Harsh Truths or Just Conjecture?

I think these videos on Youtube are hilarious. Why so funny you ask? Glad you did, these videos play into people’s insecurities in a big way. The premise of the video is pretty simple: as we grow up reality and our conception of reality begin to clash. When we are young we have a certain idea of how the world is or how it works. We often think the rules don’t apply to us and that somehow we’ll be immune from bad things happening to us.

That being said, these videos are hilariously disingenuous. For example, one of the first ones that they discuss has to do with education and working life. Getting through 16 years of school can be a huge slog and the reality is that the learning really never stops. There is no coasting through life, especially if you have any ambition to advance in your field. Another one, fairly low down on the list is the fact that no one really cares about you or your problems, especially your employer. As young people, we are raised at the center of our families’ lives (if you grew up healthy) and one of the biggest things that everyone has to learn is that the rest of the world is not so inclined. So one really cares about you or your problems. That is principally an economic problem and a major flaw within capitalism. Videos like these play into the idea that the world is a cold uncaring place and that most of the problems that people have stemmed from their inability actually deal with reality. We all get old, the rules do apply to us, no one really cares about you except yourself and hopefully someone you love, and oh, by the way, everything you’re insecure about (like your appearance) definitely matters.

I’ve written about this recently in my post about why Miranda Priestly is the perfect boss. The way things are set up, we don’t just get to be “ourselves” or “just people.” We have to conform to various standards and ideas that are often not our own. We don’t get to bend the world to our will, instead, we usually have to start following the rules if we want to get the things that we need. The things we don’t think apply to us really do. That said, I still think much of this sort of thing must be taken with a grain of salt.

Why is that? Because ultimately, it is our life. Not every trend or common fact is going to apply to everyone. Ultimately, those who are truly successful are going to be those who choose their own path and find their own happiness or success. One of the items on this list is “you are the result of your own choices.” This is only partially true. We live in a society and society and circumstance has an outsized influence on us and our ability to achieve certain things in life. Life is what we make it to a point. Not every situation and every opportunity is available to us. Much of what we do is thankless and while it is a good idea to help others we also have to take care of ourselves.

Life is endlessly complicated and it can’t be reduced to 12 things in a clever video or even this article. I’ve written my Best Advice series for at least 5 years and ultimately, even though it is a collection of things that I know so far, people have to make their own decisions. The happiest people I’ve ever met are those that are living their life on their own terms where they make their own decisions.