Life is one big paradox, full of contradiction and irony, and things are never as black and white as they seem. Firstly, a paradox is a statement which seems logical at the surface, but the deeper you dig, the more contradictions you'll find, and here are some of my favourites.
The Learner's paradox. The more you learn, the more you realise how little you know. As you go deeper into any field, you are left with more questions than answers. The day you think you know everything, is the day you stop learning and stop growing. A wise man once said, intelligence is knowing something well, wisdom is realising you know nothing at all.
The Happiness paradox. The more you chase happiness, the more unhappy you will feel because chasing happiness indirectly implies you are currently unhappy or dissatisfied in life, and hence the more you will chase happiness, the further away it will feel.
So rather than chasing happiness, do more of what you enjoy, and happiness will chase you instead.
The paradox of Choice. The more choice we have, the more indecisive we become, and the best businesses know this very well. This is why they only provide a limited amount of
choice to make the buying process as frictionless as possible. This way people will continue to buy more goods and companies will continue to cash in on profits. And perhaps this is another reason why dating apps have become so popular in the recent decade. The illusion of choice makes people less decisive and keeps them swiping for longer in the hope for the perfect match, which in reality doesn't exist.
The paradox of Hard work. The harder you work, the harder it will feel to achieve your goals. If you are working hard but doing the wrong thing, then achieving your goals will take
a lot longer than necessary. Instead, the focus should be on working smarter and more efficiently. It's like telling an artist to work harder. That probably wouldn't bring the best out of them, and in more situations, the same would apply for you.
The Paradox of confidence. The more you try to be confident, the more insecure you will feel. We've all heard fake it till you make it. And whilst that might work in a short term, true confidence comes when you accept your flaws and embrace vulnerability. This seemingly contradictory approach will naturally get you closer to a more secure and confident self. The goal shouldn't be to impress others with your confidence, but rather to slowly progress towards becoming a better version of yourself,
and confidence will be a natural byproduct.
The Paradox of positive thinking. The more you try to be positive, the more negative you will feel. Trying to be positive all the time is neither practical or healthy. In fact, pursuing negative experiences can itself lead to a more positive life. For example, sacrificing instant gratification for more longer-term results. And ironically, the more actions you take towards the so-called negative experiences, the more positive you will feel. These paradoxes can also be referred to as the backward law, made famous by writer and philosopher Alan Watts. The backward law proposes that the more we pursue something, the more we achieve the opposite of what we truly want.