If a human being does not consciously undertake problems in proportion to their capacity, they will unconsciously attract other problems. In psychology, this is known as self-sabotage—the unconscious undermining of one’s own potential. This can be remedied by setting specific, difficult goals and assuming conscious responsibilities.
We previously discussed whether the crisis in the USA was a loss of power or the “banalization” of power, concluding that a nation experiencing hedonic adaptation enters a state of self-sabotage when it fails to adopt more challenging objectives.
The individual has inherited the struggle for survival; the brain is designed for this very purpose. If this system, meant for anticipating dangers and solving problems, does not have a lifestyle suited to its difficulty capacity, it will generate problems until that capacity is satisfied. The behavior of strengthening one’s survival capacity through hardship is also known as the antifragility reflex.
A person who assumes no responsibility at work and possesses no particular skill may sometimes even rebuff being tolerated. This person, who might even consider quitting, is in search of cognitive friction; according to Flow Theory, challenges that fall significantly below one’s skill level result in an unbearable sense of alienation.
According to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow Theory, boredom arises if talent and challenge are not in equilibrium. An individual who is not sufficiently challenged will either manufacture a crisis or create a struggle through their own body. Happiness emerges at the exact point where skill level and challenge level are perfectly balanced.
Fitness clubs are antifragility centers that inject deliberate, artificial problems into the body, while romantic relationships do the same for the depths of the soul. When summed up, most collective behaviors resemble an antifragility reflex. Relationships that serve no practical purpose, games, quarrels, discourses, and delusions are all forms of this preparation.
Indeed, we do not think when there are no problems. To be able to navigate the critical crossroads of life, we unconsciously experience problems that strengthen our “thought muscles.” The way to escape the spiral of hedonic adaptation and uncontrolled problems is not through chaotic destruction, but by channeling energy into a meaningful tension balance (noodynamics). When a person does not consciously choose their own dragon, the subconscious transforms those closest to them into dragons to tragically develop “muscle.”
CONCLUSION
A human being either levels up the game or destroys the game to expend their energy. Expending one’s “problem entitlement” by assuming responsibility is the most humane path. What befits a human most, however, is intellectual responsibility. There is nothing as advantageous as a conceptual responsibility that ensures you encounter a problem at every moment. Investigating every concept at all times and being meticulous in their use requires immense energy. Yet, you will find that in the rest of life, everything becomes clearer and less problematic. The problems most worthy of a human being are conceptual problems.
