Friedrich Nietzsche was a German philosopher who lived in the second half of the 19th century.
He was physically sick most of his life and spent his last years almost unconscious due
to a mental breakdown.
In spite of this, he gave great insights into the world of human psychology, including what
it means to live a ‘good life’.
For him, a good life does not mean comfort and pleasure, it means mainly a life in which
you live authentically and freely, following your own values and aspirations.
His most famous books are “Thus Spoke Zarathustra”, “Beyond Good and Evil”, “The Birth of
Tragedy”, and “The Twilight of the Idols”.
Nietzsche is considered a precursor of existentialism, a philosophical school of thought which highlights
the importance of freedom and finding meaning in a meaningless world.
According to existentialism, life has no meaning by itself, it has only the meaning we give
to it.
Also, it is in our power to make the best out of this life and perhaps there is no other
more famous philosopher than Nietzsche who emphasized on the importance of putting our
will in the actions we take in life and how to make the best out of it.
To help you understand how to live a good life, here are 9 lessons we can learn from
the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche:
Focus on real life Nietzsche said: “There is not enough love
and goodness in the world to permit giving any of it away to imaginary beings.”
Nietzsche was one of the strongest advocates against Christianity and against believing
in metaphysical realities, in something that cannot be perceived with our senses and in
something that doesn't have a physical presence.
He was the one who famously declared “God is dead”, pointing out that from now on,
it is our responsibility to give life a meaning.
In “The Twilight of the Idols”, Nietzsche described how previous philosophers who considered
the physical reality an illusion or the shadow of another reality were wrong.
He pointed out that any other reality besides what we can perceive through our senses cannot
be proven.
Moreover, to fabricate another world is considered by Nietzsche to be an act of defamation of
this life, a sign we don’t appreciate our reality and that we don’t have enough willpower
to make it as good as we want it to be.
To really have a positive impact in this world, to make this world a little better, we need
to focus on solving real-life problems and not to take refuge in imaginary worlds.
And this is not possible without facing reality.
For example, imagine you have a serious problem in your life, a significant amount of debt
and you cannot find any way to pay it.
Instead of taking your refuge in alcohol, trying to forget about your problems, or praying
that some angels will come to save you, you should find the courage to face reality and
focus on how to solve your problems.
Life is difficult enough; by escaping reality, you will just amplify your problems and suffering,
and those of the ones you care about.
We need to focus on real life as it is the only way you will be able to solve your life’s
problems and build a good life.
Live a meaningful life Nietzsche tells us: “To live is to suffer,
to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering.”
For Nietzsche, life was particularly hard.
As a young man, he got seriously ill shortly after he joined the Franco-Prussian war; then
later, he lost his job at university due to his disappointment with the institutionalized
education and also due to serious pain caused by his blindness, migraine, stomach pain,
and so on; then, he was rejected by the woman he loved, the Russian writer Lou Andreas-Salomé
who then went to Berlin with one of Nietzsche’s best friends, Paul Ree; then, finally, at
44 years old, he suffered a mental collapse, spending his last years of life almost unconscious.
In spite of his tragic life, he lived a life of meaning, being remembered as one of the
most famous philosophers who praised life for what it is.
He was a big advocate of the Greek concept “Amor Fati”, a Latin phrase that may be
translated as "love of fate" or "love of one's fate".
If Nietzsche, who as we just mentioned, led a particularly difficult life, could do that,
it is in the power of almost anyone to do it.
No matter your situation, if you are able to find meaning in your suffering, you will
be able to live a good life, a life of purpose.
For example, imagine one of the worst situations you can be in, like losing your child due
to a disease like cancer.
You might think your life is already over, but if you are able to find a meaning, a purpose
for your suffering, then you will in time feel more able to get up in the morning and
face the day ahead.
You might contribute to the fight against cancer, through money or by volunteering campaigns
to help those in need.
Even though your personal suffering will always be a part of you, your outlook on life would
improve knowing you’ve helped to prevent other people from suffering as you have.
Follow your own life goals According to Nietzsche: “To forget one's
purpose is the commonest form of stupidity.”
For Nietzsche, no price is too high for the privilege of owning yourself.
One of the main priorities you should have in life is to be careful not to be absorbed
by your tribe, that is to not follow what everybody else is doing.
Try to find your own path in life, formulate your own values and judge every situation
through the filters of your own life experience and knowledge.
Nietzsche was famous for his concept of the Ubermensch, or Superhuman.
For Nietzsche, the Superhuman is the goal of humanity itself, he represents the creation
of new values of humanity after the death of God.
The general qualities that such Superhumans have is that they live independently of any
tribe, they are self-sufficient and strong, creating and following their own code of values.
For Nietzsche, human beings are a bridge towards the Superhuman.
Thus, the Superhuman is an ideal we should always strive for.
In order to become closer to this ideal, we can all work on becoming a bit more independent,
a bit more goal-driven in life.
For example, we should not let our parents dictate the career we want to take in life;
or get stuck in a job which might not be related with our goals at all, forgetting our main
dreams in exchange for stability and an easy life.
The main idea is to not get overwhelmed by others and try to find your calling in life,
formulate your life goals and follow them always.
It is common to want to fit in and want other people to like you, but if those people cannot
like you for who you really are, you will live a life full of lies as you will need
to perpetually pretend that you are someone you are not.
It is much better to live an authentic life, a life in which you can be yourself and live
the life you want to live.
Say if you want to be a musician, don’t enroll in medical school just because being
a doctor is more praised in your parent’s eyes; if you wish to have a lot of free time
and to travel the world, don’t take a 9 to 5 job, but rather pick a career you can
do as a freelancer, for example creating philosophy videos on YouTube, which gives you freedom,
time and enough money to travel.
To live a good life you need to live the life you want to live, a life in line with your
personality and with your dreams.
Keep your mind open In the words of Nietzsche: “Convictions
are more dangerous foes of truth than lies.”
At some point in time, nearly everyone was convinced that the Earth was the center of
the Universe, or that man would never be able to fly.
Some scientists even gave their life in the fight to prove that Earth is not the center
of the Universe - like Giordano Bruno.
And who knows what convictions the majority of people have today that will be proven false
in the future.
What is true today might not be true tomorrow, even in the scientific world.
Nietzsche was very much against religious dogmas and against systems of beliefs in general.
But equally, he was not very pro-science, either.
Nietzsche said that there are no facts, there are only their interpretations, meaning that
we should not take pride in knowing anything with certainty; therefore, we should not forget
that what we see and think is just our limited interpretation of life and that it is at best
incomplete.
To be open minded is an essential quality we should have if we want to seek the truth
about anything.
If you have strong convictions, this will prevent you from seeking the truth about the
world, about other people, to learn more, and to develop yourself.
Although this can make you feel more sure of yourself in some situations, in the long
run it will affect your life significantly.
Imagine that you are a middle aged person running a business and you have the conviction
that your type of business is too serious or industry-focused for being present on social
media, that social media is too informal and frivolous for your business.
Besides, you are not a fan of social media and it is convenient for you to have such
a belief.
It can be easily proven that you are wrong and that you will lose in front of a competitor
whose presence is significant on many media channels.
Being open minded is not beneficial only for your personal and social life, but on many
levels, including your career and finances.
To live a good life, you need to develop yourself, your knowledge and skills and this cannot
be achieved without having an open mind.
Take care of your body Nietzsche teaches us that: “There is more
wisdom in your body than in your deepest philosophy.”
Nietzsche considered that philosophers don’t pay enough attention to the human body, that
their philosophical theories are disconnected from reality and that what is real is what
we directly experience through our body.
For Nietzsche, everything changes, everything transforms without following a given logic.
Nietzsche considered that there is no true unity and order in this universe, praising
Heraclitus highly, who said that everything changes and that eternity is a child at play.
Nietzsche considered that the only thing we have is our direct experience with this world,
through our body.
Your body always sends you messages regarding what it needs, what it fears or when something
is wrong.
When your body is hungry, you feel the urge to eat and you need to provide your body the
food and drink it needs; the same with resting and sleeping, etc.: you need to follow the
optimal cycle to keep your body healthy, you need to rest and sleep when your body demands
it, as much as you find possible.
Don’t follow the popular prescription to sleep 8 hours per night or eat 3 meals per
day.
We are all different, your body might need more or less sleep than someone else’s,
your body might need to eat less because you live a sedentary life or might need to eat
more because you have a very active life, and this will change over the course of your
life.
Then there’s the case of regular overeating, to the point where we damage our health.
In this case, Nietzsche would say that the solution is not to follow a diet, a prescribed
regimen given by a nutritionist, he would say that getting unhealthy is not because
we eat too much, the cause is our lack of will to live.
The solution could be for people to increase their will to live, which will improve their
vitality, get rid of depression, and learn to love their body and themselves more.
In Nietzche’s view, once you understand this will, you will automatically start making
right decisions for your body, and thus stick to healthy eating habits.
He felt that the body is not only the instrument that carries us through the world, it is us
and we should take maximum care of it if we want to live a good life.
Embrace your “evil” qualities To quote Nietzsche: “The great epochs of
our life are the occasions when we gain the courage to rebaptize our evil qualities as
our best qualities.”
Nietzsche was against moral systems whose aim is to decide what is good and bad, what
is a proper behavior or not.
And he was especially against Christian morality, which he called the revolt of slaves in the
domain of morality.
He considered that such religious morality is man-made and it was made by the low classes
of society who did not know how to better defeat their rulers.
Such morality preaches humility, turning the other cheek when someone hurts you, while
a more healthy way of living is to encourage self love and defend yourself against your
oppressors.
In Nietzsche’s view, we should not follow any system which tries to make us the same,
which tries to shape our personality, tells us who we should be.
We cannot have a good life if we don’t allow ourselves to be ourselves, to behave as we
want to behave.
When we examine our lives, we can understand that the happiest times of our lives were
when we were the most ourselves, when we could express what was inside us without self-criticism.
Due to the education we received in our lives, due to the way society trained us regarding
how we should behave, what we should think, we all have a dark side, a part of ourselves
which would not be accepted by such society.
Although difficult and perhaps counter-intuitively, we need to find ways to bring this dark side
to the surface if we want to be truly happy and live a good life.
For example, imagine that you enjoy physical fighting and you were greatly punished as
a child when you got into a fight with another kid.
To bring this evil quality to the surface as an adult doesn't mean to start assaulting
people, but to apply and focus that desire; enroll in sports like boxing, martial arts
and so on where you can fight, but without the legal ramifications.
When we learn to make the best out of our evil qualities, our life becomes happier and
we feel more fulfilled.
Consume art As Nietzsche said so succinctly: “Without
music, life would be a mistake.”
Nietzsche was not only a philosopher, but he was also an artist, a musician and a poet.
Music played a special place in his life.
He enjoyed playing piano and composing music.
One of his friends was none other than the famous composer Richard Wagner.
Music is a key to open the doors to all human emotions.
For Nietzsche, music is a reflection of a certain set of emotions.
One of the saddest moments in Nietzsche’s life was when he split from Wagner: it was
after the festival at Bayreuth when Nietzsche saw a decadence in Wagner’s music, it seemed
like Wagner was just playing for the common people, for the masses and gave up on composing
great music.
Because we all have different sets of emotions, we respond differently to different types
of music, and indeed with any artform.
Through art, we get in touch with our deepest emotions; it helps us understand ourselves
better and it frees us from our inhibitions.
Thus, art is an expression of our freedom and we should exercise our freedom as much
as possible if we want to live a good life.
No matter your profession - even if it has nothing to do with music or art - you can
still make room for it in your life.
For example, you can listen to music while you go to work, fill your home with art that
inspires and moves you.
You can visit art galleries, go to gigs or join a local art, music or theater group,
or learn an instrument in your spare time.
Consuming any form of art can make your life more joyful and, if you are able to create
art, it can help you express yourself freely, and thus you would understand your emotions
and feelings better.
Cultivate friendship especially in romantic relationships
Nietzsche wrote: “It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy
marriages.”
For Nietzsche, friendship is the highest form of love.
True friends inspire each other, make each other better, pushing towards achieving the
ideal of the Superhuman.
And Nietzsche had great friends.
Of course Composer Richard Wagner as we mentioned earlier, Paul Deussen, a historian of philosophy,
Erwin Rohde, a great philologist, and Franz Overbeck, who lived in the same house with
Nietzsche for 5 years, becoming one of his closest friends.
Later they would exchange many letters, helping Nietzsche immediately after his mental breakdown
in 1889.
Another great friend was Paul Rée, but their friendship took a bad turn when he moved to
Berlin with Lou von Salomé, Nietzsche’s crush at the time, leaving Nietzsche behind.
Lou von Salomé was a great psychoanalyst who later worked with Sigmund Freud as well
as writing a great book on Nietzsche.
For a while, Nietzsche, Rée and Salomé formed a strange trio of friendship, spending a lot
of time together.
For Nietzsche, friendship should be present in every relationship, especially the one
that you share with your partner.
In fact, it is the foundation of a happy marriage.
Physical attraction does not last long, what is important in the long run is the way we
communicate, the quality of our conversations with our partner.
Although unlucky in love, Nietzsche gave some insights into what a happy marriage is, emphasizing
on the importance of friendship.
He strongly advised to not marry for love, but to marry someone you like talking to,
marry your best friend, as Nietzsche tried to do with Salomé, who was one of the most
brilliant women of that time, someone Nietzsche enjoyed talking to very much.
We can all learn from Nietzsche to put a higher price on the quality of our conversations
with the people we find attractive than on the physical attraction we feel towards those
people.
In order to live a good life, we need to have a happy relationship with our loved ones.
In the long term, what matters is not the passion, which fades in time, but the way
we connect with each other.
Having a strong friendship with our partner is vital to a long term relationship and to
a happy life in general.
Be patient with your self-growth In our final quote from Nietzsche for this
video, he said: “He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk
and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying.”
When it comes to self development or self growth, Nietzsche’s thinking can be easily
applicable in daily life, helping us better ourselves and live better lives overall.
It can be said that the concept of the Superhuman relates to the concept of self-growth, as
the Superhuman is an ideal of a human we should strive towards; an aspiration that we might
not reach, but if we develop ourselves every day, making a little bit of progress each
time, it gives us a sense of purpose.
Nothing happens overnight and we need to be patient in our quest for self-growth.
In Nietzsche’s view, it is important to learn to become a master over ourselves.
No one can push us to read more to develop our intellectual skills, no one forces us
to go to the gym to strengthen our bodies, it is only oneself that is in charge of these
tiny changes that should happen every day.
In Nietzsche’s words, "No one can build you the bridge on which you, and only you,
must cross the river of life."
If we master our habits, there is a high chance we will succeed in reaching our goals in the
long run.
If your life situation is far from being perfect, you should not despair that you are not where
you want to be.
Learn to be patient, practice good habits every day, no matter how small, the most important
thing is for you to be better than yesterday.
For example, if for you a good life is to have a great career and a happy family, develop
your skills every day, enroll in an online course, read books from your field and, at
the same time, make time for your family, for spending time with your partner and children.
A good life does not come overnight, you need to work for it every day.
If you enjoyed this video, please make sure to check out our full philosophies for life
playlist, and for more videos to help you find success and happiness using ancient philosophical
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Thanks so much for watching.