Constant pursuit of a goal, without ever quite achieving sounds quite dismal. It would be a grave to look back on your life and realize that all the dreams you once had have, in retrospect, not come to fruition. And yet, a denial of one’s wishes, and the constant pursuit to fulfill them is what I think ultimately gives one’s life a sense of passion, and purpose. Certainly, I don’t think that failing at everything is the thing to look forward to, rather that the constant need for every whim to be met is exorbitant, and harmful to us in the long run. 

We currently face an epidemic of comfort. We can order any kind of food we want from our phones, at almost any time. We can buy anything from vacuums to bibles online in a matter of seconds, without ever leaving our rooms. If we want to feel connected with someone, we need only to look at their Instagram, and swipe through their posts. Virtually everything has become more accessible and ostensibly easier to do. But, I would argue, this is unhealthy for us. 

We need challenges. We need obstacles. I think constantly having our every need met with little to no friction makes it hard for us to enjoy anything. Part of enjoying eating out was the drive there, and the atmosphere of the restaurant. Part of buying clothes was the 2000’s music they’d play at the mall, along with the soft, chewy pretzel samples they’d offer. There was nothing more fun than hanging out with your friend after lots of scheduling and planning from both ends. The effort it would take to facilitate these activities ultimately made the end result more enjoyable. Because there was some effort  involved in obtaining food, or items, it felt better to have them. 

Now, when there is no effort required to do anything, nothing seems to satisfy us. We find ourselves constantly trying new things, and people, with no real satisfaction from any experience. Instead of trying to appease every whim we have, I think we should instead revert to doing the exact opposite. We should add more small obstacles into our lives. Instead of choosing to order food, we should make a conscious choice to pick out a restaurant, and go with family. We should build back the obstacles it used to take us to enjoy something. By doing so, we’ll be able to grasp the true effort that goes into doing a task, and we’ll enjoy the fruit of our labour more. 

By not getting what we want all the time, and having to do things the hard way instead, I think we’ll ultimately build a strong character, and a more resilient mind. Being able to recognize when something is not a need is a skill, and one that takes time honing. By being honest with ourselves about what we can go without, we let ourselves be more grounded in our reality. We can train ourselves to not long for certain things at all, especially if we know they’re unhealthy for us. 

In this way, by denying ourselves smaller pleasures,e and ensuring there is friction between our thoughts and actions, we can ultimately become more resilient and strong-willed. We can bounce back when we hear a no, because of the inner strength we’ve built up that allows us to not need everything to be okay. We can adapt to different situations, because we know we don’t need every need met in every moment. Ultimately, we become a stronger, happier person.