Almost Anybody Can Change Their Lives

That doesn’t make it easy, though

an office worker runs inside a hamster wheel which in turn rolls down a steep hill, surrealist painting — by DALL·E

Complete Overhaul

In under a year, most of us can change our lives dramatically. Unless caught in a hamster wheel of poverty, where progress or rupture of the loop isn’t possible, we can turn our lives upside down rather swiftly. I mean a complete overhaul: how we spend our time, how we make our money, where we live and with whom.

Determinism

One of the reasons determinism is so popular is how terrifying and stressful it is to think we have such an amount of control over our lives. If it is up to us, then this pressing sadness or this insurmountable discomfort must be our fault. We are to blame for any dissatisfaction we may feel. Simultaneously, considering our existence a mere accident presents an equally disquieting prospect. In this context, determinism tells us that everything happens for a reason, that there is little we can do about it, and so sleep can find us more easily. However, it isn’t difficult to see that this approach can lead to a passive acceptance of circumstances. Even worse, it can make us confound circumstances with objects and subjects: we might recognise that how we live now is what we do and who we are.

An Arduous Endeavour