and attempted to tempt him three times, firstly to turn stone to bread, secondly to cast himself off of a mountain after which angels would save him, and lastly offering him all the kingdoms of the world. Jesus refused these temptations, temptations of comfort and pleasure and instead embraced struggle, to ward the Devil away. The symbolisation of the Devil as temptation, pleasure and comfort can be morally understood as locking horns with that of Jesus representing struggle, meaning and purpose.
Delayed Gratification - Issue 11 - 29th May 2022
For this week, I thought I’d explore delayed gratification. This is the concept of either doing something difficult now so you are grateful you did later or not doing something pleasurable now so you are grateful later. We teach this to children when they’re young when we tell them “if you do your homework now, you can play for the rest of the day.” This is a valuable lesson to learn and one you should continue to employ in your life because it’s the cornerstone of embracing struggle. Although it is difficult for a child to comprehend this logic and it doesn’t get any easier to employ delayed gratification in our lives, it will always reap benefits later. Embracing struggle is doing something difficult now so you can reap the benefits later.
Goals - Issue 10 - 22nd May 2022
You may be thinking: “it’s all very well that all of these ancient philosophers and gurus want us to embrace struggle, but struggle is hard and depressing so why would I subject myself to that? Life should be about being happy and content.” However, how do you expect to be happy and content if you don’t get anything done, if you don’t fill your life with accomplishment and pride? You may happy and content binge-watching TV and eating junk for food now, but truly ask yourself: Will I be this happy and content when I’m looking back on this life if I didn’t achieve anything of value expect for getting to theend of Game of Thrones? I hope the answer is no. Additionally, embracing productive struggle doesn’t have to be depressing. In fact, if carried out correctly, it can be the opposite: life-affirming and inspirational.
Pleasure VS Productivity - Issue 9 - 15th May 2022
As I am writing, we are beginning to transition from global pandemic to a world that is simply living with the fact that COVID-19 is part of our world. It’s 2022 and two years ago the whole world locked down in silence. Themajority of humans, globally, stayed inside their homes if they were lucky enough to have one, without any outside human contact other than themselves or again, if they were lucky, their loved ones. Some of us were lucky enough to still be receiving salaries, some were not so lucky. Some still had to go to work in order to keep the world turning and some had the luxury of having the option to sit on the couch all day binge-watching Netflix and eating thevery foods that would make them more susceptible to illness from COVID-19. I was in the latter camp but I did not sit on the couch binge-watching Netflix and eating rubbish…for the most part. Like some in a similar position to me, I took this time and made the most of it and started working on projects I had been putting off due to time constraints.
The Opposite of Productive Struggle - Issue 8 - 8th May 2022
If I am encouraging you to embrace struggle, then what should I be encouraging you to avoid? This is not quite the right question to ask but instead, what behaviours or habits should you be aware of? What are their dangers?
We should be aware of behaviours that inhibit some form of pleasure without a productive result. Weighing up this pleasure/productivity balance is tricky. Activities that embrace struggle generally should be productive and produce some form of pleasure afterwards. For example, I just plunged myself into a bath with a bag of ice for ten minutes. It was not a pleasure-filled ten minutes but I feel incredible now that I have done it. So to figure out what activities to be wary of, simply reverse the pleasure/productivity balance.
The Importance of Failure - Issue 7 - 1st May 2022
Let’s talk about the importance of failure with regards to struggle. It’s easy to beat yourself up when you fail. You didn’t get the job, you didn’t get the promotion, you failed to run a 5km etc. These can be very disheartening events, but they needn’t be. There is no success without failure, so if you’re not failing, you will never succeed. Most people are so terrified of failing that they never even try. However, every successful person failed, struggled through setbacks or felt lost and hopeless right before they “made it.”
Travel Log - Paris, France - Issue 6 - 24th April 2022
This week’s newsletter will be a relatively short one as I have had a jam-packed week with some productive struggle, an incredible time in Paris and tonight, some loud live music. I spent three nights in Paris and I pondered how struggle can be incorporated into a holiday and I think I have sussed it out. You may be thinking: “oh god, now he wants us to embrace struggle even when we’re on holiday.” But I’m not suggesting you go out for runs or continue working, just that you embrace discomfort somehow. For me, that means fully embracing another culture and their norms. The typical Paris holiday includes jamming as many tourist attractions in as you can so you’re constantly running about to adhere to a schedule that includes too much and eating mediocre croque-madames at tourist-trap cafes by the Eiffel Tower or the Norte-Dame.
Everything Happens For a Reason? - Issue 5 - 17th April 2022
This week, I want to speak about an adage many people employ in their lives to produce comfort: “Everything happens for a reason.” Many religions employ similar beliefs; some higher power has made an event occur for a reason of their choosing. I don’t believe this to be true. I believe the world is full of natural causes, correlations and events that occur out-with our control and it is not some higher entity that makes it so, but rather nature. I’m not saying that we cannot find meaning in an event, just that there is not an objective reason for it. We must produce our own meaning. The harsh reality is that the world does not care about you. Your life is infinitesimally tiny. Many have lived before and many will live after you so why would there be some mystical reason for you not getting that job you interviewed for. It’s unintentional arrogance to believe that some higher entity cares about you, in the grand scheme of things.
The Problem with “Inspirational” Quotes - Issue 4 - 10th April 2022
Since this newsletter concerns embracing struggle, I thought it would be helpful to explore what constitutes productive struggle and what constitutes unhealthy struggle. Most people would say that embracing struggle seems like a very negative and pessimistic practice and philosophy to introduce into our lives. I actually think it’s the opposite. There are a plethora of “inspirational” quotes that circulate the Wild West of the Internet intended to motivate people or to make people feel better about their choices and decisions. These quotes do not motivate me. They make me throw up in my mouth.
The Struggle of Love - Issue 3 - 3rd April 2022
I want to explore the reasons why we fall in love. That mystical event that occurs when we inexplicably connect with another human being. That connection that has the potential to last a lifetime or it has the potential to explode into chaos and dissolve into the abyss. It can cause some of theworst pain and some of the best pleasures a human being can endure. As always with the topics of this newsletter, it also causes struggle and that struggle must be endured for long-lasting love. Without struggle, a couple of humans cannot remain connected in this way. Love requires conflict, pain and struggle but this brings with it pleasure, love and growth.