On Suffering and Responsibility
Modern-day education and popular culture boast many values, among them individualism, entrepreneurialism, and success. All of us are very familiar with the manner in which these values are instilled in educational and cultural institutions. Television shows, such as Shark Tank and GIRLBOSS, podcasts such as How I Built This and Planet Money, and publications like Inc. and FORTUNE all tout rugged individualism, maverick attitude, and business acumen as assets that can empower you to make name for yourself in both business and in society.
The stories in those mediums do not shy away from the struggle and suffering that the now-successful and -glamorous icons may have endured on their rise to the top. It’s a kind of shallow encouragement to the rest of us: “They made it; therefore, so can you.” But let’s be honest, most of us will not make to the cover of FORTUNE, nor will we be featured in the next popular Netflix biopic series. And many of us, myself included, have no such desire. In fact, “values” such as individualism and success (in its conventional form) are less enticing to younger generations than ever.
A recent study published by a sociology journal in Norway finds that younger generations tend to find as much value in the achievements of their friends and family than in their own. Across the pond, in America, Pew Research finds that Millennials, and even more so, Generation Z (whom I lovingly refer to as Zoomers) are more invested in political causes that prioritize collective benefit and cooperation (such as tackling climate change).
Of course, whether you’re working to solve your community’s problems or trying to scale a small business, you’re going to struggle. You’re going to suffer. As previously stated, the struggle, glamorized in publications and TV shows like those previously mentioned, is half the reason that success is noteworthy.
But what happens when the suffering isn’t glamorous? What do we do when everything feels like a struggle? Perhaps the greatest existential questions facing any human of any background and at any age, is this: How do we act when life itself feels less like a blessing and more like a curse?
When you’re struggling in devotion to your business or to a political cause, the struggle may prove vindicating; the end goal outweighs whatever struggle happens along the way. But if you’re wrestling with a mental health issue, the suffering doesn’t feel worth it. Getting out of bed in the morning is a struggle. Life itself is a struggle, and life sucks, so it obviously isn’t worth it, right? When there is no end goal in sight, nor any definable cause or reason, the suffering feels pointless.
Now we’ve arrived at discussing yet another value, but it’s a value that is not properly discussed and disseminated in cultural and educational institutions: the value of suffering. Not for the sake of something else, just for the sake of another day. In this life, suffering is inevitable. When it becomes unbearable, that’s when you need to reach out, to your friends, community, and if necessary, a mental health professional.
As Novalis writes in Logical Fragments I, “Life must not be a novel that is given to us, but one that is made by us.” When the alternative to continuing your story is to perish, there can be no true alternative. We affirm our value in suffering through living in the face of the absurdity of the suffering. Let’s continue the story together.
Header photo courtesy of Unsplash.