How to optimise your life without being a bugman

The self-help industry often becomes an easy target for satire, primarily due to two prominent reasons. Firstly, it often promotes a shallow form of individualism. Take, for instance, the Petersonian mantra advocating for tidying one's room before delving into broader societal issues – a notion reminiscent of Winfreyism. Such ideologies tend to oversimplify complex issues, attributing all personal struggles solely to individual failures while disregarding systemic influences. Today's youth grapple with formidable challenges ranging from housing market volatility to demographic shifts and the financial burden of supporting an aging population. Advising them to merely "sort out their issues" and "pull themselves up by their bootstraps" underscores a lack of perspective regarding the unprecedented privileges enjoyed by those raised in the postwar era – privileges that are swiftly diminishing.

The second reason lies in the pervasive ethos of instrumental reason. Consider the sentiment: "It's suboptimal to sleep in; witnessing the morning sun yields tremendous benefits for your mental and physical well-being." Such a mindset reduces the profound beauty of a fleeting moment to a mere calculation of personal gain and achievement. This perspective transforms individuals into corporate automatons, fixated on maximizing efficiency in every single moment, thus disconnecting them from the richness of the present experience

However, relying solely on instinct is a recipe for disaster. This is because our natural inclinations often lean towards laziness and procrastination. The Stoics aptly point out that given a thousand years, the average person would likely squander most of it. The stoics are also right that we should meditate on death as a medicine to this. The nihilistic drunk portrayed in Mahler's "Trinklied" from the poetry of Li-Tai-Po, puts this in better terms than I ever could:

The sky is eternally blue, and the earth

Will endure and bloom in springtime.

But thou, o man, how long dost thou live?

Not a hundred years canst thou enjoy

All the rotten baubles of this earth!

In our limited time on this Earth, it is crucial not to squander it idly indulging in fleeting pleasures. Instead, we should strive for self-mastery and embark on a meaningful life journey. This pursuit demands discipline and, indeed, optimization. However, I think that there’s a fine grained distinction between viewing something as a means, versus merely as a means. While fixating on efficiency risks diluting the richness of moments like basking in the morning sunlight, we mustn't overlook the importance of physical well-being. Contrary to Cartesian dualism, our minds and bodies are intricately interconnected. Thus, nurturing our physical health through sunlight, water, and a balanced diet can significantly enhance both our mental and physical vitality, fostering greater energy and discipline in our endeavours. We have to at some level as striving beings examine the effects the world has on us in a positive or negative way, this doesn’t mean that we have to exclusively see the world in these terms, as perhaps marginal utility maxing neoclassical economics might tell us to.

The world causally impacts you in good or bad ways but also serves as aesthetic stimuli capable of inspiring music or poetry. What I fervently advocate for is the elevation of life's intensity, the augmentation of the tenor of our existence. Anything that amplifies your capacity to act, to surmount obstacles, to innovate and address challenges – essentially, anything that enhances your ability to reshape the world as a testament to the brilliance of your agency – is inherently virtuous. Conversely, anything that diminishes your strength, undermines your health, and erodes your capability to act is malevolent. As Spinoza aptly articulates, the task at hand is to supplant instinct with knowledge and to act in accordance with a profound understanding of what truly serves your highest good.

According to Spinoza envying the seeming peace and innocence of infants is misguided; they lack awareness of cause and effect, leaving them in a perpetual state of fear and need. Similarly, when we lack knowledge, we're akin to waves at the mercy of the wind. Freedom and determinism converge, as understanding causal relationships empowers us to enhance our agency. The "normie," while seemingly detached from politics, remains susceptible to its effects without comprehending the underlying mechanisms. This ignorance breeds a persistent unease, an unarticulated sense of impending turmoil without the vocabulary to understand or the targets for blame.

Indeed, I meticulously monitor my caloric intake, engage in regular exercise, and diligently track the nutritional content of the foods I consume to ensure alignment with my objectives, and I have a firm control over my sleep schedule. Simultaneously, I immerse myself in the realms of history, psychology, geopolitics, and current events— which might categorise me as a neurotic freak to many. However, my fervent pursuit of excellence does not detract from my appreciation of life's poetic essence. For me, the pursuit of excellence is its own reward; ignorance holds no virtue, and health and greatness are inseparable.