How does being sincerely ironic empower us, then? If you internalize the ironic ridicule of others before they have a chance of applying it to you, you can more easily shrug it off; you can work from a place of near invulnerability, and thus dare to be truly vulnerable.

@issacrosen Not as I have thought of it, but am open to suggestions of other views.

Trust (def. from upcoming book): 1. competence (or credibility, or skill), 2. goodwill (i.e. you think they have good intentions), 3. reliability (they won’t be flaky), and 4. alignment (that our interests align and don’t contradict one another).

I command you to live in a mess. medium.com/@hanzifreinach…

5. A lot of them stagnate and become pale shadows and excuses for where they thought they were headed in their lives. The iron law of mediocrity reasserts itself, but not very sublimely.

4. Some become invested in their own philosophical or spiritual or media-driven greatness and begin to compete with others for the immortality that fame is implicitly believed to bring. They look for their chance to change the world, to make a dent in the universe.

3. They still get into heaps of relational complications and drama. They suffer from anxiety and burnout. They begin subscribing to crazy religious, spiritual, intellectual, and political doctrines—ruining their lives and families as a result. Some few commit suicide. universe.

8. And yet, comparing the groups—the ordinary and the extraordinary—the social fallout of the latter is rampant in comparison. Crazy and unbelievable stories and behaviors abound, and they always sneak up unexpectedly.

2. Exceptionally talented, creative, and idealistic people fall apart left and right—despite all the work they have done on themselves, with extensive therapies, meditations, studies, travels, careers, and rich life experiences.

(from the upcoming book)