19th century German thinker Friedrich Nietzsche may be one of the most misunderstood, too-often misinterpreted philosophers in the history of the field. Among other things, he has been unfairly labelled a sexist, a racist, and even a precursor to the Nazis and other fascists who lived some three decades after his death in August of 1900. Besides the obvious offense in misinterpreting a philosopher's work just for the sake of truth and clarity and other ideals of rationality, this intentional--or unintentional--butchering of Nietzsche's work is also all the more tragic because I truly believe the man has something to say to all of us, we inhabitants of this chaotic and confusing modern age.
Personally, I've found a lot of truth--and a lot of inspiration--in the writings of Nietzsche. Much of what he has to say possesses such a degree of power and insight that it seems almost tailor-made to one's own life and the particular circumstances he or she may be living through at the time. So, with all that being said, today I'd like to offer a brief introduction (emphasis on the 'brief') to Nietzsche with regard to the topics of self-development and self-improvement--that is, the conscious effort of individuals to make themselves better and improve their lives in some way.
"To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering."
Friedrich Nietzsche
Depending on one's general outlook on life, Nietzsche's first assertion in the above sentence that "to live is to suffer" may be something one is intimately familiar with, or on the other hand, it may be something one feels uncomfortable with and would rather deny. The truth of the matter, though, is that life is indeed full of suffering (surely we all can attest to that) and Nietzsche sees clearly that accepting this basic, foundational fact of reality is paramount if one wishes to advance at all beyond this persistent state of existence.
And how might that happen? As Nietzsche continues in the quote, saying "to live is to find some meaning in the suffering", it seems grappling with this suffering head-on and creating some sort of value in that experience is the way towards that advancement. And why would it not be? The times when we feel most accomplished in our lives, most satisfied, most content with ourselves, always seem to be those times when we overcame some great obstacle or challenge or unfair difficulty--all forms of suffering. Put another way, overcoming life's suffering is about finding meaning in the pursuit of tough things and challenging things--things that might make us want to throw in the towel at the start.
"That which does not kill us makes us stronger."
Friedrich Nietzsche
Most of us, I would assume, will instantly recognize this quote in one form of another. It has been, for better or worse, made utterly mainstream; we listen to it in pop songs, we hear it from sports coaches, we may even already tell it to ourselves as some form of self-motivation. And for good reason. This idea, when properly understood, offers some of the most encouraging words we could ever hear in the course of our lives. Why, though? What exactly is Nietzsche getting at here?
At the core of the concept, I believe Nietzsche wants us to understand this: as long as we are alive, we are becoming stronger. Through experience, through the pains and trials of life, through anything and everything our existence throws at us, we are always becoming stronger. We certainly may not feel it at the time (I myself am no stranger to the sentiments of anger and frustration and despair), but any experience--if properly understood and integrated--can become the hindsight that develops into wisdom, and the atrophy that leads to growth.
"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself."
Friedrich Nietzsche
As you may have noticed from the previous two quotes, Nietzsche's thought often focuses on the interplay between the negative and the positive aspects of life. The suffering and the meaning in that suffering. The harmful experience and the strength we gain from that experience. Here too Nietzsche offers something that seems to act both as a warning and an encouragement. He is very up front about what the individual who seeks to chart his own path will encounter on his journey--he "will be lonely often" and he will "sometimes" be "frightened". Although neither of these feelings are what one might think of as desirable, the importance of this quote is really in Nietzsche's reassurance that loneliness and fear are utterly fine to feel and experience--entirely to be expected as one makes the effort to live their life as an individual.
And, as Nietzsche desperately wants to hammer home once again, this sort of suffering can offer some sort of inherent value on the other side. Being able to "own" oneself, being able to assert oneself in a scary, dangerous world, being able to fall asleep at night with the knowledge that, although you may be suffering every damn day of your life, you are working towards a meaningful goal and tackling the difficulty of life with vigor and strength and boldness--these things are worth it. These things make it all worth it in the end.
To close out this article, I'd like to leave you all with one more thought, about the truth and effectiveness of what Nietzsche is prescribing here in these fragments of writing. The real beauty in what he's saying is that all these ideas can be tested by you. Don't believe that finding meaning in suffering makes suffering worth it? Try it. Really give it a conscious, vigorous effort for some time, and see how you react. You might be surprised by just how powerful philosophical truth can become when it's applied to the real world, which is, of course, the only thing that really matters at the end of the day. I wish you all way more than luck in your own journeys. Until next time.
