None of those helped me. What I needed to hear what that yes I was right — life is a catastrophe. As the Buddhists put it,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Noble_Truths">life is suffering </a>. But, the answer is not despair. It’s to take on the suffering head-first.

Life is worth living

<figure><img alt="" src="https://miro.medium.com/max/500/1*kNQOOAdc8Kd98bjcyrPX9g.jpeg" width="680" height="382"><figcaption class="il im cx cv cw in io cc b fy ce fg" data-selectable-paragraph="" dir="ltr">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@ravi_roshan_inc?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText" class="ci ip" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">Ravi Roshan</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/life?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText" class="ci ip" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">Unsplash</a></figcaption></figure>The biggest lie fed to us is that it’s totally obvious we shouldn’t kill ourselves.To people who have contended with suicidal thoughts, nothing could be crueler. When in that state, suicide seems like an entirely reasonable course of action — anyone who can’t see it must be blind. We are a cursed creature who is aware of its own limits and mortality — who knows everything that it could be — but isn’t — who is given things to love and then all is taken away.<BLOCKQUOTE>But, the answer is not despair. It’s to take on the suffering head-first.</BLOCKQUOTE>To a lot of deep-thinking philosophers, <a href="https://www.degruyter.com/view/journals/niet/42/1/article-p151.xml" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">suicide wasn’t cut-and-dry</a>. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Artists_who_committed_suicide" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">To a lot of genius artists</a>, it was clearly the only way out for them. It’s naive to assume that they were fools. They were wrong, but it’s not obvious exactly why they were wrong.I have dealt with suicidal ideation for many years in my early 20s. When my therapist said, “Do you ever have suicidal thoughts?” I said, “Yeah, but who doesn’t?”I was serious. I thought I was normal. Years later, I no longer have thoughts like this (knock on wood) and I finally see the faults in my thinking. The solution wasn’t “Life is good!” or “It’s a permanent solution to a temporary problem!”None of those helped me. What I needed to hear what that yes I was right — life is a catastrophe. As the Buddhists put it,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Noble_Truths" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr"> life is suffering</a>. But, the answer is not despair. It’s to take on the suffering head-first.From there, I found a way out that actually made sense. I want to share it with you. It’s not some naive, feel-good advice. Hopefully, I can show anyone out there who is looking for a reason to live that yes, it is worth it to keep living in a way you will actually believe.Here are 5ways to deal with the tragedy of life and thrive.<h1 data-selectable-paragraph="">1. You can choose your suffering</h1>Forget all those people who say that you can always be happy. You can’t. That’s not the point of life anyway.<BLOCKQUOTE>We have to learn to suffer happily now so that we aren’t forced to suffer unhappily later.</BLOCKQUOTE>Life is not easy. Life demands that you fall in love with it and then, one by one, it takes everything away. The only way to deal with this is to voluntarily take on suffering. Look it square in the eye and decide that you will face the reality of life and learn to smile. <a href="https://blog.usejournal.com/takeaways-from-the-story-of-sisyphus-and-the-rock-81721c6e499?gi=ab272a4c0ccc" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">Like Sisyphus.</a>Practically, it looks like seeking discomfort. Every moment that your legs burn from running, your brain hurts from writing, or your heart hurts from difficult phone calls — that’s one moment of involuntary suffering you have saved yourself in the future.It doesn’t happen all at once, but that’s the bare, brutal fact of it — we have to learn to suffer happily now so that we aren’t forced to suffer unhappily later.What do you know you need to do and you’re afraid to do it? Start doing it today.<h1 data-selectable-paragraph="">2. Life really (truly) can be good</h1>Life won’t always be happy, or easy, or fun. But it can be good, and much sooner than you think.If someone would have told me how good my life is today only a year ago, I wouldn’t have believed them. I wouldn’t have even understood them.Our brains are wired for <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/focus-on-progress-not-perfection/art-20267203" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">progress, not perfection</a>. When we feel like we’re improving, we are in a state of meaning.As Nietzsche said:<BLOCKQUOTE>“He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.”</BLOCKQUOTE>That means that your life could be good tomorrow.Being on the path to improvement is the good life, and you can always be on that path, no matter where you are starting from.You need to have faith. Get going. Start now. It gets better. It gets easier. I know that it can feel pointless, but I promise you won’t feel that way once you get going.<h1 data-selectable-paragraph="">3. Death makes life worth living</h1>I’ve had 2 near-death experiences. One I got flung toward a tree in a tube going 50 MPH. The other, a pink stretch-hummer ran a red light and came within an inch of hitting me at 70 MPH.<BLOCKQUOTE>Death takes care of itself</BLOCKQUOTE>Both times, the moment where I was sure I wouldn’t live, I was at total peace.We live so much of our lives afraid of death. It’s understandable because it’s the greatest unknown. But I’m here to tell you: death is fine. There is nothing easier to do than die.Don’t worry about death. Death takes care of itself. <a href="https://www.ramdass.org/dying-is-absolutely-safe/" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">Death is the safest thing in the world</a>. Choose to live.That’s the thing about suicide. You are in a wonderful position to choose to live. Most people never make that choice. When you do, no one is more powerful.There is no fear. There is only a conscious choice for life. Make it, and watch your life turn into meaning, power, joy, love, and everything you ever wanted. Choose life and trust-fall into it. It will catch you. There is nothing bad on the other side.<h1 data-selectable-paragraph="">4. It’s not too late</h1>Progress isn’t linear. It’s exponential. That means that whatever good you do today eventually pays off hugely. Start investing in yourself today, and you can more than catch up to everyone you think left you behind. There is no limit to the person you could become, no matter how old you are.<BLOCKQUOTE>You are afraid of your massive potential.</BLOCKQUOTE>I could sit here and list examples of great people who started late, but you know the list. You just don’t want to believe it. You are afraid of your massive potential. You’re afraid to believe that you could be something more. Well, I’m here to tell you to not be afraid. I believe in you. You can be bigger than you could imagine.If you start today, by this time next year, you will start to believe me.If you start today, by this time next year, you won’t recognize your life.<h1 data-selectable-paragraph="">5. You won’t believe how much you can help those who love you</h1>Getting better is the most selfless thing in the world. It makes everyone around us better. The process that makes it happen feels almost magical. You won’t believe it is possible until you see it for yourself — when you make your life meaningful, the meaning rubs off on everyone you love and they make everyone in their life better, and so on.If you know 1,000 people and they affect 1,000 each, that’s already 1 million. Another round is a billion. You can’t believe how much good you can do by feeling better.To be selfless, first, be selfish.If you take on the journey, I want to thank you for getting better.It means so much to everyone you touch.Progress, not perfection.

To people who have contended with suicidal thoughts, nothing could be crueler. When in that state, suicide seems like an entirely reasonable course of action — anyone who can’t see it must be blind…

Understand yourself and those around you.

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Psychology

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Personal Development

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Motivation & Inspiration

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The biggest lie fed to us is that it’s totally obvious we shouldn’t kill ourselves.

To people who have contended with suicidal thoughts, nothing could be crueler. When in that state, suicide seems like an entirely reasonable course of action — anyone who can’t see it must be blind. We are a cursed creature who is aware of its own limits and mortality — who knows everything that it could be — but isn’t — who is given things to love and then all is taken away.

But, the answer is not despair. It’s to take on the suffering head-first.

To a lot of deep-thinking philosophers, <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.degruyter.com/view/journals/niet/42/1/article-p151.xml" rel="noopener nofollow">suicide wasn’t cut-and-dry </a>. <a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Artists_who_committed_suicide" rel="noopener nofollow">To a lot of genius artists </a>, it was clearly the only way out for them. It’s naive to assume that they were fools. They were wrong , but it’s not obvious exactly why they were wrong.

I have dealt with suicidal ideation for many years in my early 20s. When my therapist said, “Do you ever have suicidal thoughts?” I said, “Yeah, but who doesn’t?”

I was serious. I thought I was normal. Years later, I no longer have thoughts like this (knock on wood) and I finally see the faults in my thinking. The solution wasn’t “Life is good!” or “It’s a permanent solution to a temporary problem!”

None of those helped me. What I needed to hear what that yes I was right — life is a catastrophe. As the Buddhists put it,<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Noble_Truths" rel="noopener nofollow">life is suffering </a>. But, the answer is not despair. It’s to take on the suffering head-first.

From there, I found a way out that actually made sense. I want to share it with you. It’s not some naive, feel-good advice. Hopefully, I can show anyone out there who is looking for a reason to live that yes, it is worth it to keep living in a way you will actually believe.

Here are 5ways to deal with the tragedy of life and thrive.

Forget all those people who say that you can always be happy. You can’t. That’s not the point of life anyway.

Life is not easy. Life demands that you fall in love with it and then, one by one, it takes everything away. The only way to deal with this is to voluntarily take on suffering. Look it square in the eye and decide that you will face the reality of life and learn to smile. <a dir="ltr" href="https://blog.usejournal.com/takeaways-from-the-story-of-sisyphus-and-the-rock-81721c6e499?gi=ab272a4c0ccc" rel="noopener nofollow">Like Sisyphus. </a>

Practically, it looks like seeking discomfort. Every moment that your legs burn from running, your brain hurts from writing, or your heart hurts from difficult phone calls — that’s one moment of involuntary suffering you have saved yourself in the future.

It doesn’t happen all at once, but that’s the bare, brutal fact of it — we have to learn to suffer happily now so that we aren’t forced to suffer unhappily later.

What do you know you need to do and you’re afraid to do it? Start doing it today.

Life won’t always be happy, or easy, or fun. But it can be good, and much sooner than you think.

If someone would have told me how good my life is today only a year ago, I wouldn’t have believed them. I wouldn’t have even understood them.

Our brains are wired for <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/focus-on-progress-not-perfection/art-20267203" rel="noopener nofollow">progress, not perfection </a>. When we feel like we’re improving, we are in a state of meaning.

As Nietzsche said:

“He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.”

That means that your life could be good tomorrow .

Being on the path to improvement is the good life, and you can always be on that path, no matter where you are starting from.

You need to have faith. Get going. Start now. It gets better. It gets easier. I know that it can feel pointless, but I promise you won’t feel that way once you get going.

I’ve had 2 near-death experiences. One I got flung toward a tree in a tube going 50 MPH. The other, a pink stretch-hummer ran a red light and came within an inch of hitting me at 70 MPH.

Death takes care of itself

Both times, the moment where I was sure I wouldn’t live, I was at total peace.

We live so much of our lives afraid of death. It’s understandable because it’s the greatest unknown. But I’m here to tell you: death is fine. There is nothing easier to do than die.

Don’t worry about death. Death takes care of itself. <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.ramdass.org/dying-is-absolutely-safe/" rel="noopener nofollow">Death is the safest thing in the world </a>. Choose to live.

That’s the thing about suicide. You are in a wonderful position to choose to live. Most people never make that choice. When you do, no one is more powerful.

There is no fear. There is only a conscious choice for life. Make it, and watch your life turn into meaning, power, joy, love, and everything you ever wanted. Choose life and trust-fall into it. It will catch you. There is nothing bad on the other side.

Progress isn’t linear. It’s exponential. That means that whatever good you do today eventually pays off hugely. Start investing in yourself today, and you can more than catch up to everyone you think left you behind. There is no limit to the person you could become, no matter how old you are.

You are afraid of your massive potential.

I could sit here and list examples of great people who started late, but you know the list. You just don’t want to believe it. You are afraid of your massive potential. You’re afraid to believe that you could be something more. Well, I’m here to tell you to not be afraid. I believe in you. You can be bigger than you could imagine.

If you start today, by this time next year, you will start to believe me.

If you start today, by this time next year, you won’t recognize your life.

5. You won’t believe how much you can help those who love you

Getting better is the most selfless thing in the world. It makes everyone around us better. The process that makes it happen feels almost magical. You won’t believe it is possible until you see it for yourself — when you make your life meaningful, the meaning rubs off on everyone you love and they make everyone in their life better, and so on.

If you know 1,000 people and they affect 1,000 each, that’s already 1 million. Another round is a billion. You can’t believe how much good you can do by feeling better.

To be selfless, first, be selfish.

If you take on the journey, I want to thank you for getting better.

It means so much to everyone you touch.

Progress, not perfection.

5 Brutally Honest Reasons Life Is Worth Living

Life is worth living

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