Interesting Life
Interesting Times #4 🗞️
Singapore, September 2024
Welcome to the finale of Interesting Times. (If you missed it, start here: ⬇️
TL;DR: Despair is a luxury we can’t afford. History is written by people who refuse to be seasick. The only antidote to “Interesting Times” is to build an “Interesting Life” – one that prioritizes agency over anxiety and creation over consumption.
Living an Interesting Life
We’ve spent three articles dissecting the chaos – the tech, the polarization, the noise. Now, let’s talk about how to survive it.
In times of uncertainty, your best assets aren’t gold bars or a bunker. They’re adaptability, gallows humor, and the ability to reinvent yourself before someone else does it for you.
The Captain vs. The Tide
As we navigate these turbulent waters, I ask myself: Is history determined by the tide, or by the captain?
Technological tides – the Printing Press, the Steam Engine, AI – sweep across the world regardless of who is in charge. These waves are inevitable. But we’d still prefer a captain who doesn’t get seasick at the first sign of choppy water.
Speaking of captains... wouldn’t it be refreshing to have leaders who can navigate complexity without resorting to fear-mongering?
We are stuck between Insipid Bureaucrats (who manage the decline) and Indecent Strongmen (who promise to burn it down). All I’m asking for is a healthy middle ground. Charisma without wisdom is like a sports car without brakes: exciting, sure, but destined for a crash on prime-time news.
Finding Meaning in the Chaos
What if the curse of “Interesting Times” is actually an invitation?
An invitation to live a life that defies easy categorization. A life of navigating chaos, challenging the status quo, and finding meaning in a world spinning out of control.
Ask yourself: What is the point of worrying? Worry is just interest paid in advance on a debt you might never owe.
We are the first generation that can rant about the end of the world to a global audience in real-time. If that’s not progress, I don’t know what is.
The Art of Living Interestingly
Economists have successfully predicted 50 of the last 5 recessions. “But this time is different!” they cry. “The end is near!”
Yeah, sure it is.
Life carries risks. But a risk-free life is a slow death.
Maybe instead of playing Amateur Prophet, we should focus on building skills to deal with whatever reality unfolds. Learn to code? Sure. But also learn to grow vegetables. Just in case our robot overlords decide we are less essential than we think.
Life happens to all of us. How we deal with it is what separates the player from the NPC.
Living an interesting life requires Nuance. This is my philosophy: “Strong Opinions, Loosely Held.” Trust me, the willingness to change your mind is a superpower in a world of dogmatic statues.
Cultivating Optimism
During my travels, I had a debate with my cousin in Canberra. I told him he should be less pessimistic. He replied: “No soy pesimista, sólo un optimista bien informado.” (I am not a pessimist; just a well-informed optimist.)
It’s a clever line. But I disagree.
Here’s why: Pessimism is passive. It says, “The world is screwed, so I don’t need to try.” Optimism is active. It says, “The world is messy, but I can carve out a corner of it.”
Pessimists sound smart. Optimists make money.
I’d add: Pessimists predict problems. Optimists survive them.
Studies show optimists live 11-15% longer. Despair is literally bad for your health. So, which one are you bringing to brunch this weekend? The guy who thinks the world is ending, or the guy who is ordering the mimosa?
It's Supposed to be Hard
We are surfing the waves of history. You may doubt this is the “best” time to be alive, but the future is coming regardless.
We need a balance between Optimism and Realism. You need to know the facts (Realism) to navigate the map. But you need the belief that you can make it (Optimism) to start the engine.
JFK put it best:
“We choose to go to the Moon... not because it is easy, but because it is hard.”
Being a pessimist is easy. Being an optimist is hard. And it is the hard things that are worth doing.
Final Thoughts
Boring times make for boring stories, and I refuse to live a boring story.
Take that plane. See that concert. Go on that date. Call your mom. Do something that pushes you closer to your potential – whatever that means to you.
In a world of accelerating change, if you’re not careful, you might forget what it means to be human.
In the age of Homo Digitalis, the truly interesting life is the one you live offline.
(He wrote, staring at a glowing rectangle.)
