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>this article honestly came across as someone who had read too much Bret Easton Ellis recently... I very much enjoyed this article, but I had that BEE thought

>this article honestly came across as someone who had read too much Bret Easton Ellis recently... I very much enjoyed this article, but I had that BEE thought as well! My theory is that a lot of us human beings manufacture strife and struggle, because that is the Hero's Journey that everyone wants to be able to tell to their grandchildren. In the absence of "real" conflict (war, poverty, abuse), we shine the dark light on things like this. "I have a well paying job with great benefits and live in an awesome city...but I'm sad because, like, what does this all mean, man?" I'm not discounting the deep sadness that existential crises can saddle your daily life with, but I've seen this trend time and time again. Just pay attention to modern rap music, like Kanye. Listen to his lyrics. That dude has minimal "real world" problems in his life right now, from what I can tell, yet his music is one of "me against the world." That's because he knows what a story arc is supposed to be like, so he'll play that out for us, regardless of its actual truth. /random rant

mbrock 10y ago
Joseph Campbell's idea of the hero's journey was, I think, partly inspired by the myth of the Buddha, whose problem was (excuse me) the same as Kanye's: he had everything, yet he was unhappy.
- sanderjd 10y ago
  Never thought a comment comparing Kanye to Buddha would make so much sense. Well played!
- Disruptive_Dave 10y ago
  Correct. However it's at this point of the story (both of their stories) that the roads drastically separate.
phantom_package 10y ago
I think that goes deeper than the "story we want to tell" - in other words, I don't think everyone is faking it. Look at Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: - Physiological - Safety - Love/Belonging - Esteem - Self-actualization If you're, say, a programmer in SF right now, the first two are definitely taken care of for you. Love/Belonging can be present as a result of your job, but it's also possible that you "stop drinking the kool-aid" at some point (as the author did), so it's not a given. Esteem is really person-to-person, but it's probably not coming from your work as much as what you get in exchange for your work. Self-actualization is the one you're referring to when you say "what does this all mean, man?". In other words, am I doing what I should be doing? It's definitely the hardest of the bunch, and it's hard to work on that one if any of the others aren't rock-solid (hence the pyramid shape). Only some people nail it down before they die. Working in tech, I've never felt like I was doing what I should be doing. I'm just lucky enough to be able to make good money while figuring out what that is. I find that that approach to work (I'm trading my time for money) feels (to me) the most honest, and leaves me in the best headspace. It doesn't exactly fit with the startup office culture we have here in SF, so I do consulting, which is a comical situation - I charge a higher hourly rate to interact with this culture less often.

mbrock 10y ago

Joseph Campbell's idea of the hero's journey was, I think, partly inspired by the myth of the Buddha, whose problem was (excuse me) the same as Kanye's: he had everything, yet he was unhappy.

sanderjd 10y ago
Never thought a comment comparing Kanye to Buddha would make so much sense. Well played!
Disruptive_Dave 10y ago
Correct. However it's at this point of the story (both of their stories) that the roads drastically separate.

phantom_package 10y ago

I think that goes deeper than the "story we want to tell" - in other words, I don't think everyone is faking it. Look at Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: - Physiological - Safety - Love/Belonging - Esteem - Self-actualization If you're, say, a programmer in SF right now, the first two are definitely taken care of for you. Love/Belonging can be present as a result of your job, but it's also possible that you "stop drinking the kool-aid" at some point (as the author did), so it's not a given. Esteem is really person-to-person, but it's probably not coming from your work as much as what you get in exchange for your work. Self-actualization is the one you're referring to when you say "what does this all mean, man?". In other words, am I doing what I should be doing? It's definitely the hardest of the bunch, and it's hard to work on that one if any of the others aren't rock-solid (hence the pyramid shape). Only some people nail it down before they die. Working in tech, I've never felt like I was doing what I should be doing. I'm just lucky enough to be able to make good money while figuring out what that is. I find that that approach to work (I'm trading my time for money) feels (to me) the most honest, and leaves me in the best headspace. It doesn't exactly fit with the startup office culture we have here in SF, so I do consulting, which is a comical situation - I charge a higher hourly rate to interact with this culture less often.