Franz Kafka is one of the most fascinating writers and philosophers of the 20th century. He was born
in Prague in 1883 and lived a life that often felt out of place, with a regular job during the day
and a passion for writing that he pursued quietly, often in the shadows. Although his stories seem
surreal and unusual on the surface, they explore something deeply human: the struggle to find
meaning, to be understood, and to stay connected in a world that feels cold and indifferent.
His most famous works include: “The Trial”, “The Castle”,
and “The Metamorphosis”. All of these books explore themes like isolation,
loss of identity, the pressures of modern life, and the systems that shape and sometimes crush us.
All of these themes come together in his most famous and perhaps most heartbreaking work,
The Metamorphosis. It’s short, but it says so much. And at the center of it is Gregor Samsa.
The story begins with Gregor waking up to find he’s turned into a giant
insect. His body is hard and armored, his legs are tiny, and he can’t speak.
But instead of freaking out, his first thought is, “How am I going to get to work?”
That’s classic Kafka. Even in the middle of something so bizarre, Gregor is more worried
about missing work than what’s happening to him. Soon, we learn that he’s the only one supporting
his family. He hates his job, and his boss is a tyrant, but he has no choice - his parents
and sister depend on him. But now, as a bug, he can’t work. He can’t even get out of bed properly.
When he finally reveals himself, everyone’s horrified. His manager runs off, his parents
are terrified, and things go downhill fast. Gregor becomes a burden. He’s shut inside his room. At
first, his sister brings him food, but it’s more out of duty than care. Slowly, the family stops
seeing him as a person. Even his sister, the one who was kindest to him, eventually says,
“We need to get rid of it.” Notice, not him - it. Gregor dies alone in that room. And when it
happens, no one cries. His family doesn’t mourn. They’re just relieved. The next morning,
they head out to enjoy the day and talk about moving on. It’s like he never existed.
On the surface, it’s a strange little story - but beneath it lies a powerful truth. Kafka is holding
up a mirror, asking us to take a hard look at ourselves and the world around us. In this video,
we’ll explore what his philosophy teaches us about how to stop losing
ourselves in a world that doesn’t really see us. Your Value Shouldn’t Depend on What You Produce
Kafka says “He was a tool of the boss, without brains or backbone, and he was proud of that.”
In The Metamorphosis, when Gregor wakes up and finds out he’s turned into a bug,
he doesn’t panic about losing his human body. Instead, his first thought is about
work - he’s worried about being late. It’s as if he hasn’t just become an insect on the outside,
but has gone through a deeper transformation: from a human being to a human doing.
Kafka uses Gregor’s inner thoughts to show how Gregor sees himself. He doesn’t think his worth
comes from who he is, but from the work he does. His job is what defines him - not his values,
not his personality. And it’s not just how he sees himself - everyone else around him sees
him the same way. The moment he’s no longer useful, even his own family begins to treat
him like a burden. They’re not horrified just because he looks like a bug - they’re horrified
because he can no longer provide. But this isn’t just Gregor’s
story - it’s the story of our society too. In today’s world, especially under capitalism,
a person’s worth is often measured by their job title, salary, or how much they can provide. If
you can’t earn or contribute, it’s like your value goes down. People stop seeing you the same way.
Kafka shows us how dangerous this mindset can be. He reminds us that basing your entire self-worth
on your work is not only unhealthy - it’s inhuman. So what’s the alternative?
Kafka suggests that our value should come from who we are - not what we do.. Our
worth shouldn't be tied only to our jobs or how much we produce. It should come from our values,
our personality, and how we treat others. To reconnect with that, you need to slow
down and turn your attention inward. Ask yourself: What do I truly care about? What kind of person am
I? Forget what society expects from you for a moment, and just focus on your own truth.
Write down the things that matter to you - your values - and the qualities that make you who you
are. Then think about how those values show up in your relationships. Are you kind? Do
you listen? Are you there when it counts? Because in the end, what really matters to
the people who love you isn’t what you earn or what you give them - it’s how
you treat them. It’s your presence, your time, and your care that count the most.
That’s how you show your real worth - not through your work, but through your humanity.
And this is the first step to not losing yourself. If you let others define you
only by what you provide, you’ll start to feel invisible - just like Gregor.
But if you stay true to who you are, you’ll remember your own worth, and others will too.
Don't Let Modern Life Dehumanize You To quote Kafka; “I am a cage,
in which the song is held prisoner.” Gregor is so caught up in his work
that nothing else seems to matter. Even after waking up and realizing he’s turned into a bug,
his first worry isn’t about his body or what’s happened to him - it’s about how he’ll get
to work and keep providing for his family. But this isn’t just Gregor’s problem. It’s
something many of us deal with today. Work has become the center of our lives. We let
our jobs define who we are, often forgetting that we’re more than just what we do to earn a living.
Kafka is warning us: this way of living is dangerous. Over time, it can wear us down and
make us feel like we’re not even human anymore. That’s why he encourages us to look beyond our
jobs and ask: Who am I outside of work? Work is temporary. It can be taken away. If your whole
identity is built around your job, what happens when that job disappears?
Kafka’s message is simple: Don’t let modern life reduce you to just a role. Gregor believed
his only value came from being useful, from working and earning money. Once that was gone,
he had nothing left to hold on to. He didn’t know what he liked, what he cared about,
or who he was - because his job had swallowed up everything else.
This is something many of us can relate to. We work long hours, chase promotions,
and tie our self-worth to our achievements. But in the process, we lose sight of the things that
once made us feel alive - our hobbies, our creativity, our relationships. All of that
slowly fades into the background. So what can you do to change that?
Start by finding what lights you up inside - something that has nothing to do with money or
productivity. Ask yourself: What do I enjoy just for the sake of it? What makes me feel more like
myself? These might not be easy questions to answer, especially if work has been your main
focus for years. But they’re worth exploring. Okay, so go grab yourself a notebook and write
down any activities that come to mind. Then narrow that list down to your top
three favorites - the ones that bring you the most joy. Maybe it’s writing, painting,
walking in nature, playing music, or just sitting quietly and reading. These things
might not seem “useful” in the usual sense, but they remind you that you’re human - not a machine.
Once you’ve found your three activities, make a simple plan. Don’t overcomplicate it. Aim to
do one of them every other day. Start with just an hour at a time. The goal isn’t to
be perfect - it’s to enjoy yourself. As you get into the rhythm, you can slowly increase
the time you spend on them. But the key is: it should feel like something you
want to do, not something you have to do. This small step is powerful. It’s how you
start remembering who you are. Life today can be overwhelming. It’s easy to forget ourselves in
the middle of all the responsibilities. But when you make time for what brings you joy,
you begin to reconnect with your real self. And over time, this can change everything.
You’ll feel more balanced, more alive, and more in control. You’ll no longer feel like your entire
identity is tied to your job. Simply put - You’ll feel human again!
And that, Kafka gently reminds us, is something worth fighting for.
Don’t Try To Please Everyone In the words of Kafka “The
truest strength is to stand firm in your authenticity, even if it means standing alone.”
One of the saddest parts about Gregor - he never asked for anything. He worked hard,
gave everything he had to his family, and never once complained. His entire life was built around
making others happy. But the moment he couldn’t provide anymore, they abandoned him. Just like
that. He suffered quietly, never expressing his own pain, simply because he was trying
so hard to make everyone else’s life easier. Gregor’s transformation into a bug is a powerful
symbol. It shows what happens when someone loses themselves trying to keep everyone else
happy. He tied his worth to what he could do for others. But when he needed support,
the very people he had cared for didn’t care for him. Kafka is reminding us:
when your value depends on pleasing others, that love is usually conditional - and it doesn’t last.
And that’s the hard truth: you can’t make everyone happy. The more you try to,
the more you chip away at who you really are. You stop speaking up just to avoid upsetting
others. You bend your values so you can fit in. You push yourself until you’re drained - just to
be “enough” for people who won’t even meet you halfway. And in the end, like Gregor, you’re
left feeling alone and unappreciated, wondering why all your effort never seemed to be enough.
Most of us have been there - doing something not because we want to,
but because we’re afraid of letting someone down. That’s okay. What matters is recognizing it,
and making a choice to change. Start by understanding the difference between being kind
and being a people-pleaser. Kindness comes from strength - it has boundaries. People-pleasing,
on the other hand, usually comes from fear. Fear of rejection. Fear of not being loved.
Fear of being truly seen - and not accepted. So ask yourself: Where in my life am I giving
too much just to be liked? Write it down if that helps. It may feel silly at first, but it’s the
first step to getting your self-respect back. And after that? Learn to say ‘no’. It’s one of
the most powerful things you can do. Every time you say no to something you don’t want to do,
you say yes to yourself. You protect your energy, your values, your sense of self.
Over time, this changes you. You stop needing everyone’s approval. You realize not everyone has
to like you - and the people who really love you will respect you more when you’re honest. That’s
the third step to not losing yourself: stop living for others and start standing up for
yourself. Because no matter how much you give, if it comes from a place of fear or neediness,
it’ll never feel like enough. The only way to fill that emptiness… is by being real with yourself.
Don’t Trade Your Identity For Acceptance According to Kafka "Authenticity is the
only currency worth keeping; trade it not for fleeting approval."
Another heartbreaking part of The Metamorphosis is this: Gregor never truly had a voice - even
before he turned into a bug. Yes, he was a good son, a hard worker, and someone who always did
the right thing. But who was he, really? No one knew. Not even he did. He was always just
filling a role - being what others needed him to be. His family never asked what he wanted,
or who he dreamed of becoming. So when Kafka shows us Gregor literally losing his
voice after the transformation, it’s not just physical - it’s symbolic. It’s what happens
when you spend your whole life hiding behind expectations, never allowed to be your true self.
But if we’re honest, aren’t we all guilty of that, at least sometimes?
We put on masks. At work, we try to be the perfect employee. In relationships,
we become who we think the other person wants. We water ourselves down to be accepted. And over
time, that real version of us - the version that’s weird, honest, passionate, messy, bold - starts to
disappear. Not because it wasn’t good enough, but because we were scared it wouldn’t be accepted.
Kafka is giving us a warning: if you live your whole life pretending to be someone else, one day
you’ll wake up and not recognize yourself at all. And when life gets hard - and it will - you’ll
realize the love and approval you worked so hard for wasn’t even real. Because it wasn’t for you.
It was for the mask you wore. So what’s the way out?
It starts with something simple, but powerful: get to know yourself again. Ask yourself, “Who am I
when no one’s around?” Sit with that question. Journal about it - not what sounds impressive,
but what feels honest. Then, look at the parts of yourself you’ve been hiding just to fit in.
Do you keep quiet to avoid judgment? Shrink your dreams to sound more “practical”? Pretend
to be okay when you’re not? It’s okay… We’ve all done
it. But it doesn’t have to stay that way. Start small. Speak your mind, even if your opinion
is different. Show your quirks, even if they feel awkward. Do the things that light you up,
even if they don’t make sense to anyone else. That’s how you begin to reclaim your voice.
That’s how you begin to live, not just exist. Kafka’s deeper message is this: the real tragedy
isn’t Gregor becoming a bug - it’s that no one ever saw who he truly was before that. Don’t
let that be your story. Don’t become a stranger to yourself just to be accepted by the world.
Next time you feel the pressure to be someone you’re not, remember Gregor.
And instead of hiding, show up as you. That’s the most powerful thing you can do.
Protect Your Inner World In our final quote from Kafka for this video,
he says “Guard the sanctuary of your soul; it is the secret well of your resilience and peace.”
As Gregor becomes more and more cut off from his family and the outside world,
he starts to hide in his room. At first, it just feels sad. He’s ignored, pushed away,
and slowly disappears. But Kafka wants us to look closer. Even as Gregor is rejected, something
inside him stays alive. He’s still thinking. He’s still feeling. He’s still noticing the
world around him. His room becomes more than just a prison - it becomes a shelter. A space where he
can hold on to the last bit of who he really is. That’s what Kafka is telling us: no matter
what happens on the outside, your inner world belongs to you. And it’s sacred.
But in today’s world, it’s easy to forget that. We spend so much time chasing approval, scrolling
endlessly, trying to keep up. And somewhere in the noise, we lose touch with the most
important part of ourselves - our thoughts, our feelings, our imagination, and our sense of self.
Kafka’s message is gentle but clear: when everything else falls apart - when people walk
away, when things don’t go as planned - the one thing you always have is you. And that means you
need to take care of your inner life like it’s the most precious thing in the world. Because it is.
So how do you protect it? First, be conscious of what you
let into your mind. Not every post, every opinion, every piece of news deserves your attention. Be
picky. Choose people and content that lift you up instead of draining you. If something feels heavy,
if someone constantly brings you down - give yourself permission to step away. Not
everything and everyone needs access to your soul. Second, create little rituals that help you come
back to yourself. This doesn’t have to be anything dramatic. Maybe it’s going for a quiet walk with
no phone. Maybe it’s reading something that makes you think. Or just sitting in silence,
letting your thoughts breathe. Do it at your own pace. No pressure. No guilt. This is your time
to be with you. Like Gregor had his room, make space in your life that’s just for your peace.
And here’s the thing - even as Gregor lost touch with the outside world,
he actually started becoming more real. More honest. More himself. He stopped performing.
He stopped pretending. He just was. That’s the strange, beautiful twist in the story.
Kafka is asking us to remember: even if the world doesn’t always get you,
your inner world is still alive. It still matters. And it’s worth protecting.
So don’t just go through life reacting to everything. Don’t just survive. Build something
inside that no one can take away from you. That’s how you stay grounded. That’s how you stay you.
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