How to Destroy Yourself

The following is quoted from The Andrew Klavan Show Ep. 894.

I have lived a long time now, and I've paid close attention, and I've seen a lot of good, decent, and talented people destroy and waste their lives. And there are mainly two reasons why this happens.

One is addiction. It's a tool of the devil. It'll suck your soul out of you like a toxic vacuum cleaner.

But the other one is even worse, because it's spiritual, and that's pride—pride and shame, and the inability to admit that you're on the wrong road, and go back. Over and over again, I've seen people who are going down the wrong road keep going, because their pride and their fear of shame made it impossible for them to admit they were wrong, and just turn around. They kept making new excuses and more complex rationales for why they were right and why their philosophical or moral error wasn't as wrong as it obviously was. Eventually they turned into exactly the opposite of who they were created to be: bitter, and stagnant, and unkind, where they could have been loving, and creative, and helpful.

The context for this statement is criticism of the dishonesty of modern, corporate media. But I think this advice is general enough to be taken without context.

I am leaving this tidbit of wisdom here for my future self. Hopefully, I am strong enough to avoid addiction, and humble enough to see when I am on the wrong road, and make a U-turn towards the path of love, creativity, and helpfulness ☺.