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The Self-Help Trap: What 20 Years of "Optimizing" Has Taught Me

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One danger of modern self-help.

“We cannot reason ourselves out of our basic irrationality. All we can do is to learn the art of being irrational in a reasonable way.”

— Aldous Huxley, Island

It was cold out, but none of us were cold.

I sat with five men in the mountains of Montana. As the sun set, the fire in the center cast dancing light on our faces. Reclined against fallen trees in a tight circle, we ate mushrooms and fish we’d found under trees and along streams. The whole crew burst into laughter yet again, and one of the guides passed around a fresh batch of pine needle tea.

Bathed in warmth, I took off a layer and glanced skyward through an opening in the trees. The stars shone like crystals on black velvet, and the show—the biggest meteor shower of the year—was starting.

In that moment, there was nothing to do. Nothing to improve. Nothing to fix.

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