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It does not matter what you do — you are powerless. That whisper, quiet but poisonous, is draining more lives than most of us realize, and this lecture from Academy of Ideas sets out to silence it. It traces how the real helplessness of childhood can harden into a false, subjective helplessness that no longer matches reality. The cure is not waiting to feel strong, but acting — facing fear, taking risks, and discovering that struggle is not proof of weakness. As William James put it, compared with what we ought to be, we are only half awake.
Full Video Transcript
It doesn’t matter what you do. You are powerless. The most you can hope for is to be born into
fortunate circumstances and lucky enough to endure a life endowed with more comfort than suffering.
This belief, that we are extremely limited in our ability to impact the course of our life,
is quite possibly one of the most detrimental psychological states. However, sadly it is also
a mindset which afflicts a great number of people in the modern age. As infants and into our
childhood we are by and large helpless beings, totally dependent on our parents, siblings
and other caregivers for our survival. In other words, at this early stage in our life
we are objectively helpless. As we age this objective helplessness recedes with the development
of our physical and mental capabilities. But for many people, the objective helplessness
of their youth is replaced by a pernicious subjective helplessness. A helplessness not
based on objective reality, as it is for an infant, but instead on one’s emotional and
psychological attitude towards life.
Those afflicted with this helpless attitude become increasingly incapable of dealing with
the often harsh realities of life.
They come to believe that nothing they do will make a difference, and that their destiny
is largely out of their control.
If this attitude lasts for too long, life becomes little more than the attempt to flee
from anxiety, depression, and boredom. And this should not be surprising. If you believe
yourself to be helpless, you will stop trying to find solutions to your problems, cease
striving to accomplish goals, and settle into a complacency that rids your life of any meaning
or purpose. Thus, overcoming subjective helplessness can have a tremendous impact on one’s life,
and fortunately, as it is an attitude, a way of viewing oneself in relation to the world,
not objective like it is for an infant, it can be overcome. What makes it difficult for many to
overcome this attitude is that they interpret their failures and struggles as reflecting a
personal ineptitude, which limits their ability to effectuate positive change. But rarely is it
taken into account that all humans experience these things, and that very often it is the
proverbial greats, not the mediocre, who experience the most acute of sufferings. When one looks at a
prominent figure in history, such as a Goethe or Beethoven, focus is usually confined to their
great achievements, be it the literary works of Goethe or the symphonies of Beethoven. However,
a closer look at these individuals reveals that their lives were shaped as much by the lows they
had to endure as by the incredible heights they reached. Goethe, for example, was no stranger to
suffering, stating that,
Unlike a subjectively helpless individual, Goethe did not see his struggles as a reflection
that he was somehow less capable than others, and that he should resign himself to a life
of inaction.
Instead, he knew that life was a process, filled with challenges to be overcome, and
that, the greatest thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction
we are moving.
Many who have reflected on the human condition have noted that sufferings, hardships and
failures will inevitably afflict us all.
But the few who live fulfilling lives also come to realize that this is only one part
of what it means to be human, and that there also exists in each person an immense inner
power to overcome even the greatest of sufferings.
The psychologist William James, in his essay The Energies of Men, suggested that most people
never scratch the surface of their potential, and go through life completely oblivious of
the great inner powers at their disposal.
Compared with what we ought to be, we are only half awake.
The human individual thus lives usually far within his limits.
He possesses powers of various sorts which he habitually fails to use.
He energizes below his maximum, and he behaves below his optimum.
In every conceivable way, his life is contracted like the field of vision of a hysteric subject,
but with less excuse, for the poor hysteric is diseased, while in the rest of us it is
only a long-established habit, the habit of inferiority to our full self.
The only way to tap into these energies and to diminish the impact of subjective helplessness
is through action.
By taking risks and facing one’s fears, it is soon discovered that one is far less helpless
than was assumed.
Behaving in this manner will certainly be challenging, as it will inevitably be accompanied
by failures, setbacks, and disappointments.
it should be kept in mind that occurrences of these things are not a sign that we are somehow
less adequate than others. Rather, a fulfilling life is not found in avoiding struggles and
hardships, but by continually confronting and striving to overcome them. For as Nietzsche wrote
and thus spoke Zarathustra, And life confided the secret to me. Behold, it said, I am that which
must always overcome itself.
Source: Academy of Ideas