Pursue Pain, Not Pleasure - Why Comfort is Crippling You
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Maybe AOI should get out of the computer chair, away from the cushy online social media "job", and bust theirasss working all day like the rest of us do? Get out of the subjective bubble and experience real objective reality. experience the real world, the world that 99% percent of people don't have the luxury of ignoring or being naive of.
The Comfort Crisis: Pursue Pain, Not Pleasure
In this thought-provoking video, the Academy of Ideas delves into the intriguing relationship between pleasure, pain, and comfort. The central thesis is that our modern lives, filled with comforts and pleasures, may actually be contributing to our mental and physical malaise. Let’s explore some key points from the video:
1. Luxury and Pain: The video begins by quoting the Greek orator and philosopher Dio Chrysostom, who observed that luxury can make pains seem even harder and weaken one’s pleasures. In other words, excessive comfort can dull our ability to endure pain and diminish our capacity to experience pleasure. This paradoxical relationship challenges our assumptions about what truly contributes to well-being.
2. Modern Comforts: The modern West offers unparalleled comforts and pleasures. We have access to technology, processed foods, entertainment, and distractions that kings of old could not have imagined. However, despite this abundance, many people suffer from chronic stress, anxiety, depression, and physical ailments. The question arises: Why are we struggling despite our comfort?
3. Hunter-Gatherer Ancestors: To understand the contrast, the video invites us to consider the lives of our hunter-gatherer ancestors. They faced physical challenges daily-walking miles to find water, foraging for food, and engaging in persistence hunting. Their livelihood required constant physical activity, making them essentially professional athletes. They didn’t “work out” because their daily lives were already intense exercise.
4. Mental Stress and Nature: Beyond physical exertion, our ancestors endured mental stress without the crutches of technology or distractions. They faced the elements-rain, sun, wind-without the comforts of modern housing. Sickness and infections were part of their reality, and they coped without the aid of modern medicine. Their resilience came from facing discomfort head-on.
5. The Comfort Crisis: Michael Easter’s book, “The Comfort Crisis,” highlights our lack of physical struggles in today’s world. We no longer work hard for our food, move heavy objects daily, or experience deep hunger. Instead, we numb ourselves with comfort food, smartphones, and sedentary lifestyles. The side effects of comfort include long-term physical and mental health problems.
6. Pleasure and Pain: The video emphasizes that pleasure and pain are intertwined. Pursuing only pleasure without experiencing discomfort weakens our ability to appreciate joy. It’s akin to a muscle that atrophies when not used. By seeking out challenges and embracing discomfort, we can build resilience and a deeper appreciation for life’s pleasures.
In summary, “Pursue Pain, Not Pleasure” encourages us to reevaluate our relationship with comfort. Perhaps true fulfillment lies not in avoiding pain but in embracing it as a necessary counterpart to pleasure. As we navigate our modern lives, we should consider how our comforts may be subtly crippling us. Dio Chrysostom’s ancient wisdom still resonates today: balance between pleasure and pain is essential for a richer, more meaningful existence.
Embracing comfort leads to pain, and embracing pain leads to happiness.
@@egrytznr8893 absolute midwit take
@@Afflictamine sorry, I was being insensitive to the supposed 27% of people mentioned in the video who don't do any physical activity whatsoever based on the kind of job they work, and assuming the channel creators were in that group. my bad
A society addicted to comfort is too weak to fight off a tyrannical government, especially when it offers comfort
Hence our current situation. Nicely said!!!
we don't have governments they are corporations masquerading as government
@@flowerpower8722 They might in the present/future, soft totalitarianism/Brave New World.
@@flowerpower8722 societies run by tyrannical governments do not have the capability to fight back hence they do not have comfort.
this is not the case with the west. As such, they are addicted to comfort and thus too weak to fight off a tyrannical government even when they have the means to.
Tyrannical government... thats antisemetic
The feeling you get when you meet your basic needs after hard work, a cool breeze on a hot day under a shade tree. That's when I feel happy.
Yep, enjoying a cold beer after a long hard day work is so rewarding instead of just beige drinking.
Truth !
The PRICE you PAY for TRUE FREEDOM is RESPONSIBILITY.
I'm in construction. I consider any construction worker as a under paid athlete. Truth.
You probably get this video. You’ve probably been out in the cold weather for 12 hours and then get in your car to come home and appreciate the car heat. You get home and take a shower and ponder the miracle of hot water from the shower head. I’m amazed at how few people commenting here have any concept of discomfort.
Former Texas Roofer....much respect
@@Maryland_Kulak12 hurs in the cold esp with wind i couldnt stand heated rooms from the wind burn room temp was comfortable enough
Underpaid? Yeh good one. You live in China or something?
I compare the men across the street that work from dawn to dusk in all weather building a hotel.. to my two male roommates that think they are hard done by when they have to work for 6 hours driving around in a truck spraying trees.
real men versus boys in man bodies.
Not necessarily pain. Just restraint and discipline. Control over your desires will free you.
Yes, basically.
Discipline is painful. Controlling desires and imposing restraint is painful. But it's a pain that leads to meaning and growth!
He means pain in the broadest sense, i.e. the pain of restraint and discipline.
@@Gabriel-fj7hm Exactly.
Not literal or actual pain of the flesh. Discomfort. Struggle. Doing things that are hard. Kids with helicopter parents never learn to adapt and become crippled by hard or difficult circumstances. Fear becomes the norm.
Getting in shape was worth every second of pain
If you know the outcome you want, but aren’t willing to sacrifice for it, you’ve failed yourself
Quality gear makes it faster tho.
Working out is not real pain. Muscle soreness is not pain.
@@brandonmusick77 Weak people look for fastest ways to comfort.
@@brandonmusick77 weakness.
Pain is mandatory, suffering is optional.
A few years ago I got tired of being fat. I joined an exercise group (TOPS), started eating properly, walking 3 to 5 miles every day.... I lost 55 pounds and arrived at my goal.
It wasn't easy but I did it.
Congratulations. May your story be a source of inspiration to all those around you
How long did it take you? How many hours per day? How did you balance other responsibilities?
Congrats Bro!
Nice👍
Congratulations 🎉🍾🎊🎈
No greatness ever came by comfort.
We should all be striving for greatness?
@@beingsshepherd Yes 100%
There is no greatness, that's only perception.
been saying this for years, we live in so much comfort that we can't even stay consistent between what we want and what we do. Our thoughts are influenced to seek comfort even against our own interests. People become incapacitated by choosing between two goals, long term success & happiness and short term comfort/entertainment. The more we reside in a space where everything is easy the harder it becomes to resist the temptation to stay.
Hang on, isn't the goal to make things easier for us and the next generations, otherwise what are doing this for?
Comfort for millions of people, better than kings and queens of a hundred years ago should be applauded yet here we are saying comfort can't be a goal. The problem is the lack of appreciation of comfort and it only being a fairly new thing for the masses one could see how it might be taken too far but it's not comfort that is crippling me.
hard times create strong people
strong people create easy times
easy times create weak people
weak people create hard times
LMAO, maybe *YOU* do! 🤣
@@antonyjh1234 Your opening sentence is Ridiculous.
@@antonyjh1234 You're right.
Was called too old at 50! Started training in crumbling garage lifting rocks doing pushups on paint cans pullups on beams got ripped af at 53 years old!!!
Just checked your channel garageman brutal training keep it up grandpa 🔥
“Hes no good at being uncomfortable, so he keeps on staying exactly the same”
-Fiona Apple. Extraordinary machine.
Like #69 lol
😊😊😊😊@@Alexander_KB
I pursued pain and had two great kids with her. They're grown and have moved on but the pain remains.
They perpetuate unnecessary chaos. Nature's design
😂
You should’ve picked better
My husband and I are growing to be old 'pains' to each other. And, we wouldn't have it any other way. I'll love my 'Pain' forever. ❤
Lol😂
Been saying this for decades. Noticing reality on reality's terms and sharing that with others just gets you ostracized.
IMHO you are far better off keep up the good work.
❤
Why do you feel the need to share it and to be accepted? Just live your life and mind your business. People can choose for themselves how to live, even if it is in ignorance. None of us know enough to give anyone advice.
This. I been saying a lot of stuff that pertain to reality and yet get ridiculed. But i stay strong and i dont let what others say get to me. You right on the path. Stay the course.
Too many choices and distractions can lead people to feel overwhelmed, indecisive, and unable to focus on what truly matters to them. Resulting in the many problems we face in society.
It takes the highest level of discipline to abstain by choice when everything is within arms reach, especially long term like eating only once a day, I did it for 7 months and it was truly an eye opener, to be eating less than half what I used to and still be able to maintain the same level of activity is incredible, how little you actually need and how efficient our bodies are. I really need to go back to one meal a day, it simplified my life, halved my food bill and got me to a healthier weight oh and you look forward to and appreciate what ever your having for dinner rather than not knowing what you want because your bored of every meal option.
Wise Words - I think.
This is also true for our pets. I cook whole foods for my dogs and they require less, have lost weight, become more bright and active...and produce 50% less waste.
White meat chicken, bone broth, canned pumpkin mixed with a very generous portion of cruciferous vegetables (broccoli or Brussels sprouts.) Manuka honey, and supplements for joints and collagen. Also a supplement for gut health which contains pre and probiotics.
This diet cured chronic bladder infection in a 15 year old dog...no more blood in his urine.
Comfort is a kind of submission before authority; pain: a rebellion, a fire, a storm to overthrow existing circumstances.
Have you ever stubbed your toe before? What kind of rebellion is that?
@achinthmurali5207 After stubbing, have you tried to walk again? That kind of pain...
Explain?
We have comfort for millions of people, better than kings and queens of a hundred years ago yet here we are saying comfort can't be a goal and it's a submission? I'll submit to comfort over pain if you got comfort going, isn't that why I have suffered so much pain, to be comfortable and pain free?
stubbing your toe should teach you to look where you are going
not being a blind zombie with your face transfixed and mesmerised by your
black scrying window
One of my friends on anti-depressants asked me if I was taking any meds because I went through some bad things in the past few years.
I told him I refuse to take anything and he got upset at me. He got his wife on to SSRI's and he strongly believes in medications for anything that causes pain.
Years ago, we went on a trip and we both got stomach bugs. He took all kinds of anti-diarrhea meds, antacids and Tylenol. I was really sick for a day but let it run it's nasty course without any meds. It was disgusting and painful but my body got through what it needed to and pushed out everything it needed to. He stayed mildly sick for about 2 weeks. Repressing his illness with medications but not releasing it out because he was scared of/avoiding pain.
I agree with the message of this video. The more you try to avoid pain, the more you'll have to contend with down the road. I'd rather feel the pain as it happens. Confront, question and learn from it until it builds a callous on my brain.
i believe in medications. Your opinion is on the opposite end of the spectrum but equally harmful. Your ability to cope with pain isnt the case with everyone. You shouldn't need to be in constant pain 24/7 when medications exist to ease the suffering.
there are tradeoffs. Medications are good, when necessary. But antidepressants are a scam at best, a conspiracy to stunt the mental development of society at worse. Its created a nation of weenie babies
@@cruisingscenesandtakingbea4197 I've experienced serious physical pain and agree. Aside from knowing that suffering is real, which takes only one or two lessons, I see no benefit from it.
You shouldn't medicate your pain you should seek to understand it. Argue for occasional pain relief from extreme injuries but let people decide for themselves how much pain of their OWN they can or want to endure. People stop people from experiencing themselves way too much. And medications will never ever cure or heal. Numbing out is the problem
@@cruisingscenesandtakingbea4197
@@sanniepstein4835if suffering only requires one or two lessons and the lesson is learned then the suffering should be eased. If it isn't, medicating it out doesn't fix the unlearned lesson...
"You are never more warm and cozy, than when you come in from the freezing cold" PAUL SIBBALD
Transitioning from the military to civilian, this really hits hard. I feel the complacency dragging me.
I at 38 was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer last month.
Many friends reach out asking how im doing and are in surprise when I say I'm doing great.
I've always been active but since my diagnoses I've increased and pushed my physical activities to point never before. I've also come to peace with any outcome this may bring.
This video resonates well with me today
Fair play to you buddy. I too am 38 and in my 30’s I have adopted the attitude of, “If I eat, sleep and exercise really, really well, while embracing all the little pains and pleasures life throws at me, then I will be at peace with any outcome, even if it means a lack of success in the eyes of others.”
Good luck to you in future 👍
Try this: Wormwood tea, 200ml in the morning- and before bed. Kernel seeds, not more than 4 a day. Carrots juice. 3 glasses a day. 1 hour of running, in the morning. 1 at lunchtime, 1 before bed.
I fight liver cancer, prostate and colon at the same time. Eat only organic, cut sugar and carbs and any processed foods. Avoid chemo, as it kills your immune system to fight the disease. You will heal in the Lord Jesus' Name.
We will prevail. God Bless!
Google Thomas Seyfried
100% you can experience good pain from exercise or horrible pain from a sedentary lifestyle. Movement is key. ❤
One way I've thought about it is that it's best to acknowledge that pain and discomfort will come, it's an inevitability. The more you meet it on your terms, doing the hard (but beneficial!) things: fasting, exercising, meditating, working hard, etc., consciously suffering as a deliberate choice, the less you have to suffer later while having no choice about it (poverty, disease, stress). I think the former is much preferable to the latter. That being said, I'm not a fan of seeking pain purely for its own sake in some kind of reverse-hedonism, but rather accepting the pain of engaging in actions which are both beneficial or productive as well as difficult and uncomfortable, motivated primarily not by greater enjoyment of carnal pleasures, but rather to act responsibly and beneficially toward our family and other loved ones... to truly honor and appreciate the life we have been given by acting in accordance with its highest well being. I believe this requires that both pleasure and pain be accepted with a certain humility, but that neither be primary ends of themselves.
This came up while im pondering the importance of leg day. Thank you for the inspiration to not skip
Don’t be the skip let day guy. They always look odd
@@johngoldsworthy7135 my legs are to big so i skip them, is that okay?
Wow genius level comedy
"God created Leg Day to test the faithful"
Just did them myself
I have come to this perspective through experience and insight; When things get really bad, the ones who have suffered and survived much... and found their path through, seeing the value in every experience, will be the ones who make it.
In my experience, the one who take advantage of others or know how to game the system are the ones who succeeded and make it
@achinthmurali5207 that's appearing that way to you for a reason. I don't see truth, values, etc. in those people, it speaks to their truth within they fear... not the appearance they want others to have.
@@achinthmurali5207those kinds of people tend to fall at some point. They'll realize their ineptitude through their fraudulent ways and demise will soon follow.
@@MikeyfromBOS Whatever you got to tell yourself
@@Earl_E_Burd that's true for everyone
It's insane how much comfort we live in, and perversely, the people living today are the ones who least deserve to bask in it. But it's so easy to fall into the trap of scrolling through your phone or watching television instead of doing something useful and difficult. This is part of the reason why I started refereeing basketball games a few years ago - it's extremely uncomfortable, difficult, and painful both mentally and physically. Do things that you don't want to do, and you will master yourself. Excellent video, keep it up!
Who are you to judge who deserves what? We live in the times we are born into, just like everyone else throughout history.
Yes, but not all times were Decadent - like the present Times.
gayest comment ever written
The more difficult, the more you develop.
The zone of proximal development
Over temper steel it will shatter
Until when? I understand achieving goals to get you somewhere but what then? Imagine you had all the money in the world, what then? Learning to appreciate what you have and what it took for you to receive what you have can also be seen as development
True. Hardships either shape personality in a good or bad way. Development in either direction depending on the individual.
Parents. Stop trying to prevent your kids from every scratch or risk. Helicopter moms. Book bans. Participation trophies.
safe spaces, safe words.
I actually describe this and similar phenomena as tantamount to a collective Thanatos drive. A slow dehumanization further dissociating/alienating us from our nature. A process that can only result in a collapse of life as we know it as people rely more and more on authority.
Yup. We are causing detriment to our kids by shielding them from any kind of discomfort/stress
Participation trophy everybody wins lol..why then do they still keep score..scoring implies winning but somehow that is cruel to those who chose not to come to practice
Yes please. My brother looks like the thumbnail exactly because my parents enabled him
I just lost power from a tornado that hit north Florida. I had to provide for my family . I had to sweat , I had to find ice , food and gas everyday . No unlimited phone time no tv ,Ac and thank god we had clean water . But in this week of somewhat struggle for us . We got closer as a family . I feel better and I am very over weight . I learned that I need to limit our comfort . Once the power came back we were so relived like if we were just saved from death . That was very insightful to me . We need to adjust to limit comfort as humans .
I grew up in the 70's.. Then in the 80's & 90's I was a wildland firefighter. I can barely get a person born in this day and age to join me on a rigorous hike in the woods. Most just wanna stare at the screen. * This video reminded me to take my Shepherd out today ...Thx * If I want comfort, I'll take a nap. Otherwise get out of the way, I'm busy being uncomfortable 🤣
im most comfortable on a hike. Thats the thing. Being comfortable with limited uncomfortable stimuli. A hike might be a burden on the body, but its rly just that. THe pain (unlike other body pain) is not even that hard to see as exiting and such. Of course don't over do it.
To the defense of the newer generation i must say that i hated hiking too in my younger years. Im from the 00s. Only after turning 22ish i found pleasure in hiking.
What a great story/metaphor - all these people will be consumed by Fire, one of these days...
@@Rithmy In my experience physical pains are much easier than mental ones too. It is much easier to do intense exercise for an hour than it is meditate for an hour.
@@hapybratt8640
Exercise pain is not what i mean. Exercise also pumps you up with many hormones that let you keep going, its basically a rewards system.
Also meditation is not painfull at all. IIt has no inherent pain in it. Buddhist divide between unavoidable pain and avoidable pain. I would consider this fully avoidable.
Plus Both cases are limited in time.
It becomes muchmore problematic if its chronic pain. Chronic tooth pain is something that most people go mad about about if a certain intensity is reached. Remember how hard it is to eat and laught if that evne further intensifies a chronic pain.
Mental pain that is existantial can be destroying too. severe loneliness, having no possibilities in life, feeling like a slave, feeling empty....
@@Rithmy I would say meditation is a form of pain because certain types go against what your brain wants to do.
You try to focus on one subject for as long as possible but it doesn't want to do that so it comes up with ways to trick you out of it. It is in pain so it tries to avoid it and a couple seconds later it gets put right back into the frying pan. If it wasn't in pain then why do so many people avoid trying to focus on one subject?
Also, exercise can be very painful and requires a lot of mental strength to keep going sometimes, especially running and cycling for long periods. It is more than just endorphins telling you to keep going.
Focusing meditation is way harder than just cycling though because your mind doesn't have to be focused on the cycling but it does have to be focused on the focusing which is what's causing the pain.
The reason Buddhists separate avoidable and unavoidable is because you cant do something about unavoidable pain so you might as well not think about it. They're both still pain though, there is nothing inherently different from chronic back pain and a needle in your arm just because one is temporary and avoidable.
This got this way off topic though and I'm pretty sure you agree with me on what I'm trying to say anyway.
One of the best memories I have from my best years (1995-1998 in Montreal) is walking down the street and hearing different sounds coming out of everyone's appartments and cars. Everyone had their windows open and a lot of people would even leave their door wide open to catch a draft through their appartment. Now, everyone imprisons themselves inside, and the very same people that I spent those years with wouldn't even dare turning off the air conditioning in their appartment. Air conditioning didn't even exist back then at least not on our side of the tracks. Nobody talks about it, or realizes how different things are. It's actually sad. Our lives were much tougher back then in many different ways, but we had a lot more fun too. Life was colourful. I have never used air conditioning because of this phenomenon and I refuse it, even though I now live in interior BC and actually have central air in my house (I have never turned it on). I still open the windows and blast my music. And I roll down the highway with the windows down. My kids love it. They have no idea how lucky they are.
I've had chronic crippling back pain for the last decade. There is no comfort
There are things you have learned to appreciate that most others still take for granted:
Yep, and those who think pain is good and life should be lived for struggle are the ones who would deny you of affordable healthcare, thus perpetuating their grim world of misery. If hard work is the default state of life then why do we invent and use tools to make things easier on ourselves? This "pain is good, comfort bad" BS is just that.
you should do some deadlifts
@@strahljd I definitely don't need anything to be more difficult in life. It's already stupid enough. I'm looking for ease
@@DovydasGlb haha that sounds smart. It's difficult to just put pants on. Besides, I've done enough dead lifts in my years of body building and steroids. I'm good
A strange serendipity that I keep reading the books you cover on this channel right before you release the video.
I have been naturally following this path with zero knowledge of these peoples teachings. I’ve just stumbled onto these realization in-situ to my circumstances. This was reaffirming. But as always, since we are within a new era we must start asking the new questions.
Balance is the key!
No.
@@vooteimer1234 yes
Yin and Yang. How would we appreciate summer without winter?
Lateralus, yin yang is a bastardization of the concept of two. The principle of two.
What a midwit comment. “Balance is the key!”. Can’t go wrong there, can you, bud?
I have known this my whole life. I grew up on a farm. I never had air conditioning or cable TV. Still, I was aware that my life was easy compared to those who came before me. Then I joined the Army. We would live outdoors for weeks at a time. Simply coming back to civilization and eating a cheeseburger and sleeping in a bed indoors was orgasmic.
Tips hat MD, I am in 21227 area Zoo but was molded from 21223 Concrete Jungle being a wild poor white haha
I also thought this while watching this video. I had to do hard work for 3 weeks in another city. Coming home in my comfortable home was so awesome! 🤗🙂👍
There is a series where they go to the jungle and a lot have reported that they learned there to appreciate the small pleasures of life a lot! 🤗🥪
I was a Welder at the shipyard welding below deck in the ships boiler room wearing leathers. Going up on deck at the end of the day to peal off my leathers and feel the oceans cooling breeze wash over my sweat soaked body was more refreshing than I can describe! Ahh
@@loveistheanswer5924I would like to challenge you to experience it yourself instead of watching it on TV.
I broke my collarbone/ribs recently. I had to take 10 weeks off from the gym. It made me realize, that I'd never in my adult life(59yo) missed more than a few workouts in any given month. Strenuous exercise is the only fountain of youth. Heading back to the gym on Monday.
This guy has a good narrating voice, grim yet hopeful.
Really? His tone always sounds to me like a Canadian teen, sneering at the perversity of all that makes no sense to him.
I have plenty of discomfort on my daily routine. A bucket serves as my toilet. I shower year round outside with a hose. During the summer, there's no AC & my room gets really hot. In winter it gets down to mid to high 30s F but i don't have heat. I've had to wash my clothes by hand. I wash dishes outside. And there is dirt everywhere as it blows in through the Windows. With a fractured wrist, i can't use my motorcycle nor ride my bicycles. And the goats, pigs,.dogs swarm me every morning. I can't afford doméstic help so with some disabilities I've had to suffer thru it. A cowboy helps with cowboy stuff but it aint much. I haven't had a drink with ice cubes so long that i can't remember when. But i'm feeling good.
I just finished a challenging US Army course where I didn't have a phone and was subjected to constant discomfort and deprivation. My focus and insight improved despite these discomforts. And now simply sitting on my couch after graduating today gives me so much joy.
But you've not the insight to see through the cynicism of imperial Washington.
Congratulations!🎉 You are better off than 95% of us right now. Keep challenging yourself and keep your mental and physical edge. God bless!
@@beingsshepherdhave a cry
@@beingsshepherd Finding a balance between pleasure and pain through self discipline will not inherently lead a person to see through a political regime that has gradually controlled all the levers of information including the mass media.
Fortunately, with the advent of the Internet there has been a tidal wave of content creators through which one can access information about the political regime. One valuable source are commentators on international relations such as John Mearsheimer from the University of Chicago and Larry C. Johnson. One can learn a lot from how other countries view the U.S.
@@RandallvanOosten-ln5wf Preaching to the converted.
Surely that comment's better directed at the op.
Pain is the wrong word choice.
We should pursue constant improvement, though it may bring with it discomfort.
And discomfort is painful, you’ve become so soft the word pain upsets you
@@jenbodhi1133 pain - physical suffering or discomfort caused by illness or injury.
Again, it's the wrong word choice. I would call you soft, for feeling the need to reply.
@@jesusguerrero8786 there are things called psychological and emotional pain.
I’m sorry you’re so weak you got triggered by this conversation.
Typical weak western man
This is by far my favorite TH-cam channel, ever.
Please don’t stop uploading 🙏
You haven't see Kapil Gupta. The ultimate.
Pain is an insufficient reason not to embrace life. Pain, like time, is going come on regardless. The question is what glorious moments can you snatch from life in addition to the pain.
Well said, Greg! Blessings to you. 🙌
Pain is a great motivator
The more comfort the more pain, wasnt that what the video was about ? lolz.... jesus christ .Pain is NOT the "great motivator" those who've made it and stayed there have much validation. Where is the pain in validation.
Which slave driver said that?
@@gapho5198 hahaha fuck
Try growing up as a child in a house filled with violence, neglect and sexual abuse.
@@brianpan6453 if that was you, so sorry to hear that. I hope that painful experience would motivate you to get out of that situation if possible or motivate you to be a better parent to your own children or motivate you to help others in the same situation
"Cacti in a rainforest." Fantastic analogy.
i've been kicking these thoughts around to myself for many years. even more so lately because 18 months ago i entered recovery from a 15 year opioid addiction.
The best is yet to come. You will never regret the decision to live clean.
This resonates a lot and relates exactly to what I’ve been thinking about lately. I exercise regularly and many of my hobbies are movement related but I still feel mentally dead often because I sit in front of a computer all day for work. I make good money and have a “comfortable” life but can feel spiritually dead often. I’ve considered moving into a more physical type of work and have been looking into farm apprenticeships and other type of work that is more physical and less sitting in front of a screen all day
Start working on it as a side hobby until you can possibly go part time at your desk job and then maybe quit forever.
I have acquired enough side gigs to only work part time at the hospital and my mental health has increased substantially.
I look forward to a day when I can leave the medical field altogether.
A worthy topic for a discussion.
A few thoughts-
Debilitating pain, be it physical or mental, is not the same as discomfort or even temporary suffering.
The discipline necessary to endure pain, suffering, discomfort, sacrifice in pursuit of a goal, a reason or a vision is is what brings the betterment. Otherwise it's just pointless pain and suffering.
Yep I've done both...chronic unending pain can break the strongest spirit
As a Cenobite, I concur.
Despite myself, I was thinking of Pinhead all through the video.
Let it be known, if I ever win the lotto, I pledge several dollars to your academy.
Several? Wow.
@@MrJamesdryable depending on the size of the lotto. Could even be dozens, yes.
Commit to donating a percentage - 3% seems fair.
@mikeoglen6848 First step, I have to actually play the lotto.
Diogenes is a legend.
Yes sir.
Hard to be diogenes when you've got dodgy knees.
The Pursuits of worldy pleasures is the art of escapism and escapism never solved any problems , it's only a temporary delay , a delay that only make those problems harder to solve
Um, not all worldly pleasures are also escapist in nature. Exercise is worldly and pleasurable, but I wouldn't call it escapist. What exactly do you mean when you say "worldly", here?
I'm not gonna stop saying that this channel is a gold mine for high quality wisdom.
This is absolute gold. Something I‘ve been thinking about for years, but couldn‘t have expressed in the slightest bit like this video does.
This is the best YT channel of its kind.
I could listen to hours long videos from AoI.
"It in not that I am mad. It is only that my head is different from yours."
Sounds very similar to: "I'm not crazy, I'm just ahead of the curve."
I like this. I started working in a warehouse when I was 24. Now 44 and still working in warehouses, I have thought about what the perfect amount of physical labor would be such that your free time would be experienced as a joy in and of itself, and the two would balance. I have yet to make a determination, but this video, I feel, validates the pursuit. If they are not already physically demanding, all jobs should incorporate a variety of mechanical stresses to the body. The body is not just a life support system. We are not just our minds. We are our bodies too and they need as much consideration as the conscious self.
Just get married trust me !
I’m being married for 25 years and I’m always balanced with pain ✌🏻👽
I cut out all processed food, sugar, soda, alcohol, gluten 4 months ago because my depression, anxiety, adhd, fatigue, mood swings, bad quality sleep, just unhappiness in general was literally killing me both spiritually and physically. I was also told i was prediabetic. I was literally shocked and disgusted by myself and so disappointed in myself since i had never thought i would have ended up in such bad shape overall in my mid thirties. Fast forward 4 months, I am no longer prediabetic, reversed my insulin resistance, no longer depressed, or fatigued. I sleep like a baby. I am motivated. Have lost 30 lbs (i only do moderate walking every day and some squats 3-4 days a week for strength).
The difference in such short amount of time is incredible. I am so so grateful.
Freedom can only be felt/achieved with self discipline not indulgence.
I recommend everyone to look into animal based diet and consider giving up processed food at least..before you give up on yourself or diagnose yourself with psychiatric disorders.
Break a leg 🎉 Cheers x
I'd love to eat clean, but that's expensive.
Yes, animal based plus exercise. This is the way
This video made so much sense. As someone who was addicted to opiates in the past, I often thought the withdrawal was equal to all the euphoria I obtained, but its opposite.
Thus far, this channel proves to be superior in bringing truth, ethics and morality to the public.
As someone training for an Ironman I see this dynamic at play. A lot of people on the starting line have shit to deal with i think. Its really a mental game when it comes down to it.
It's not comfort that is crippling people, it's lack of meaning and purpose and belonging.
Have you ever heard of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs? If you don’t have enough food or water or if your life is in danger, you don’t give a damn about meaning and purpose and belonging.
I think comfort and meaning are somewhat related, if you are comfortable with your life you won't have the zeal to take on pain in order to make your life better...why take pain when you are already comfortable?
Similarly on the other end a person would take on extra pain to do the hard work today to make himself comfortable tomorrow.
On Purpose,
Living a life in comfort is okay but you are going to be trading of the meaning/purpose of your life.
However, pain/suffering no matter how hard it might be it gives your life meaning.
(One must imagine Sisyphus happy)
Now on belonging I would say yes the virtual world has enabled us to connect us more frequently but the quality of those connection have gotten down. As I myself experience this, it is difficult for me to have new inperson authentic relationships but hey I can message anyone anytime :')
@@Maryland_KulakI wouldn't really say that's entirely true. There's countless examples of people sacrificing their own well being for others. We are a tribal species, not a purely self centered one.
Yeah, kinda hard to care about things when the post modernist keep telling us all that we're worthless sacks of meat in an infinite universe with no end nor beginning, making that also meaningless. This idea has been pushed on us since elementary school, so of course people lack purpose. They're programmed to believe there is no purpose.
@@user-mj9lq9vp3wWhat does your comment have to do with what I said?
There is so much truth in all of this. My life was already good, but I've begun purposefully abstaining from certain pleasures to help me appreciate them more. I even chose a career that requires me to live abroad for months in substandard conditions. I exercise regularly and do intermittent fasting too. The difference in my mental and physicalhealth has been night and day. I've become more resilient, focused, and appreciative of the life I have. I refuse to let overstimulation or overindulgence dull my ability to experience pleasure. I'm in awe of how much more I enjoy eating good food, vacationing, or even just chilling at home with my family after going without for awhile.
that was a great reminder of what a man told me years ago. more eloquently stated and it hit closer to home this time. thanks.
5 and a bit years of sobriety. Self control and discipline have bought me so much peace.
Reading these comments is amazing to me. Most of you have no concept of what this video is talking about. You must never have experienced discomfort so you have no frame of reference.
What’s on RT today
I watched this video about 5 times already. It seems to be what I need at this chaotic time. Thank you again.
This is absolutely true! Look at that guy who swims in frozen waters. He is unstoppable. I live off grid and still have way to many comforts. I am a big wimp when I get cold. I did live in my bus in Montana. -40f
Most will silently hate this and disagree cuz "mah disorder" or any other number of endless self made ills they use to not be good enough. Remember we are all "equal" yet no one actually believes this, hence all the misery despite everything we have. Love isnt present. And for most people even love isnt enough. They want love x infinity.
from my journal earlier today:
there is no opportunity here. there is no chaos and therefore no opportunity to rise. how can you do something in a town where everyone is satisfied, happy and married with kids? they're done. you need to find people at the start of their adventure. chaos is a ladder. go towards the chaos, the fear, the danger. test your ability to transmute chaos into order. delve into the belly of the beast and return with the gold. venture into kings landing, play the game of thrones and win. there is no victory in other people's paradise. go find hell and turn it into heaven. this is the way. dive into it. guns blazing and sword drawn
This isn't the time for game of thrones its time for reality.
@@GyobuTheDemonOniwaright? That blazed trail is merely a beaten track
Today's generation of men is lacking love. Most young men will never marry.
So everyone around you is satisfied and you don't see that as the end result for yourself? Why chaos instead of peace and happiness? What success do you think you are going to achieve if the end result has already been reached for so many?
@@antonyjh1234exactly what Nietzsche was talking about 200 years ago... The last man thinks they have found happiness, they work to pass time . And anyone who dares dream would willingly go to the mad house, thinking something is wrong with him/her/they/them/whatever other gender the west have 😅
Organic pain, i.e. when it finds the individual (as opposed to the individual who purposefully seeks pain as a way of building so-called character) is what is optimal IMO. But that of course assumes the individual is in control of their faculties to the point where they can consciously instigate a form of recovery or a learning process. It's a very delicate process.
Thank you AOI, once again a brilliantly crafted video and life lesson. Time and time again this channel delivers an astonishingly good product. Your videos are worth re-listening to many times!
This is absolutely true. Modern life is detrimental to our wellbeing. I've thought this for a couple of years.
Too much of everything. Life is too easy. Struggle and suffering, hardship is all part of life.. Thanks for sharing 👍
*post* modern life
Life isn’t easy
i would elaborate that the doing of the work that it takes to avoid suffering and hardship is what life is really about, what makes humans feel ~alive~. but life, as you say, is too easy, leaving humans with nothing to conquer, no satisfaction, no fulfillment.
i choose to live in my own version of a "tub"- an old van that i travel fulltime in the desert with. i have built a small solar electrical system that generates my power, but requires my daily work and attention and dedication to manage.
i work to maintain a comfortable tempature by studying the weather and moving up or down in latitude or elevation, and/or parking in shade versus sun, and/or parking facing west versus north, and/or cooking inside or outside, and/or burning candles/warming rocks/ sting water, etc.
i often have to carry the water i'll need for two weeks so i know that i use 1 1/2 gallons a day. i sleep like a baby on a 24" wide bed that i built, after all that i do in a day to work for my immediate needs and wants.
i don't have to do this, but existing in the extreme comfort of this world almost killed my soul, but now i am fully present and ~alive~.
life is too easy for who? You people must be spoiled rotten to think life doesn't have enough suffering.
Like Arthur Schopenhauer says:
Pain must be positive for it makes its own existence felt ❤
Great video! I’ve been watching you for years, keep killing it.
This video gave me the chills, words I have been pondering for awhile. Time to practice. Thanks
Living with chronic pain due to my condition. I don't have to pursue pain
The point is that a lack of exercise probably contributed to your condition and poor health.
What’s your condition?
@@GyobuTheDemonOniwa the point is your lack of knowledge led you to misunderstand my condition
@@GyobuTheDemonOniwawisdom has been chasing you but you have been faster
@@Bucky1836 I am married to wisdom Sophia. You obviously remain invisible to her
I have struggled with depression, anxiety and stress my whole life and it only got better when I stopped drinking alcohol, coffee and started working out everyday while I worked the most stressful job I've ever had. Now I am skinny and in shape, I found a better job and started my own video game design studio. Hard work, fasting and stubbornness are now my sharpest tools and I will never go back.
Try going on a week long backpacking trip. See how you feel when you get back home.
You do good work brother, with an understated style I can appreciate.
Regarding being sedentary, getting a standing desk and forcing yourself to use it instead of sitting helps a lot with energy levels and getting started on that whole discipline thing.
Nobody has to pursue pain, it'll find you and without any meaning it will stay that way
I know this one bloke who doesn't use the heater during winter and doesn't use airconditioning during summer. Everyday he does 100 push-up, 100 sit-up, 10km runs. Rain or shine. He is one tough bloke
サイタマか~?
I admit to indulging in the pleasure of listening to videos from the Academy of Ideas :-)
Yesterday I did a 10km walk with a 3 year old on my shoulders through rocky hills and mud.. I am sore today but I feel so alive!
"Our ancestors didn't work out because nearly all of their waking hours were spent doing things that today would classify as exercise."
Why most chefs are plus-sized and most line cooks are either ripped or look like addicts.
It also explains mom-strength. Non-stop housework and running around the place is a pretty good lifestyle (for physical health at least, not necessarily mental)
@@TheHulksMistress physical and mental health are tied.
Brilliant, one of your best yet! Very important reminder to not live too comfortably ❤
Thank you for such a timely video. I was thinking of the Stoics and how they related these same concepts.
I never thought that sum41’s pain for pleasure would get spun into philosophy but I love it!
Um, I was thinking Venus in Furs - Velvet Underground -- it's older.
Why are we celebrating suffering as if it’s a good thing and promoting this message. It’s not character building to suffer.
And who says we shouldn’t aspire to luxury ? A slave master ?
Thats...not the point. Its about how pain and pleasure is a neurological balance that if one side has too much the other sude will compensate
I had all these ideas already seething in my mind, which only needed this video to set them on fire. now i have realized that our life is akin to achieving physical balance, which is a task full of diurnal, painful adjustments
Oooh….. I got you with this one! I broke my back about 15 years ago and take zero pain meds to manage. I do a lot of push-ups, and continue to learn the concept of radical acceptance of pain. I went through three years of the pain clinic and have less discomfort now through mental management and physical fitness.
If comfort is worse than pain, why did our ancestors choose comfort?
Don't dishonor them by reversing their hard work.
Discipline is key, you'd know that if you weren't a fearmongering grifter.
discipline is "painful" in face of all this comfort. That is the point.
That hurts.
Thank you,sir,may I have another!
Cold showers are a good example of CHOSEN discomfort
I work 12 hours a day at a physical job, then i come home and do a 2 hour workout, all while in the middle of a 20 hour fast. When i finally finish and get to enjoy my first meal, that food is so damn satisfying. Im 39 and ive been living this way for 20 years and i wouldnt live any other way. My friends and family always tell me that im going to get sick or injured because of my lifestyle, yet im in great health and i have the same energy that i had in my twenties while they are all aging faster than me. Most people have no discpline so if you can stick to a grueling routine, you will be better off than the majority of people.
Pursue not pleasure or pain, only truth, and endure and enjoy that which life brings you with moderation. Who heed me not let all your treasure make you ....
Pursuing pain sounds like masochism. A life of pleasures isn’t all great but pursuing Pain as a goal is wrong.
It used to be people would feel GOOD for a hard days work, a job well done.
Nowadays people on TikTok are complaining about 40 hour weeks.
"There's no jobs in this town, unless you want to work 40 hours a week" - Lloyd
bootlicker
People don’t feel good for making someone else richer anymore. Darn education.
People aren't being paid enough to waste their life slaving for someone else's benefit
it is quite incredible how blue collar slaves think their life burning away at work means anything ha,
@@user-be1bc1nr1k First of all, rewarding work is its own benefit.
Secondly NO ONE makes you work anywhere. You are just mad because others will accept the wage you think isn't enough.
If owning a business makes someone rich DO IT. Oh wait, due to your idiotic liberal sensibilities you will find it QUITE hard to do so with regulations and costs what they are
No mean tweets, though.
Many great philosophies adress this Stoicism, Buddhism, and Aldous Huxley Author of" Brave New World". Well done, great video
“To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering.”
Hedonism destroys you because it leads to pain. Masochism leads to pleasure, but then you are driven to pain again......... So what?''