"The Wisdom of Life" is a work written by Schopenhauer in his later years. In this book, he discusses things close to secular life: health, wealth, status, attitude towards oneself and others, etc. .

Among them, Schopenhauer put forward many enlightening suggestions on how to live better and pursue happiness. There are some suggestions that are applicable no matter what level or stage you are at.

Schopenhauer has a famous pendulum theory.

We all want a happy life, but Schopenhauer warned people that the background of life is miserable.

In his view, people are happy the moment their desires are satisfied. But if a new desire has not yet arisen at this time, then the person will soon fall into a state of "boring". Once a new desire arises, he will fall into mental pain and be busy planning to realize the second desire.

It seems pessimistic, but if you look closely, most people cannot get rid of this theory.

Most people have to spend a lot of life energy running around for the livelihood of themselves and their families. Once you have material wealth and live a comfortable life, you will be troubled by boredom.

I had dinner with friends a few days ago, one of whom is a real estate agent. In the past five years, he quit his job and started his own business. He has opened four real estate agencies and achieved initial financial freedom in his life.

In our opinion, his life is very exciting, but he said that he feels that life is a bit boring and he seems to have no energy.

Friends don’t understand. I think his career is stable and he has no new goals and desires and has fallen into the “boring” stage. At this time, you need to set new goals or develop new interests and strive to broaden your spiritual territory.

Schopenhauer emphasized that the pain that is the keynote of life does not lead people to live a negative and pessimistic life. It is precisely to guide people to have a rational and clear understanding of life, not to be afraid of pain, and to learn to live peacefully. To pursue happiness.

Schopenhauer highly praised the state of loneliness. He believed that the quantity and quality of most people’s social interactions were not proportional, and vulgar social interactions would only consume people’s time and energy. From this level, he said, "The more mediocre and vulgar people are in intelligence, the more they like to socialize - either lonely or vulgar. There are not many choices for a person in his life."

Schopenhauer The views may seem biased, but they serve as a warning to the current era of over-emphasis on social interaction. Nowadays, various best-selling books on success teach people to expand their network, cultivate eloquence and communication skills, and even early childhood education institutions are amplifying the development of children's social skills.

It seems that everyone should be a good communicator, and it seems that being keen on socializing has become the standard for success. In fact, this is just a fanatical prejudice.

Even for the sake of network resources, the role of social networking itself has been exaggerated. People with some experience will find that truly effective social interaction is based on resource exchange or value complementation.

Without these, even if you are versatile, you will not be able to maintain high-quality social resources.

This is especially true from an emotional perspective. The indulgence brought by social interaction is short-lived and unreliable. No matter how interesting the soul is, it cannot save a poor soul. Only when one's own spirit is rich can one be calm and happy. That’s why Aristotle said, “If you want to be happy, you must be self-sufficient.”

Even mavericks like Schopenhauer emphasized the importance of health.

He warned people, "Nine times out of ten, happiness depends on health." "Whether it is interests, promotion, knowledge or fame, everything else should make way for health."

Everyone knows this truth, but when we are strong and safe, we often ignore it. Instead, put everything else before your body, so you need to have a regular schedule, a healthy diet, and a good attitude.

Fortunately, I realized the importance of health issues before my body collapsed and started to pay attention to my own health.

And there are also many unfortunate people who have emptied their bodies and destroyed their health before they have gained external fame and fortune.

In an era of widespread anxiety, many of the most basic human needs have become luxuries, such as healthy eating and good sleep.

Especially as I gradually enter middle age, I understand the truth of this even more, and I also try hard to practice this advice myself.

Schopenhauer’s argument is spot on, especially now. Many times, if you care too much about other people's opinions, you will fall into vanity and anxiety.

While watching a variety show, Yi Nengjing kept asking her mother-in-law: "Mom, do you think Haozi loves me?" When her mother-in-law gave an affirmative answer without hesitation, Yi Nengjing listed a series of Qin Hao's comments on own good. In the end, she reluctantly told her mother-in-law that Qin Hao just couldn't express love. She even asked her mother-in-law to tell Qin Hao to learn to express love.

There are also many details that make me feel like she is like a child, constantly asking for help, hoping that her husband will keep saying he loves her. She hopes that his love for her can be seen and heard by everyone.

It seems that what she wants is not love itself, but a love that is recognized and seen by everyone.

Although she says she doesn’t care about netizens’ comments about her current marriage, she actually cares too much. So many people think that she has "histrionic personality disorder".

Perhaps this has something to do with her experience of losing her father early in her life and starting a career to support her family. The shadow of lack of love and insecurity has always been imprinted deep in her heart. Even now that she has a warm marriage and family, she still Need to find peace in the approval of outsiders.

Many troubles in life come from the anxiety caused by over-concern about other people’s opinions.

In fact, except for countless relatives and friends, who really cares about you. It is both stupid and weak to put the yardstick of doing things in the hands of those who don't care about you at all.

Schopenhauer’s aphorism sums up the desire for wealth very well. What is commendable is that he did not generalize. He first affirmed the importance of wealth and demonstrated the disadvantages of poverty.

So to what extent is the desire for wealth considered reasonable?

Therefore, you still need to understand your truest and strongest desires and do your best to complete this part of your vision. At the same time, you must know how to restrain other desires.

In the adult world, choices are made every day. What choices you can accept and what desires you can let go are directly related to the quality of your future life.

Schopenhauer has a famous saying: Life is a masquerade.

Perhaps in this arena, we all have to choose one or several masks to wear. But the secret of happiness or not is the answer that can only be found when we take off all the masks and face ourselves alone.

In these enlightening words, let us often reflect on ourselves, find our most balanced and calm state of life, and move closer to happiness.