10 Paradoxes That Help You to Live a Meaningful Life

Lakeisha E
May 09, 2021

A paradox is any statement or saying that, on the surface, sounds ridiculous and contradictory, but actually has a surprising basis in wisdom and reality. It is fascinating to examine many paradoxes that surround you. Besides that, many of them can teach you valuable lessons. But how can something as simple as a phrase that sounds strange give you so much value? Here are ten life paradoxes that you can use to live a meaningful life.

1. The more you learn, the less you realize you know.

Have you ever noticed that many people feel ridiculously confident when they start something, only to be surprised when they realize that the subject at hand is much more complex than they initially believed?

This is commonly known as the Dunning-Krueger effect. The less skilled a person is, the more likely they are to overestimate their competence. It takes a significant amount of time before someone reaches a level of experience where they have more positive thinking about his abilities again.

Here’s what you can learn from this for a more meaningful life:

• The world is complex and nothing is as simple as it seems at first glance.
• The world is constantly changing, with new bits of information that mean that constant learning is necessary for an ongoing experience.
• There are always blind spots in knowledge, no matter how little or how much you know.
• It’s wiser to assume that you don’t know anything when you start a foray into a topic.

2. The more you try to control something, the less control you have over it.

Many people derive a sense of security from being able to “control” things, be it people, their level of preparation, or their environment. There is a sense of security that can come with the ability to ensure that everything is planned for obvious reasons.

Of course, all that control doesn’t always mean things will go according to plan, and most things don’t like being controlled, making them even more difficult to manage. The more you try to dictate things, the less likely things will go your way and the lower your positive thinking.

Here is what you can learn from this:

• Planning it is good, but it is impossible to plan all possible situations.
• Learning to be okay without knowing what will happen next makes life much more interesting and less stressful.
• Adaptability is more crucial than awareness.
• The world is mysterious and cannot be controlled, and there can be beauty in that chaos.

3. The more available something is, the less people will want it.

A scarcity bias is a strange psychological effect whereby the weirdest things are seen in most cases. positive light. The less available something is, the more likely people are to get excited about the desire to get their hands on it. In reality, this has little or no bearing on the actual value of that item.

Worse yet, once someone finally achieves something weird, they are often disillusioned with it. They realize that the inflated value was an oversold and they could have done well with something much more available.

Here is what you can learn from this:

• The arbitrary value does not dictate an actual value for you or others.
• What everyone wants doesn’t have to be what you want, and you shouldn’t blindly follow a mob.
• There can be beauty in things that are not valued, and availability can make things more enjoyable.
• Scarcity-based value often involves setting yourself up for disappointment.

4. The only thing that never changes is the inevitability of change.

There is no way to avoid change. It is simply inevitable and everything changes, no matter how much it may seem that it doesn’t. Whether it changes in a few seconds, several weeks, or fifty years, the fact is that a change will occur. Sometimes it is gradual. Sometimes it is sudden. All the time, it can’t be stopped.

Here’s how this information can help you lead a more meaningful life:

• TO resistance to change it is useless it will come whether you like it or not, and therefore you must accept it.
• Again, adaptability is more crucial than awareness.
• Finding security in temporary things will cause many feelings of insecurity throughout your life.

5. The abundance of options makes the choice difficult.

A plethora of options seems like a lovely thing to do, but it can create an overwhelming situation where the paradox of choice comes into play. The more options that are available, the more you want to weigh each one, and the more afraid you are of being wrong.

And worse, after all that, you will likely regret your decision when there are plenty of other possible decisions available. You positive thinking you can’t handle the fact that you got “lost” on other options, making a choice impossible.

Here is what you can learn from this:

• Really, less can be more in many situations.
• Not all options need to be innovative; some can be done for fun.
• Rather than regret the choices, it is best to learn from their results.
• Being satisfied with what can help you reduce regrets.
• Comparing yourself and your situations with others and their situations will always end in dissatisfaction.

6. Seeking happiness can make you more unhappy.

Have you heard of the Hedonism paradox? It refers to the “coincidental” occurrence in which happiness tends to find you when you are not actively seeking it. It is the source of the famous Henry David Thoreau quote: “Happiness is like a butterfly, the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you notice the other things around you, it will come gently and sit on your shoulder.”

This is because pursuing happiness often involves setting lofty goals for an imagined emotional state with no real feeling, meaning, or purpose behind it. As a result, you don’t really know what happiness looks like, nor are you able to detect it when it comes. Then you lose your positive thinking as you get frustrated with your lack of happiness, which is completely counterproductive!

Here is what you can learn from this:

• Instead of seeking happiness, seek personal growth and improvement for a more meaningful life.
• Don’t become obsessed with the idea of ​​finding happiness, as you can create your own by seeing joy in the world around you.
• Allow yourself to feel a mixture of positive and negative emotions, and don’t beat yourself up for not being constantly happy.

7. The more you cling to others, the more you push them away.

People in general dislike it when others behave in need towards them. Sticky people can be suffocating. While it’s okay to be more affectionate than others, you also need to understand that the more attached you are, the fewer people will want to spend time with you.

Here is what you can learn from this:

• Maintain healthy boundaries in relationships with others, romantic or otherwise.
• Give others space when they need it and take the time to request your own space, even if you don’t always feel like you need it.
• Respect the wishes, time, and effort of others.
• Relationships should not persist out of obligation
• You have no right to control others or demand their time.
• Let people choose to spend time with you because they like you

8. Failure is necessary for success.

Failure has a huge negative connotation. People often act like it’s a surefire sign of something horrible or proof that something is doomed. But you can’t be good at something if you’re not bad at first. It is necessary not to learn from mistakes and find ways to succeed.

It is difficult to develop positive thinking around failure, but research supports the concept that failure is critical to growth and success. It’s only really a failure if you decide to learn absolutely nothing from it! Of course, you can’t always be successful because that requires perfection, which is totally unattainable.

Here is what you can learn from this:

• Find lessons to learn from all your mistakes and failures.
• Please don’t beat yourself up failures; Celebrate how they help you grow.
• Pat yourself on the back for small successes.
• Understand that progress is not linear and will continue to fail throughout life, even after success.
• There is nothing wrong with making mistakes unless you reject responsibility for them.

9. The more you try to do it at once, the less you will get.

People often seem to believe that multitasking is an inherently good thing. There is nothing wrong with packing for work while listening to the radio, as they are two simple tasks. But the fact is that trying to do two complex tasks at once will result in a loss of productivity, according to investigate.

Here is what you can learn from this:

• Pay attention and focus on the task at hand, and don’t let them take your attention away.
• It is better to do one thing right than to do two things wrong.
• Multitask not an indicator of ability or intelligence

10. You don’t appreciate what you have until it’s over.

This widespread concept is terrible, said with regret and sadness, and yet many people are victims of this paradox. The reality is that most do not recognize the value of a part of their life until they notice its absence. There is much to be thankful for in everyday life, and you must appreciate it to avoid becoming the next fodder for this contradictory-sounding concept.

Here’s what you can learn from it and how it adds to a meaningful life:

• Learn to be grateful for everyday things, even meeting your basic needs, so you don’t forget your privilege.
• Never take the people in your life for granted and communicate well to them about their value to you.
• Take some time to reflect on what you are grateful for and how to best express that gratitude.

Final thoughts on some life paradoxes you can use to live a meaningful life