Hello,
In this week’s edition, I explain that you can, in fact, overcome the sense of a lack of meaning in life — but you must willingly choose to put forth the effort required. Then, I talk with entrepreneur and software pioneer, Marc Andreessen about the woke institution takeover, AI's shaping of society, and creating a future of human flourishing. From the archives, I look back on a conversation about why making decisions is more difficult for some people than others and how navigating indecision is possible.
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Advice
To Find Meaning In Life, You Must Make An Effort
Why would you be disinclined to engage in the process of building a stable family? An immature hedonist would counter and ask, “Why would I want the burden of a family? Why would I want the constraints of a permanent relationship when I can have all the freedom to choose?” Many people will say they do not want to limit themselves to one partner, incorrectly believing that more choice means more freedom. But that mentality is evidence of a deep immaturity and ignorance that has gripped society. What society on the whole does not understand is that you need meaning to sustain you in the face of suffering. If you do not have a sense of meaning, you will become bitter, nihilistic, malevolent, and hopeless.
Meaning is to be found in the adoption of responsibility — and it will sustain you through the catastrophe that is life. If you are in pain, if you are suffering, desperate, or deteriorating, you will be fortunate if you have a web of relationships that you have cultivated to support, build, and hold you up. That is, for example, what you have in a marriage.
Both my wife and I were very ill over a period of three years. We have had ample opportunity to reflect on what made that period bearable — at least to the degree it was bearable. What made it bearable? The answer was clear: The love we have for each other, for our children, and for our friends — mutually so. That love was reflected back to us by the broader community.
To voluntarily bear your cross as you stumble uphill is to adopt responsibility. And it is in the willingness to adopt responsibility that you find meaning — meaning that allows you to bear precisely that load. To voluntarily take on the burden of betrayal, pain, torment, atrocity, and death will lead you to meaning. And the more you bear that responsibility, the more meaning you will find.
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In the ninth episode of “The Gospels,” Dr. Jordan B. Peterson and his companions examine humanity's darkest hour. From the Garden of Gethsemane to Pontius Pilate's judgment seat, they observe religious hypocrisy, mob psychology, and political expediency as converging to condemn the innocent. As they explore Peter's denial, Judas's despair, and Pilate's fateful choice, their discussion addresses the reality that from the smallest of compromises come the greatest of evils. Join the table and watch “Betrayal and Trial,” available exclusively on DailyWire+.
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Ten Classic Books I Recommend For Any Stage Of Life
Great books observe people, particularly those that involve interesting and profound character transformations. After all, the greatest of books are not about ordinary people during ordinary times in their lives — such ordinariness is not useful since we already know how to be ordinary. Talented writers create stories that distill and aggregate; they omit everyday, common material but include much excitement. Fiction is, therefore, a distillation of compelling experiences.
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Superintelligence Is Upon Us | Marc Andreessen | EP 515
In this episode, I sit down with entrepreneur and software pioneer, Marc Andreessen. We discuss the timeline of the woke institutional takeover, the ruinous effects it has had on Western ideology and business, the ways in which AI will shape society, and the immense responsibility we have to instill the future with an ethos and morality that serves human flourishing.
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How To Make The Right Decision
Decisions are hard for people who lack faith in their own abilities and in themselves. Almost two years ago, Joe Hage and I discussed the art of decision-making when he joined me to discuss his journey from studying philosophy to accounting to law. As the managing partner of a law firm, Hage faces innumerable decisions — but being in the liminal place between choices does not bother him. In this segment, he explains that while most people do not like any degree of uncertainty, he thrives in moments of indecision. I believe his parents’ belief in and support of him led to the development of a default “I can do it” presupposition. One way of limiting anxiety is limiting choice, but another way is to presume that if a situation shifts on you, you can manage it — which is what Hage naturally presumes. He explains that people often focus on what choice is the right decision, but they neglect focusing on when the right time is for the choice to be made. Often, people believe they are making a crucial decision — for example, choosing between two jobs in two different cities — but the truth of the matter is, the decision is actually not that critical. After all, either choice is likely good if you can land on your feet and progress properly. People also tend to live under the misapprehension that certain inflection points will determine the rest of their lives. But sometimes a decision just requires a choice between two different options.
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Thank you for reading,
Dr. Jordan B. Peterson
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