These Words From David Foster Wallace Will Open Your Eyes

“If you worship money and things — if they are where you tap real meaning in life — then you will never have enough. Never feel you have enough. It’s the truth. Worship your own body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly, and when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally plant you. On one level, we all know this stuff already — it’s been codified as myths, proverbs, clichés, bromides, epigrams, parables: the skeleton of every great story. The trick is keeping the truth up-front in daily consciousness. Worship power — you will feel weak and afraid, and you will need ever more power over others to keep the fear at bay. Worship your intellect, being seen as smart — you will end up feeling stupid, a fraud, always on the verge of being found out. And so on.”

1.Materialism's Pitfall: Prioritizing the pursuit of money and material possessions as a source of meaning in life leads to a never-ending quest for more and never feeling satisfied.

2. Body and Beauty: Placing excessive importance on physical appearance and sexual attractiveness can result in feelings of inadequacy and insecurity, especially as age takes its toll.

3. Power's Paradox: If one worships power, it can lead to feelings of weakness and fear, necessitating the constant pursuit of more power to quell those fears.

4. Intellectual Insecurity: Overemphasizing one's intellect and the need to be perceived as intelligent can lead to feelings of impostor syndrome, constantly fearing exposure as a fraud.

5. Eternal Wisdom: These truths, though often overlooked or forgotten, have been expressed throughout history in various forms, such as myths, proverbs, and parables, and it's essential to keep them in mind in our daily lives to avoid falling into these traps.