A life crisis, I’d say, is a crisis of human potential foregone. It’s when you know you’re not living up to your potential, but it’s frustratingly difficult to see what, if anything, can be done about it. So what does one do about it?
I think we have to subvert the rules. If institutions are the “rules that shape human interaction,” then the rules are broken. You know it, and I know it: if you play by the rules today, you’re probably going to end up broke, lonely, miserable, exploited, and empty. When the rules are broken, never play by the rules. I think we have to invest differently. If the future looks uncertain or desolate, perhaps that has as much to with what we don’t consider part of “the economy” — love, trust, purpose, passion, human growth — as what we do: money, machines, and shiny stuff lining the beige exurban aisles. Maybe it’s time to invest in the soft stuff — people, experiences, ideas, your own human, social, and intellectual capital — instead. I think we have to stop conforming.
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