High-Quality Life Comes from the Counterintuitive Nature of Laziness and Selfishness

“A proverb says, ‘Water flows downwards, while people strive upwards.’ The flow of water downwards is a natural attribute, but the upward striving of people belongs to the social realm. Why do people strive upwards? In other words, why do people choose to climb upwards when it’s clearly difficult? It’s because a truly formidable person knows that by adopting an ‘against human nature’ perspective, they can accumulate more opportunities for growth. Time, opportunities, and serendipity in one’s life only come around once or twice. If not seized in time, it’s difficult to turn things around.

The emphasis is on accumulating experiences.

Anything one wants to achieve requires effort, and more importantly, accumulation. The process of accumulation is a journey from confusion to clarity, from despair to hope. There’s a truth called the ‘law of increasing entropy,’ which is essentially the law of conservation of energy. It’s like a pile of firewood burning; if there’s no additional fuel added, the fire will extinguish, and the heat will gradually dissipate. Similarly, people, if they stop growing for a while, it’s not scary, but what’s truly frightening is not experiencing growth at all. If one doesn’t absorb any energy over the long term, they naturally won’t be able to produce value. Therefore, truly formidable individuals are constantly in conflict with themselves. They refuse to take the downhill path and instead keep themselves productive. If one follows human nature, it’s evident that they are on a downward slope, perhaps even sliding down directly. If one follows human nature, everyone prefers shortcuts, but in reality, all shortcut-taking ultimately leads to taking the long route. If we truly want to surpass ourselves, we need to keep accumulating, keep persevering, and keep putting in the hard work. Only then can we rely on this ‘against human nature’ accumulation to bring about a qualitative change and achieve real victory. This is what Zeng Guofan meant when he said, ‘Only the most clumsy in the world can defeat the most skillful.’ Accumulation, quantity, and perseverance, these ‘against human nature’ actions, are actually the keys to success and the most potent blow against mere cleverness.

Embracing uncertainty.

Formidable individuals firmly grasp the reins of their lives. Life is always uncertain, and there are always regrets. The only thing we can be sure of is that life is inherently uncertain. By bravely embracing uncertainty and calmly accepting life’s unpredictability, we can maintain stable emotions and attitudes to face life’s ups and downs. In fact, only when a person becomes accustomed to life’s uncertainty and accepts life’s impermanence, can they adopt a more composed and open-minded attitude. Throughout this uncertain era, they maintain an open mind to understand the people, events, and the world around them. With a mindset of seeking novelty and change, they embrace the diversity and variability in their lives, refusing to settle and daring to challenge difficulties. Such individuals, even if they often encounter failure, gradually become winners in life. Because such individuals, even in the face of a life full of uncertainty, maintain the curiosity, exploratory spirit, and drive to move forward towards their inner direction. This kind of ‘against human nature’ habit and cognition are the prerequisites for becoming formidable individuals.Living with self-discipline is also against human nature.

Living with self-discipline is also against human nature.

In “Amusing Ourselves to Death,” Neil Postman said, “A large amount of entertainment information will divert people’s attention and discontent, making them content with the status quo, gradually losing their enthusiasm, desire for struggle, and the ability to think.” In reality, there is an abundance of fragmented information, and capital continually creates a vast amount of entertainment information to numb people’s cognition, constantly diverting the attention of the majority, making people content with the status quo and lacking ambition. Consequently, many people have become accustomed to spending most of their time and energy on various social and live-streaming platforms. Of course, indulging in one’s own pleasures can be enjoyable. However, the greater the satisfaction, the greater the eventual cost. As a result, individuals naturally end up suffering more losses, enduring greater hardships, and missing the opportunity to make timely changes. In fact, acting and living in a self-disciplined manner against human nature can make one’s time more valuable and meaningful. Similarly, by continually pursuing progress and self-disciplined growth, life can radiate more brilliance and energy, allowing for a better enjoyment of the present.