Rehabilitate Yourself - Issue 74 - 13th August 2023
The problem is that we all want the feeling of accomplishment, fulfilment and purpose without any of the effort. We know this because if there was a pill that made you feel the way you would feel after an intense workout or a five minute cold plunge or accomplishing a difficult task, it would be the most popular drug on the market (3). We would all be addicted to it.
We’re all addicted to the soothing and horrific perils of pleasure that mass media and mass advertising inject into our veins. Those are the real gateway drugs that lead further self-destructive patterns
However the reason that that drug will never exist is because meaningful feelings of accomplishment and fulfilment require effort, work and struggle. Taking a pill requires little effort and so regardless of the effect that that drug has, it could never rival feelings that follow struggle. The modern world has accustomed us to pleasure, instant and always available. We have been brainwashed, our brains have been re-wired to expect pleasure without effort and that is possible with junk food, television, social media, pornography, video games, shopping, gambling etc. By compulsively using these drugs, we require more drugs just to keep us “sane.” Anti-depressants, pain-killers, heroin, cocaine, marijuana, alcohol, all of these drugs are being used more and more (4) and is it any wonder? We’re all addicted to the soothing and horrific perils of pleasure that mass media and mass advertising inject into our veins. Those are the real gateway drugs that lead to further self-destructive patterns.
Old George Orwell got it backward. Big Brother isn't watching. He's singing and dancing. He's pulling rabbits out of a hat. Big Brother's busy holding your attention every moment you're awake. He's making sure you're always distracted. He's making sure you're fully absorbed. He's making sure your imagination withers. Until it's as useful as your appendix. He's making sure your attention is always filled. And this being fed, it's worse than being watched. With the world always filling you, no one has to worry about what's in your mind. With everyone's imagination atrophied, no one will ever be a threat to the world - Chuck Palahniuk
What would the world look like if we all took a stand and rehabilitated ourselves? What if we all significantly reduced the time we spend on meaningless and destructive pursuits like social media, television and pornography? What if we reduced the money we give to massive companies who in return feed us “food” injected with chemicals to keep us coming back? What if we stopped giving our attention to companies whose sole purpose is to keep it and never give it back? What if we realised our fullest potential? What if we all starting taking the only reliable drug that can consistently make us feel fulfilled: productive struggle? If we all even reduced our instant-pleasure time a little and replaced it with productive struggle, we would all be on the path towards recovery. We could all get clean.
Keep On Struggling,
Gregor
Film I Loved - Oppenheimer
I was extremely excited to see this film and it did not disappoint, especially in IMAX which I would recommend. The combination of beautiful music, Oscar-worthy performances and profound writing and direction made this an incredible watch. I would recommend paying attention however as there was a couple of points where I became lost with the names as there are many characters.
Your Struggle Short For The Week
Quote to Ponder
They say: "Think big! Have a compelling vision!" I say: Think small. Do something super cool by the end of the day! I write about "excellence." Most see excellence as some grand aspiration. Wrong. Dead wrong. My two cents: Excellence is the next five minutes or nothing at all. It's the quality of your next five-minute conversation. It's the quality of, yes, your next email. Forget the long term. Make the next five minutes rock! - Tom Peters
References
1) Oppenheimer Image - IMDB
2) Image Credit - RawPixel
3) Joe Rogan - The Joe Rogan Experience EP. 2005