The Narrative of the Divine Individual

The twentieth century was characterised by its bloody wars and endless conflicts, all of which were by-products of a deeper ideological war being fought. Thankfully the doctrine that won out in the end was that of humanism. Humanism sanctifies the value and agency of individual human beings and we have a lot to thank it for — from universal human rights to its promotion of democracy, greater tolerance and enhanced personal autonomy. The accompanying rise of secularism instilled a new creed: that of the divinity of the individual. The narrative or story of our society which emanated from this was framed around the unique potential that every person possessed, and our laws and institutions reflected this with their aspiration to treat everyone with equal respect.

False Expectations

“We’ve all been raised on television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won’t. And we’re slowly learning that fact. And we’re very, very pissed off.” — Tyler Durden, Fight Club

From a commercial perspective the humanist narrative became commodified by corporate entities. L’Oreal’s “because you’re worth it” and Nike’s “just do it” are iconic slogans that exemplify how our unique individuality became our predominant source of pride and expression of differentiation. As a culture we have become obsessed with celebrity and fame, because they shine a light on the individual. Social media has exacerbated this cultural shift to another level. Most of us wish for social status and recognition and whilst this is understandable and healthy, perhaps it is not the correct orientation.

From a psychological perspective we saw the rise of the self-esteem movement. It told people that if something feels right, it must be right! The emphasis shifted from a reliance on external sources of authority (religious texts, State bodies) to that of the inner self. Truth now lay within oneself. Due to the newfound recognition that each individual possessed their own innate talents, from a young age we were told that “you can be whatever you want to be”. There is an enormous degree of truth to this statement, but it comes with a heavy caveat. Not everybody can be a millionaire or a Hollywood star (very generic examples, but you get my point). Achieving extraordinary things by definition means that you are unlike most other people.

So the problem emerges: how do we achieve the life that we envisioned for ourselves, which reflects our brilliance as individuals following our bliss, yet simultaneously navigating the material and practical realities of our world?

I feel that this is a timely discussion because as many of us transition from the safe havens of university into the real world, we are met by new and unforeseen obstacles. It’s popular nowadays in some circles to be “anti-capitalist” but one of its definite downsides is that the financial requirements of our current way of living are substantial, a fact which hits us as a cold hard reality when we leave university. Throw in our generation’s apparent predisposition towards immediate gratification, and we have an issue. Could this cultural dichotomy regarding the narrative of the individual even partially explain the recent epidemic in anxiety and depression afflicting our society?

The Potential Fallacy of ‘Finding your Purpose’

Positive psychology promotes this idea that once you figure out your purpose in life, bliss and utopia await. All you need to do is meditate on the top of a mountain whilst staring at the sunset to figure out your cosmic purpose. But defining your purpose so definitively may be a fallacy of sorts. Not only could we have multiple purposes in life, but we risk wasting our whole life trying to figure out what that purpose is! Our ancestors certainly didn’t need to formulate a grand purpose for their life. They just lived one out. What if our purpose was to live life to the greatest degree possible each and every day?

I find myself oscillating between (at the very least) acknowledging that from an evolutionary standpoint we are here to propagate our genes — which can actually provide inherent meaning to our lives in and of itself — and on the other hand seeing each human as a divine specimen, a source of consciousness temporarily occupying this physical body. Nowadays we occupy a very ‘Cartesian’ worldview where intelligence and rational thinking are considered to provide the solutions to all of our problems. But our physical bodies are inherently intelligent too. We know the answers to many things already — we often call this our “gut” feeling. Physical movement involuntarily forces one into a state of presence, and at that moment in time all worries subside. Five-year plans are important, but maybe not every waking moment needs to be about “following your purpose”. Simply living fully today is a good start (far easier said than done, admittedly).

And how do we define ‘extraordinary achievements’? The seeming banality of most of life’s achievements often renders them obsolete and underappreciated. But it could be that we are overlooking these at our peril. If we stop for a moment and realise just what an achievement it is to raise a family. Or to be a pillar in the local community. Coaching your kids football team. Bringing joy to your co-workers daily lives. These are things to be celebrated. Even for the most ‘successful’ in our society, life predominantly consists of unglamorous mundane tasks. When we envision our ideal life, we forget about the 99% microdetails it entails and instead focus our attention on the end result. Finding solace and joy in those tasks would represent a positive paradigm shift.

The challenge is to find that happy medium between “following your bliss” and adopting personal responsibility to properly function in society. It’s tempting to relinquish this call to action and isolate oneself within an internal fantasy world, or entertain an idea like escaping off to India to lead an ascetic life of spiritual pursuit. But at the end of the day this is another form of procrastination and absolves your true calling.

So what’s the take home point from this article?

First and foremost, do not settle for mediocrity or the status quo — if what you want is something more. You ARE capable of pretty much anything. Fortunately, I do not suffer from a lack of self-belief — and nor should you. Simply setting the bar high is a step in the right direction. But recognise that the odds are probably stacked heavily against you from achieving those grandiose dreams. Be aware that the subliminal messages of our culture have set us up for disappointment due to the sheer statistical improbability of us all climbing to the top of the social hierarchy.

And so the question becomes — what am I willing to suffer for? What path will I willingly endure, fully aware of the downsides it will entail? Recognise that we do not need to be on the cover of Time magazine or have amassed 500,000 followers on Instagram in order to deem ourselves a success. Each of us have our own ‘thing’ that we can be great at. It just doesn’t have to be a 22 year old startup founder in Silicon Valley.

Success is subjective. Figure out what you deem success to be — not what society says it should be. And acknowledge that it’s going to take a bloody long time. The better orientation may be to try achieve our goals in our 50/60/70s rather than in our 20/30s.

Now is the time for crafting and sculpting ourselves. We are, after all, divine individuals.

The Ithaca Diaries