One Must Imagine Sisyphus Happy
The year is coming to an end, and a lot of people around the globe are assessing their life choices.
This is not a bad exercise and we’re big believers in daily meditation a la memento mori—where you focus on the notion of your mortality. Many of us live our lives as if we’re going to live forever—and a daily reminder of our finite existence is a great way of setting things into a more meaningful perspective. Most people don’t have these daily practices, and the end of the year is a powerful reminder of time progressing and how this relates to our hopes, dreams, and our expiration date.
There’re many self-help books and podcasts out there, that will tell you to love yourself, provide you with some lifehack, or numb you with slogans like “age is just a number.” Perhaps they’re all delivered with good intentions, but as the saying goes—the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
So, how do you embody this type of philosophy? Well, there are many ways to go about this, but one of our favorites is embedded in the story of Sisyphus.
The French philosopher Albert Camus uses the story of the damned King Sisyphus as the backdrop of his philosophy. Sisyphus is punished by Zeus to roll the same boulder up a hill every single day, only to see it roll down every evening.
The key to Camus’ philosophy is to accept and acknowledge the repetitiveness and absurdity of our daily lives. "One must imagine Sisyphus happy," becomes the daily or yearly mantra for how to view your life. Sisyphus has a daily task that he must do, but that does not mean that he can’t take pride in his work or try to do it better. The best self-help advice is to look at your daily tasks and try to apply yourself to doing them better. Many people dream of better things but don’t make an effort when it comes to daily chores, your boring job, or your marriage. Perhaps the key is to not look for solutions outside yourself, but to try instead to look inwards, and see if you can do better. Try and imagine Sisyphus happy and roll your boulder with grace—and see what opportunities present themselves now that you’re making an effort.
The good thing is—that the boulder rolls down again all by itself, which means that you get to enjoy the sunset or spend time with your loved ones after you finish your tasks. To quote James Clear “you don’t need better goals, you need better habits.” So, imagine Sisyphus happy, and move your boulder. Personal growth lies in the acceptance and grace with how we approach the repetitive absurdity of our existence.
Until next time
Scott and Lennart