[Antifragile 4 🔥] Byung-Chul Han's self-made prison of “you can”, Scottish mountaineer on boldness, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry on being rich

#55: a weekly 4-item newsletter created to inspire dads to use the challenges of fatherhood as fuel for building an incredible life & an antifragile mind.

Welcome to the 55th edition of the antifragile 4 🔥.

This week I dedicate two sections to the philosopher of the moment, Byung-Chul Han. I do this because of how intensely his work has resonated with me. I suspect it will with you as well.

Plus, I continue to be utterly convinced that one of the greatest gifts we can provide our children is to provide them a solid philosophical footing for navigating a future that will be defined by the promises & perils of technology that continues to advance at incomprehensible rates.

Our only defense against being utterly consumed by technology & modern society is to first become aware of the paradigm in which we’re operating, and second, consciously choose a different path forward.

My reading and distilling of these philosophers is an effort to do just that.

With love,
Chris

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Here’s this week’s antifragile 4 🔥:

1. [deep thought 🌊] Byung-Chul Han ⛓️ on the self-made prison of “you can” and the Achievement Society

2. Byung-Chul Han 😌 on what you can do about it

3. a Scottish mountaineer ⛰️ on boldness

4. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry ⭐️💰 on being rich

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1.) [deep thought 🌊] Byung-Chul Han ⛓️ on the self-made prison of “you can”

Philosopher Byung-Chul Han, in his book The Burnout Society, argues that our cultural obsession with growth and achievement has shifted the pressure we feel from external to internal.

It’s the difference between what he calls a “you should” coercive society and “you can” achievement.

Throughout 99.99% of history, the threat of violence and destitution was the specter that kept humans in line. Produce or starve. Produce or else. You should do this or else you will suffer the consequences.

But the abundance of our modern world, he argues, threats of violence and destitution are not only no longer acceptable…they’re no longer needed.

Today, with basic needs met (and then some), the whip has been replaced by a relentless, insidious voice in our head.

Because if you can do anything, then of course you should. And if you don’t? You must not be good enough. Try harder. Be different.

Wait, what is XYZ person doing over there? Why aren’t you doing that too?

Why haven’t you started a business? Why isn’t your business bigger? Why isn’t it better?

Why don’t you have a six-pack? Why aren’t you doing Ironmans? Why can’t you do 100 pushups right now?

Are my mornings optimized?

Are my evenings optimized?

Are my workouts optimized?

Is my meditation optimized?

Is my parenting optimized?

Are my relationships optimized?

Is my sex optimized?

Why haven’t you gotten CFO yet? Are you going for CEO after that?

Why aren’t you listening to a podcast right now? Why aren’t you learning something in your free moments?

Why don’t you make more money? Why don’t you own more houses? Why aren’t you as good as them? Why are you such a piece of shit?

You’re not good enough. You’re not reaching your potential.

You’re wasting time. STOP WASTING TIME. STOP WASTING YOUR LIFE.

Family? Sleep? Art? Quiet? You’re joking right?

Get up earlier. Stay later. Grind. Grind. GRIND!

…

😈 Nasty right?

But, according to Han, that’s the modern whip. And it resides rent-free in our head.

If we have that, who needs the old one?

Rather than doing what we must do out of a sense of duty or obligation, we are pressured, often by ourselves, to do as much as we can, and to always do more, out of a cultural obsession with achievement and self-optimization. This obsession governs how we educate ourselves, the life plans we make, how we optimize our leisure time and how we engage with others. We are always trying to extract the most instrumental value out of all our activities. When we are not successful, we blame ourselves, feel anxious, burn out, or become depressed.

Andrew Wilson, Byung-Chul Han: The Critique of Achievement Society

2.) Byung-Chul Han 😌 on what you can do about it

Well that was uplifting!

Fortunately, Han is not one of those depressing philosophers who paints a dark portrait of the world and peaces out ✌🏻. He gives us his take on what one can do to swim against the current of the Achievement Society.

Here’s what he suggests:

1. Slow Down. Resisting burnout starts with rediscovering the capacity to think—deeply and calmly—rather than just reacting to everything.

2. Embrace Boredom in the Intervals. I love this one. Don’t pull out your phone every time there’s a break in the day. Take a beat. Take a breath. Embrace boredom where otherwise you may have sought distraction.

3. Make Space for Reflection. Journal, go on walks. Step outside the current of daily life and make sure you’re heading in the right direction.

4. Resist Multitasking. Good luck with this one. Modern life as a parent may as well be synonymous with multitasking (I literally had to get up to help with something with the baby in the middle of writing this sentence). But there’s plenty of fat to trim.

5. Play for Play’s Sake. Seek joy for joy’s sake. Find some things to do because you love doing them. Not because they’re productive or look good or make money. Plant a garden. Write a poem. Get into nature. Play a sport. Whatever this looks like for you.

It’s nothing we haven’t heard before. But sometimes we need to hear something 100 times before it takes hold. Maybe this will be the time.

3.) a Scottish mountaineer ⛰️ on boldness

William H. Murray in The Scottish Himalayan Expedition (1951).

Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

4.) Antoine de Saint-Exupéry ⭐️💰 on being rich

‘And what use is it to you to own the stars?’

‘It makes me rich.’

‘And what is the point of being rich?’

‘It enables me to buy other stars, if anybody can find any.’

‘This man,’ the little prince said to himself, ‘reasons a bit like my drunkard.’

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

Also reminds me of the Mexican Fisherman Parable.

Money is great. It, as Naval Ravikant says, doesn’t solve all your problems…but it solves your money problems.

But every once in a while it's worth considering, how much of your energy is going towards making money and how much of your energy is going towards enjoying our short time here on Earth?

And are you happy with the balance you’re striking?

AI Image of the Week 🤖 🎨

the master shifts from external to internal.

Two last things for you this week:

1. Embrace the intervals. Try to create conscious buffers between tasks. Stay off the phone. Be bored. Look at the sky for a few minutes.

2. Be fire and wish for the wind 🔥

With love,
Chris

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