ITT: Biggest Problem + Book to Solve It

>Is The War of Art a good book for this?

No. It's a run of the mill "inspirational" self-help book that will tell you nothing you don't know already, and it won't teach you to have discipline. If you're lucky it will motivate you for a couple of days and then you will be again where you are now.

You're looking for something to do instead of writing to stop you procrastinating from writing? The problem's you. Write. When you try to think up other things to do which are not writing, write instead. When you are thinking about writing, write instead. Fucking write something is the answer.

Reconciling individual freedom with political society.

I've been reading Hegel because I've been told it's exactly this problem which his philosophy is all about but I haven't really found a satisfying solution yet.

>>9090577
Plato's Apology

>>9088236
Kind of funny since I never have anxiety about wanting to write, I just naturally do it. Sometimes there are things I think of that I feel must be put down on paper. OP, have you considered that maybe writing isn't for you? You already seem lile the industrious sort, you could still study for the rest of your life.

Fear of death

>socially retarded
>can't explain anything to anyone
>>9090605
The Conspiracy Against the Human Race. You'll wish for death afterwards.

>Absolutely consumed by regret.
Anyone recommend anything to help with this? Would really appreciate it.

Fear of getting old

Also general insecurity about how I look

Have solid writing in my mind but can never get it down on paper.

>>9088236
just sit at the keyboard with a timer going and start fucking typing.

nothing you read is going to take the place of BUILDING A HABIT.

also, turn your phone off and turn your wifi off when you write.

you might also want to try nanowrimo.

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Reconciling Foucault's biopower and Schmitt's state of exception with a pro-euthanasia argument.

>the government, as sovereign, is entitled to take action against the state of exception where normal order is disrupted
>people who choose to live in a society subject their bodies to the state's control in exchange for protection
>an individual's worth in contemporary society is measured by his ability to contribute to the economy and consumer markets
>individuals in a terminal state aren't capable of proper consumption and work while sick, which constitutes a state of exception
>thus, it should be the state's prerogative to exert their biopower and euthanize such individuals to return things to the ordinary state (recoverable individuals being treated instead of the terminal patients, the invalid's family returning to work, etc.)

Is it a good argument, or would I sound like a lunatic?

>>9091728
Picture of Dorian Gray

>>9092165
>individuals in a terminal state aren't capable of proper consumption and work while sick, which constitutes a state of exception
this looks suspicious to me, I don't think it's a "state of exception" in a schmittian way.

>>9092244
That's what I'm worried about. Even to me it sounds like a stretch, but I can't conceive a better way to justify the state's authority to euthanise.

Hobbes' argument of forfeiting rights for the sake of protection might not be so convincing on its own.

>>9091655
Under the Volcano helped me feel better about myself

My girlfriend dumped me. Best book for this feel? Sad, not angry

Changing maladaptive behaviors and thoughts processes.

>>9090576
OP here, this makes too much sense, thank you

life takes too long to get through and I'm morally opposed to killing myself

>>9092219
Anything else?

>>9088236

>Is The War of Art a good book for this? Other recommendations welcomed

Indeed! The Art of War taught me that I should never face an enemy whose army has more cavalry than mine on an open field, and that instead of executing the spies I discover in my kingdom, I should pay them exorbitantly to turn on their lieges and work as double-spies for me instead.

Now, memes aside, this entire notion of you having "zero execution" is quite telling. You dream of writing stuff? I'm willing to beat you don't dream of yourself sitting at your desk and typing. More likely, you dream of already having written, and being succesful and admired for it. That's because you're not interested in writing, you're interested in grandiose mental masturbation.

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i want to be alone, my life is sht right now, i have okayish living standards but i have to do way too much things i don't like, if i keep going doing things this way things will only get worse; the future where i am hanging on a noose keeps getting closer. i need to do something, but dosomething will be hells lot of work and may end not being worth and leave me starving on a street

should i read walden?

should i leave my law graduation and start biology to teach in high schools (and do research, if i have the chance)?
i don't want to work with the law, pls help me, i don't want to work in an office anymore, i can't stand it, i work too much, i hate my office and hate people and i am starting to hate myself, i just want to have time to water my garden, play the piano, or whatever

>>9092460
Have you ever tried those meme self help books?

If you want to give one a chance try The Power of Habit; if you don't, read early Montaigne essays.

I don't know what you mean by maladaptive behaviors but if it means what i think it means, this might help a little

>>9092921

>>9092921

Ever see any of those meme-tier personality disorder tests? I score medium-high in almost every category. I loathe my current condition and I wish I could offer more to other people without emotional baggage.

I figured it would be easy to solve if I could understand psychological processes, find some form of therapy or inspirational replacement, and then rigorously track myself throughout the day to stomp out my poorer habits.

What essays by Montaigne do you recommend?

>>9092921

Not a big fan of most self help books because they're full of fluff and offer little in insight or application. They don't help me understand overarching problems and design solutions. At least not for the types of problems I have—No More Mr. Nice Guy & How to Win Friends & Influence People were quality books, but not necessarily useful for what I want to do—personality revamp.

>>9094152

maybe you could check out jordan peterson's course: 'personality'

I tell myself to do things, and then listen to music/shitpost instead

it's wasted thousands of dollars and years of my life, and makes my life hell.

>>9094152
>What essays by Montaigne do you recommend?
i think he is probably talking about Book I

Crippling self-doubt/criticism fueled by a deeply entrenched loneliness.

>>9095927
it seems to me that you know the solution to all your problems but refuse to face it

the only way to overcome both loneliness and self-doubt is to increase your experience with people

like anything else, your ability to do it will improve with practice so there's no sense in feeling bad if you find it a struggle to begin with

if you consider it a process of gradual improvement and productive failure from the start you won't be put off by not being 'good' at being sociable immediately

if it's such a problem go to another city to take an evening class or something once a week so that you can meet other people without needing to fear repercussions of your failure so you can improve without being held back by the fear of causing any sort of problem for yourself

>>9096268
Thanks for the response, anon.
I think my biggest issue at this point is what you pointed out - embracing the process, rather than expecting a result.
I'm not without decent social skills - I do have friends - but I am finding it hard to find people who I can get closer to than a general acquaintance. It's a self-perpetuating cycle:
>have trouble making meaningful connection
>decide it must be because I am unlikeable
>self-sabotage via doubt and criticism
>repeat

I think it's time I got around to reading Meditations. I like how Aurelius looks at the world. I don't know if it would really help at all, but maybe there's something in there for me.

>>9092875
>should i read walden?
Yes. Some parts are quite a drag, but it's worth it.
As for the rest, are you sure you want to spend your nights grading papers after dealing with obnoxious teenagers all day? If you think you'll enjoy it more than a law career, I say go for it.

>>9090605
The Upanishads and then the Bhagavad Gita

>>9090577
I have this same problem and would appreciate any recommendations on this issue as well.

Another: after being an atheist my entire life, with my mother an atheist and my dad a non-practicing Christian (I don't even know what he believes), having all atheist friends, I don't know how to approach my growing belief in some sort of deity. If anything, I'd consider myself a Deist but that's because I can't convince myself that God has any effect on the operation of the universe beyond its creation and a Kierkegaardian leap of faith isn't something I've found myself able to commit to. I just can't seem to reconcile traditional forms of Christianity with (relatively) recent scientific discoveries but I despise the "lol bcuz science dude" r/atheism mindset on nearly every relevant question. So far I've found myself aligning with Eastern thought such as Hinduism but then I read Heidegger and he takes similar ideas and westernizes them in a way that makes me think that as a 20-something white American I'll only ever be a steteotypical hippy pseud if I express sincere devotion to Eastern religions

>>9096845
Forgot to add, I've been reading a lot of Blake lately and find his quasi-Christian religious attitude fairly compatible with the Hindu thought I've also been studying recently and that is cool to me

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>>9090605
The last few chapters of Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

>>9090605
"Three deaths", "The death of Ivan Illych" and "Master and Man" are short stories by tolstoy dealing with this theme. The death of Ivan Illych is my favourite of the three, but you should be able to get them together.

I'm a fatass and have no motivation to lose weight

>>9091728
How to Grow Old by Cicero

false allegations about me got me fired and lost me my friend, girlfriend, dog, home and i can't afford to eat

pls

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>>9092219

>>9097696

The Count of Monte Cristo

take revenge

Mommy issues.

Excessive negative and violent thoughts about women.

>>9090577
Philosophy of right, if you're not already reading it, I think it deals with this the best out of all his works

I can't spend more than an hour or so with my friends or out in public without getting worked up into some agitated state. I'm constantly thinking about sexual assault, robbery, mutilation, rats, decay, etc. and my thought processes and general beliefs are getting more confused and extreme as times goes on... Does somebody have a book for this, or do I need the best pills Dr. Shekelstein has to offer?

>>9098262
stop watching so much porn

>>9098262
stop watching so much 4chan

Self-destructive dipsomania

>>9098262
stop going to /pol/ and /r9k/

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>>9088236
See pic related.

what's a good book to accept the fact that I'll never be happy?

>>9100711
World as Will and Representation

>>9097810
>Completely misses the point.

>>9100723
>“Hence, as we have said above, it is wickedness, evil, and death that qualify and intensify philosophical astonishment. Not merely that the world exists, but still more that it is such a miserable and melancholy world, is the tormenting problem of metaphysics, the problem awakening in mankind an unrest that cannot be quieted either by scepticism or criticism.”
sounds interesting, will definitely read

>>9092875
Walden is mostly self absorbed drivel with some intermittent beauty. HDT was the original NEET and found ways to frame it all as something other than fear of society. I think he is an underrated poet and he probably had a fear of success in this area of his life too. His "isolated" cabin was literally a walk from his mummy's house. He visited her often for cummies and cookies no doubt.

Worth reading though

>>9092165
Apply the state of exception to retirement, severe military combat injuries and low IQ ethnicities and you have a fine essay in the works sir.

>>9092363
What about exile? It's basically a soft euthanasia?

I feel like i'm not a real person.
I project a lot.
I hold others to higher standarts than myself.

>>9097933
Walden

>derealization/depersonalization

inb4 see a shrink
Already going to a psychiatrist, it is helpful, but I still get rekt with panic that I don't understand anything and everything feels predetermined and directed, like I'm watching a film being projected onto my retinas.

>>9088236
>Deterioration of western culture
>not mein kampf because nazisim is stupid

>>9100884
Really? How so?

I don't know how to live
I don't know who I am
I feel like I'm not really living, like if all other people lead their lives and I'm just pretending to live, not living truly.

>>9100835
wtf thoreau is my hero now

I actually already knew all this about him and its why I like him

>>9101020
Mishima

>>9090605
Gusev by Checkov
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1329VzonZixkQ23GXk16ASiCCmPU2tZTqkHWnjWUY2q4/edit

>>9101020
Decline of the West by Spengler

>>9101085
Nausea by Sartre

>>9100868
There's that, but it's supposed to be an essay defending or condemning traditional euthanasia.

>>9100860
Thanks, I'll try that. Minus the niggers, that might make me unpopular.

I never know what I feel or how I feel about a certain thing
please /lit/ save me

I have little empathy. I want something that will make me feel a character's plight.

>>9088236
feel like im missing out in life, making bad choices by serving other people before myself too often. Been feeling this way since highschool; i regret never sneaking out or getting drunk just because my parents would have had to worry

also im socially inept and my eloquence on paper (if not eloquence just competence) disappears whenever i open my mouth


pls no sartre

>>9100734
he may be missing the point but damn, it sure is a cool idea

>>9101924
so are you trying to read something to comfort yourself of that situation or to make you move and actually begin to do the opposite ?

>>9101941
both

>lack of ambition, far too passive about the course of my life