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One of the most important questions of our
lives, of our history of human creativity,

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of philosophy is how we can find ourselves,
how we define our values and how ultimately

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we can find meaning in our lives.

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In order to answer such questions, we dive
deep into the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche,

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who is one of the greatest thinkers of all
time and a precursor of existentialism.

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He was famously known for his unconventional
ideas about morality and religion and in spite

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of his controversial work, he proved to be
a very deep thinker, showing great insights

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into the true nature of human psychology,
writing guidelines relating to how individuals

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can shape their future by taking responsibility
for who they are.

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Nietzsche wrote several books, and his teachings
have shaped the lives of many people; from

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psychologists to poets, dancers to social
revolutionaries.

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According to Nietzsche, finding yourself is
one of the most fundamental endeavors of your

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life and so here are four steps, inspired
by the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche,

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which you can take from, to help you get closer
to finding yourself and becoming who you truly

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want to become.

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01.

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Don’t follow the herd mentality
Nietzsche says “What we’ve called universal

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values, what we have called truth, has always
only ever been the personal expressions of

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those who promoted them.”

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Nietzsche believed a rigid societal code creates
what he called the “herd mentality.”

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Like a herd of animals, a herd mentality aims
towards sameness, comfort and the preservation

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of its population.

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Similarly, the “moral code” of society
has been fabricated by individuals and then

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imposed on other people so that society can
have control over human behavior.

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Although that can protect us from certain
extreme human behaviors, it also limits our

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individuality and creativity.

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Not only that; but the strict dogmatic judgment
of human behavior can even make some individuals

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more rebellious, resulting in extreme antisocial
attitudes and - even worse - actions.

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If these dictatorial boundaries and rules
become tyrannical and unreasonably harsh,

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the rebellious response can often be equally
harsh.

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If the moral code of society is flexible enough,
then the people who have opposing views do

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not have to be particularly forceful to make
the change that they want to see in the world.

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In real life, more often than not, it’s
the case that morality is preached in a very

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strict way.

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It is not only that the societal, religious
and educational structures present it that

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way.

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It is also the attitude of the majority of
people that do not want to stand out from

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the group in fear of being rejected.

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Therefore, every person that stands out "too
much", according to the representatives of

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those groups, is someone that seems terrifying
and dangerous.

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It is a well-known fact that people are afraid
of the unknown and that is perfectly mirrored

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in this dynamic.

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This can be seen in our everyday lives.

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Whether it’s the middle ages or the modern
day world, this dynamic is always present.

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Whether it’s Galileo being killed for thinking
outside the box, or at school when your classmates

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ridiculed you or some other student for being
different and standing out, it’s all cut

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from the same cloth.

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The herd consists of people that have amputated
their creativity dreams and goals and are

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feeling insecure and even threatened by everyone
that exhibits those qualities.

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Those people are afraid of change, afraid
of admitting to themselves that some of their

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potential has not been fully realized.

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Although that realization is scary, an individualistic
and driven person must not let themselves

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be dragged down by other people’s mistakes
in life.

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Instead, you need to go your own way, leave
the herd behind and then shine a light so

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bright that it can’t be ignored.

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You can start by questioning and silencing
those negative voices that you internalized

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when you were young.

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Whether it’s a parent, a harsh teacher,
a narcissistic partner, it doesn’t matter...Whoever

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told you that you can’t do things that you
would want to, probably told you that because

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they were afraid of your success, because
it would expose everything that is bad about

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them.

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So they wanted to limit your individuality
and pull you back into the herd.

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Also, being strong minded and courageous helps
you withstand the frightening feeling of stepping

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out of your comfort zone, since it’s an
integral part of becoming who you really are.

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2.

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Embrace the difficulty of self-discovery
In the words of Nietzsche: “No price is

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too high to pay for the privilege of owning
yourself.”

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Our instinctive and intuitive reaction is
to evade all pain and suffering.

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The technology and the easiness of achieving
everything has made us ungrateful and we have

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forgotten that suffering is an integral part
of life.

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However, according to Nietzsche, it's only
when we are willing to face the challenges

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of life that we are spiritually growing.

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In 1873, when he was 29 years old, Nietzsche
addressed this fundamental question of how

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we find ourselves in a beautiful essay titled
“Schopenhauer as Educator”.

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In this essay, he argued that if someone wishes
to be somebody in this life, to maximize their

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potential, they need to take the difficult
path, which often leads to isolation.

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Being a loner is not easy, but this is one
of the prices someone must pay for the privilege

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of owning themselves.

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To keep yourself from being overwhelmed by
the tribe, you must distance yourself from

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others, you need to strive to be free and
this might lead to severe difficulties in

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your life.

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You should refuse taking an easy path and
you should decide to embark in the quest for

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gaining your freedom to be yourself, no matter
how frightening it might be.

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To be free means also to be free from all
physiological and psychological needs, in

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other words, to not let them drive you, but
for you to drive them instead.

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For example, whenever you feel an emotional
urge to do something, like complaining to

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somebody in a very passionate way, you must
try to become first conscious of this impulse

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and then decide if you should act upon it
or not.

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Nietzsche’s philosophy on this point is
somehow similar to many modern-day motivational

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gurus and ‘thought-leaders’, but the similarity
is only on the surface.

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If motivational gurus focus on self-development
mostly in order to achieve worldly success

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and a fulfilled life on a material and relational
level, Nietzsche goes deeper.

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For him, the fight is an inner fight, the
struggle is to find himself and this quest

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is a much more difficult quest, requiring
a very different kind of sacrifice.

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For example, if a motivational guru teaches
you how to be more confident in order to become

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popular and attract investors for your business,
Nietzsche teaches you to first analyze the

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primary root of your desire to be confident
and, usually, you’ll find it is just the

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desire to impress other people such as your
loved ones and your friends, or to prove a

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point about yourself to society in general.

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A simple analysis might make you give up this
desire and focus more on what really matters

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in your life, on much deeper issues, like
self-discovery.

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And this endeavor might make you a loner.

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Not accepting to compromise yourself can very
well put you in conflict with many people.

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It means changing your lifestyle, it means
giving up friendships or other types of relationships,

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to look deep into your fears, to analyze your
deepest emotions, your darkness and to rise

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above them.

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You have to break down the chains of opinion
and fear.

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Nietzsche encourages us to "challenge our
own demons", but you should not cast them

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out, as, beyond them, there is a deep meaning
which you should try to understand.

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You need to get out there in the world, do
things, experience different temptations,

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but be always present with your entire consciousness,
and, in the end, emerge as an individual with

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a distinct strength of character and a much
richer inner nature.

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If you don’t go out and experience life
first hand in a fully aware state, you cannot

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claim you have lived your life.

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How far you can go depends on how much you
are willing to pay for that.

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To reach the state of self-ownership and to
avoid going through life in a meaningless

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way, without direction, you must learn how
to find your inner genius.

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To get in touch with your inner genius, you
must walk a path no one has walked before,

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as you are unique and no one can walk that
path on your behalf.

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Finding yourself is finding your uniqueness,
that unique set of values and things you truly

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love and which represent you.

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3.

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Say yes to what gives you meaning
To quote Nietzche “He who has a why, can

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bear almost any how”
Nietzsche’s philosophy proposes that we

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say yes to whatever gives us meaning in our
own lives - the things we find value in personally.

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In ages past, the meaning of everything was
assured by God.

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However, according to Nietzsche, in an increasingly
secular and scientific society, one can no

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longer turn to religion to find meaning.

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He found this concerning, as the typical person
would be driven to nihilism, meaning general

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apathy and an unwillingness to find meaning
in life, without help.

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So he offers us three solutions that we, as
individuals, can try to use to find meaning

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in our lives.

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His first suggestion was to replace religion
with philosophy, art, music, literature, theater,

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and other parts of the humanities to provide
similar benefits.

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The humanities offer us the ability to contextualize
our sufferings, our efforts, and a chance

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to see our lives as not so different from
those around us.

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They can offer insights into how we might
tackle problems we must all face.

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However it is important that we see them as
a tool for living and not just as an academic

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study; reading history not just for the facts,
but for what those facts tell us - seeing

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them as a way to edify yourself, or watching
Tragic plays to see and comprehend the beauty

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in sad events, not just the entertainment.

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If humanities do not interest you, then Nietzsche
suggests a second option of becoming an Übermensch.

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The Übermensch is a superhuman that creates
his own meaning and values without reference

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to outside influences.

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Such an individual can overcome the problem
of the meaning of life by simply inventing

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his own meaning and taking full responsibility
for it.

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According to Nietzsche, only a few men came
close to being an Ubermensch, and they were

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Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonapart, The Buddha
and Goethe.

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For us humans, we can hope to find some meaning
in looking inward and evaluating what things

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we really value and what things we only say
we like because society tells us to.

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Nietzsche sees the psychological evolution
of humanity as an ever-advancing story, and

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one which we should take a part in.

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If becoming a superhuman isn’t something
you value, then Nietzsche suggests another

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method to find meaning, which is loving your
life, no matter what it has in it.

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Amor Fati, the love of fate, is one of Nietzsche’s
most interesting ideas and one which can offer

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us a great deal of solace when we most need
it.

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To love your fate is to know that everything
that has happened in your life, the good,

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the bad, and indeed the ugly, has contributed
to who you are and what you are doing at this

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very moment.

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Trying to create yourself will lead to some
failures, but embracing those failures alongside

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your successes can help re-spark the love
of life and can help you see the meaning of

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it even in the worst moments.

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4.

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Find your true values
Nietzsche asks us “What, if some day or

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night a demon were to steal after you into
your loneliest loneliness and say to you:

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This life as you now live it and have lived
it, you will have to live once more and innumerable

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times more … Would you not throw yourself
down and gnash your teeth and curse the demon

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who spoke thus?”

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Nietzsche believed that we need to create
our own values to lift the ‘Greatest Weight’.

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The ‘Greatest Weight’ is a metaphorical
situation put forth by Nietzsche which represents

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the feeling that crushes you into repeating
past mistakes, because of the unevaluated

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values you adopt from your herd.

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The goal of this concept is to make you ask
yourself – is what you are doing truly meaningful,

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or are you just acting out what your herd
thinks is right?

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If you think that the things you are doing
are worth repeating eternally, that you can

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be sure you are fully individuated, you will
have enough courage and strength to lift "the

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greatest weight".

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If you do not think that the way you have
been living is worth repeating innumerably,

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chances are, you haven’t formed your own
values and you are still a slave to your society

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and worse yet, to yourself.

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If you find yourself repeating the same mistakes
you always have and are left feeling crushed,

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the chances are, you haven’t reevaluated
the morals imposed on you by your herd.

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Thus, you are not a fully developed individual,
yet.

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Once you reevaluate your moral landscape,
only then "the greatest weight" can be lifted.

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How many times have you found yourself turning
a blind eye to someone gaslighting you, just

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because you didn’t want to confront the
person?

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Or how many times have you heard your friend
or yourself saying "m with the identical person

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with identical problems".

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If you were your own, with your own set of
morals, you wouldn’t find yourself staying

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in toxic relationships just because it’s
"the right thing to do".

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You would know that it’s just you just trying
to be a good person by society’s standards

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and that's not worth it.

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Nietzsche suggests that “in every little
thing ask yourself, do you desire this once

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more and innumerable times over?”

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If the answer is no, then you need to change
yourself and reevaluate your values, then

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and only then the weight can be lifted.

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True good lies beyond standard definitions
of good and evil.

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Most of us live our lives in our self-imposed
jail.

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Our jail cells are blandly pre-subscribed
by social beliefs that captivate the wildness

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and individualism of the human spirit.

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Many of us submit to the comfort of this cage.

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Nietzsche recognized that we can escape our
enclosure of forced beliefs and awaken ourselves

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to what we value personally.

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To break free and to create your own values
and meaning in life, you have to undergo this

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transformation, you have to go through this
rebellious phase.

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You need to have the courage to break the
chains of tradition, of religion, of society

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and perhaps you even have to distance yourself
from several people in your life.

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It doesn’t need to be a violent and sudden
reaction, it can - and should - be a smart,

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calm, but definitive one.

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You can start with making a list of everything
and everyone you think limits your freedom

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to be yourself.

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It can be an unfortunate unwritten rule at
your workplace, it could be your spouse who

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always tries to control and correct your behavior,
or it may be your friends or your parents

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who criticize you when you behave in a particular
way.

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Once you’ve done this, try to think of possible
strategies of how to change that situation:

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maybe you could have a discussion with your
spouse in which you can talk about the issue,

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perhaps you talk to your colleagues or supervisors
in a meeting at work regarding the problems

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you are experiencing, how it affects you and
how you would like it to change, or you could

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find new friends who can appreciate you better.

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When you feel overtaken by “the greatest
weight,” you don’t need to hide your aspirations,

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but instead you need to breakout from your
self-made herd-based prison and chase after

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the dreams that give meaning to your life.

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If you enjoyed this video, please do make
sure to check out the full Philosophies for

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00:17:55,200 --> 00:18:00,290
Life channel and for more videos to help you
find success and happiness using ancient philosophical

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00:18:00,290 --> 00:18:02,850
wisdom, don’t forget to subscribe.

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Thanks so much for watching.