50 Brutal Truths About Human Nature
“All conditioned phenomena are impermanent; they arise and cease. Having arisen, they pass away. Their cessation is bliss.” — The Nirvana Sutra
We live in an age of information overload and endless desires. Choices press upon us from every direction, yet we rarely pause to ask: What do I truly want? Is this path worth walking?
This essay weaves together game theory, autonomy, productivity, the root of anxiety, mimetic desire, and more—anchored in timeless Buddhist insight—to guide you back to your core, helping you rethink how to live, work, and simply be.
Game Theory and Society
- In the long run, I believe that even out of self-interest, it is wise to maintain virtue.
- One of the most common social games is known as the Stag Hunt. In this game, if we cooperate, we can catch a big deer and enjoy a feast. But if we don’t cooperate, each of us can only hunt a rabbit for a modest meal. This game has two stable equilibria—we may both hunt rabbits, or both hunt the deer.
- A high-trust society is a more virtuous society—one where I can trust you to show up, hunt the stag with me, finish the task, and divide the rewards fairly.
- You want to live in a society where everyone is virtuous and follows shared norms, because we all benefit from such a system. But I believe you don’t have to sacrifice for others to achieve this—you can do it purely for yourself. You will have more self-respect, and you will attract others who also embody integrity.
Self-Interest and Freedom
- I think everyone puts themselves first. It’s human nature.
- Marc Andreessen once said not to use a calendar, so I deleted mine. I stopped scheduling anything and tried to keep everything in my head. If I forgot it, it wasn’t worth doing. I also heard Jack Dorsey runs all his work on an iPhone and iPad without a computer, so I handled business by text, with an automatic email reply that said, “I don’t check email. Don’t text me either.”
This freed up all my time. My life became filled with delightful surprises. I could be anywhere, with anyone, at any moment—spontaneously. I wait for invitations, then decide.
- I make no commitments for the future. If something sounds interesting, I’ll see if I want to do it when the day comes. The worst thing is letting a past commitment dictate your present. One hour blocked in the middle of the day feels like a lump of waste. It ruins the time before and after.
- An over-scheduled life isn’t worth living. It’s not how humans evolved, unless you were raised by a helicopter parent. Our natural state is freedom.
- A friend once told me, “I never want to be in a specific place at a specific time.” And I thought—that is freedom. That single sentence changed my life.
Freedom and Productivity
- Of course, we must fulfill essential responsibilities. But don’t waste your life on pointless weddings, awkward dinners, or random obligations. Maximizing freedom actually increases productivity.
- The more freedom you introduce into your life, the more efficient you become. You can focus entirely on what matters most that day. I do my deepest work in the first four hours after waking up.
- Inspiration is fleeting. Act on it immediately. If I feel like writing a blog post, I write. If I want to tweet, I post. If I want to solve a problem, I dive in. If I’m curious about a topic, I learn it instantly—downloading books, Googling, using ChatGPT. That’s when real learning happens.
- What truly stays with you is what you learn when you are genuinely curious. The ability to act in the moment is liberating—and most people rarely get to live this way. If you do, that’s the secret to happiness.
- Procrastination just means you’d rather do something else. So go do that. Efficiency, success, and freedom are not in conflict.
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Find Your Game
- Find the thing that feels like play to you, but looks like work to others. You’ll outperform them because you’re having fun. To you, it’s art, joy, flow, fulfillment.
- The more you act in alignment with your natural strengths, the less competition you face. Authenticity eliminates competition.
- If I had to boil down life success to two words, I’d say: productize yourself. Find what you’re uniquely good at, what the world needs, and what can scale—then turn it into a product.
- In a world of infinite choices, the worst mistake is committing too early. You might spend 30 years in the wrong career, place, or relationship. The best time to correct course was “back then.” The second best time is now.
Default to No
- By default, you should decline most things. If you’re unsure, the answer is “no.” My calendar stays empty partly because I say “no” by default.
- In your early years, say “yes” to everything—that’s exploration. But once you find your path, say “no” to everything else. Otherwise, rejection alone will drain your energy.
- Many people are trapped in obligations, disconnected from their own desires. Saying “no” feels like a crime. But it’s actually self-respect.
Mental Distance
- Observing your own thoughts is incredibly powerful. It creates a mental gap between you and your mind, allowing you to evaluate your thoughts like a third-party observer.
- Once you see your thoughts objectively, you become more selective, more critical. You’ll realize that most problems don’t exist—unless you choose to accept them.
- If you stop unconsciously creating problems, you’ll have more energy to focus on what really matters.
- A wise person gains peace by learning to be indifferent to what they cannot control.
“All conditioned things are impermanent—when one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering.” – Dhammapada
Mimetic Desire
- Peter Thiel draws from René Girard’s theory of mimetic desire—many of our wants are unconsciously borrowed from others: law school, med school, business school… or even our parents’ expectations.
- Guilt is the echo of society’s voice in your mind. It’s social programming. The best outcomes come from independent thought and self-directed action.
- People often choose where to live too casually. That single choice impacts your work, friends, health, air, food—your quality of life. Spend real time thinking about it.
10,000 Hours vs. 10,000 Iterations
- The Secretary Problem in computer science asks how long to search before choosing the best candidate. The answer: after about one-third of your search, start selecting any option that meets or exceeds the best so far.
- It’s not about time—it’s about iterations. The more you iterate, the better your results.
- Malcolm Gladwell popularized the “10,000 hours” rule. But in reality, mastery comes from 10,000 iterations. Repetition is doing the same thing over and over. Iteration means learning and improving each time. That’s how you become an expert.
Anxiety and Stress
- A steel beam is stressed when pulled in opposite directions. Likewise, your mind is stressed by conflicting desires: wanting to please others vs. wanting to be free. Wanting money vs. hating your job.
- Anxiety is pressure from unresolved desires and unprocessed thoughts. Your brain becomes a landfill of issues, most of them invisible.
- Thinking about death helps reduce anxiety. In the end, none of it matters.
“All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think, we become.” – Buddha
- If you’re not fully present, you’re missing this moment. And a moment not lived is as if you were never alive.
Time and Presence
- What is a waste of time? In the grand scheme, everything is. But in the present moment, everything can be meaningful. The only true waste is not being fully present.
- Life unfolds as it will. Good and bad are interpretations. You are born, you experience, you die. Meaning is how you interpret it.
- I won’t tell anyone how to live. But if you want a better life, the simplest path is to observe your thoughts—without judgment. Awareness is the beginning of change.
- Do what you truly want—not what society, parents, or your past self expects. Most wise elders will tell you: life is best when lived unapologetically on your own terms.
If you enjoyed this article, consider reading Make Your Mind an Ocean
The Process Is Everything
- If pain is physical, it’s real. But most pain is mental—meaning you just don’t want to do what you’re doing.
- I like a mental exercise: revisit yourself 5, 10, 15, 20 years ago. What were you doing? How did you feel? What would you say to that version of yourself?
I wouldn’t change anything, but I would carry less anger, less stress, less inner resistance.
- The process is the reward. Even success is fleeting. We get bored, desire something, chase it, adapt—then get bored again. The cycle repeats.
- You must let go of unnecessary desires. Many aren’t yours—they’re absorbed from others.
“Desire is the root of suffering.” – Buddha
The Cost of Pride
- Pride is the enemy of learning. The most stuck people are often the most proud.
- Pride traps you in a local maximum—it keeps you from starting over. And starting over is often the path to something greater.
- Great artists and entrepreneurs know how to restart. Elon Musk famously reinvested everything after selling PayPal. That’s the courage to begin again.
- Many lose this courage after achieving success. They get stuck. Creation requires starting from zero—which is painful and rare.
If you enjoyed this article, consider reading Make Your Mind an Ocean
The Paradox of Happiness and Success
- Happiness is complex. Socrates once said, “How many things there are I do not need!” Freedom comes not from owning, but from not wanting.
- Alexander the Great once said he wished to live like Diogenes, who lived in a barrel. Diogenes replied, “I have no wish to be like you.” One path to happiness is to fulfill all desires. The other is to stop desiring.
- Does happiness hinder success? Some say yes—happy people lack ambition. But I’ve found the opposite: the happier I am, the calmer and more focused I become. I still want to build, but only what is meaningful—what only I can do.
“Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.” – Buddha
Personally, as I’ve become happier, I’ve also become more peaceful, calmer, more focused, and more content with what I have. I still have the desire to act and create—but now I’m drawn to doing bigger things, purer things, things that align with what I believe I’m meant to do, and perhaps things that only I can do.
In that sense, I believe happiness does make you more successful, but your definition of success changes along the way.
“If one wishes to understand all Buddhas of the past, present, and future, one should contemplate the nature of the Dharma realm: everything is created by the mind.” — The Avatamsaka Sutra
There is no fixed path in life, no universal answer. What matters is not what you achieve, but how you engage with the present moment.
The closer you live to your inner truth—with authenticity, ease, and freedom—the nearer you come to liberation.
May we each find our Way amidst the noise, peace amidst the chase, and a sense of transcendence in the ever-unfolding game of life.
If you enjoyed this article, consider reading Make Your Mind an Ocean — a book that will take you deeper into the nature of the mind and the power of awareness.
Recommended Books You Might Like:
Becoming Your Own Therapist: Offers practical wisdom on how to understand your mind, transform negative patterns, and cultivate lasting inner peace through self-awareness.
Zen Meditation: Through meditation, one can bring inner peace and reduce anxiety and distress in life.
Kids’ Money Management: What is Money? How to Save, Invest, and Grow Your Money. Essential Money Skills Every Kid Should Know.
Cloud and Water: Exploring the Wisdom of Impermanence and Inner Peace Through Poetry.
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