Think about the lens through which we look at and examine our lives (and make decisions based on what we see.) It seems to come down to the question of: What are you optimizing for?

American society's lens is very much encouraging us to optimize for:

• Finding jobs that contribute to society, keep the economic engine going, and allow us to play our part in consumerism culture
• Pairing up, get married, and have children (which also contributes to the above point)
• Contribute to society in ways that benefit the common good (volunteer, give to charity, etc)
• Participate in activities that promote American values and Nationalism (church, sports, etc)

However: Many people eventually (or at least at some point in time) find themselves at odd with this way of living. This is all very tied to game theory, but it's the concept that reality is just one big dream/simulation, and if you know that, you're operating at a different level than most people who don't zoom out to acknowledge the game, just stay down in the weeds.

So, as such: are you playing the game as the main character, or are you an NPC/supporting character in someone else's story?

Today's Q: Is there a version of living where you can live a version of your life that's authentic to you and your gut read on what feels right/wrong, even if it's at odds with the "normal" version we've been programmed to strive for? Is it OK to optimize for the version of life that feels like you're taking care of yourself the best way you can, even if it's at odds with previous decisions? Are we allowed to change, and CAN we?

We all build unique internal worlds that are informed by our experiences, the books we've read, the movies/shows we watch, the social media we consume, etc. These all shape our worldview and are one of the big reasons there have been book-burning campaigns over the years, religious teachings that say things like "don't watch this, don't read that, it's smut," and another reason we now have SO MANY different media sources that validate every possible POV on key issues in life.

Today we're exploring this question: How thoughtful are you about your inputs, and have you established any best practices that you've found helpful?

Today's topic was inspired by this article titled Don Quixote & Narrative Identity in a recent edition of Philosophy Now: https://philosophynow.org/issues/161/Don_Quixote_and_Narrative_Identity.

Our general theme is: We are the stories we tell ourselves and our character in that story is always evolving.