https://youtubetranscript.com/?v=K01UNZvA2Nw
So one of the things I’ve been talking to my audiences about is the relationship between responsibility and meaning, which is What would you say? It’s a it’s a constant refrain in the book. It’s one of its underlying Messages, let’s say or themes is a better way of thinking about it You know if you start with the presumption that there’s a baseline of suffering in life and that that can be Exaggerated by as a consequence of human failing as a consequence of malevolence and betrayal and self betrayal and deceit and all those things that we do To each other and ourselves that we know that aren’t good that amplifies the suffering that’s sort of the baseline against which you have to work and and and It’s contemplation of that often that makes people hopeless and depressed and anxious and overwhelmed and all of that and and and they have the reasons But you need something to put up against that and what you put up against that is meaning meaning is actually the instinct that helps you guide yourself through that catastrophe and Most of that meaning is to be found in the adoption of responsibility So if you think for example if you think about the people that you admire Well, you think about when you have a clear conscience first because that’s a good thing to aim at which is something different than happiness, right? A clear conscience is different than happiness. That’s better. Yeah, that’s better. Guilty yourself. You’re not feeling bad about yourself That’s right You feel that you’ve justified you’ve justified your existence, right? And so you’re not waking up at three in the morning in a cold sweat thinking about all the terrible things that you’ve involved yourself in What you said to someone that you shouldn’t have said or how you acted or what opportunity you lost or or or or? Yeah, or or the things that you’ve that you’ve let go that you should have capitalized on and all of that And so if you think about the times when you’re at peace with yourself with regards to how you’re conducting yourself in the world It’s almost always conditions under which you’ve adopted responsibility Right at least the most the most guilt. I think that you can experience perhaps is The sure knowledge that you’re not even taking care of yourself So that you’re leaving that responsibility to other people because that’s pretty pathetic Unless you’re psychopathic and you know and you’re living a parasitical life and that that characterizes a very small minority of people and an even smaller Minority think that’s justifiable. But most of the time you’re in guilt and shame because you’re not You’re you’re not Not only are you not taking care of yourself? Let’s say so someone else has to but you’re not living up to your full potential And so there’s a existential weight that goes along with that So you suffer even more when you don’t take care of yourself or take the best actions or do the work that you know you can do and you rely on someone else to Support you financially emotionally physically whatever, you know home whatever it may be Yeah, well cuz you’re not only you’re not only not being what you could be you’re interfering with someone else being what they could be Right, so you’re you’re you’re not only a void. You’re a drain Jesus that’s a catastrophe and because we usually don’t even know it when we’re in that situation Because we’re in a depressed state or where or we don’t want to see it you know you wake up at 3 in the morning and you know and So and then you think of the people that you so you admire yourself or perhaps you can at least live with yourself when you’re taking Responsibility at least for yourself and so that settles your conscience But then if you look at the people that you spontaneously admire and so the act of spontaneously admiring someone is the Manifestation of the instinct for meaning right and this is partly why people are so enamored of sports Figures because the sports figures are playing out the drama of attaining the goal