No Sympathy for Nihilists

Over the last couple of years, I’ve came to the realization that life is about winning. Winning means improvement. If you don’t improve, you regress. There is no other way around it. You can’t beat entropy.

Don’t believe me? Leave your room as it is for a year or two. The paint will start peeling on its own, moisture will creep in, and dust will pile up. You’ll probably get some unwanted visitors, like rats or spiders, who’ll make your closet or bed their home.

The same happens with your body. Stop taking care of yourself, and your hair will become a mess, your health will deteriorate, and you’ll turn into a zombie. You’ll lose your sanity and go mad. Eventually, you’ll die.

As you can see, even if you want to keep things in a balanced state, effort is required. It’s a battle against the natural arbitrary state of the universe.

With this realization — though it’s not an obvious one — how can someone reject improvement? That’s nihilism: a disdain for life disguised as inaction.

I have an immense amount of sympathy for the guys out there that are struggling. What I can’t tolerate are those who don’t believe they can improve and encourage others to think they can’t either.

It might not appear from the outside,but I genuinely understand the guys that are stuck in their homes. The ones who do not have a particularly high sense of self-worth, that are scared of going out and making friends, that feel like they’ve been rejected by society.

Because for so long, that was me.

Today, I can happily say that I couldn’t be more grateful to be who I am and for the people I’m surrounded by. If you’ve met me recently, I’m nowhere near who I was just a couple of years ago. But it took work. A massive amount of work. I had to step out of my comfort zone so many times I lost count. You fail. You cry. You try again. It’s an agonizing, painful process.

I wrestled with my insecurities for so long and yet I’m still in therapy unpacking myself. But I can’t recommend adopting this mindset enough. Needless to say, it feels incredible to be alive.

Improvement is a commitment. It’s a state of mind. Self-agency. Accountability.

To the extreme that, when I’m surrounded by nihilistic people, I can feel it in the air. I stopped reserving time for them, and learned to redirect my focus. There’s plenty of people out there who want to make the world a brighter place. Much better to be surrounded by those who celebrate life unconditionally, as it should be.

For anyone struggling: welcome aboard. And hold on. You’ll get there, I promise. The world needs your resilience. Lovely souls and experiences are awaiting you out there.

For those who preach nihilism and convince others to do the same: there’s a special place in Hell reserved for you. Don’t disturb the rest of us.