The Difference: Living Well vs. Living Great
So many writers advertise their blog by promising ‘a better life’.
On my Dutch website, I used to do the same, feeling increasingly uncomfortable about my pledge.
Reading an essay and thinking about it is one thing, but changing your behavior is a whole different ballgame. I found it hard to imagine that my writings had a significant impact on that level.
What, if anything, would people really do differently after reading my stuff?
Moreover, I couldn’t help feeling that professing life-improvement as a rather convenient side-effect of spending time with my essays was unnecessary paternalistic. Most people’s lives — those that read philosophy blogs, anyway — seem just fine.
Nonetheless, when quality of life is the issue at hand, it may be that ‘just fine’ is the wrong point to turn our spades — conceivably, when the topic is of such importance, we shouldn’t settle for anything less than the very best.
For example, in his new book Principles, Ray Dalio insists that having a great life requires “crossing a dangerous jungle” and is not compatible with “staying safe”. Similarly, in Good to Great, Jim Collins argues that few people attain a great life because it’s so easy to settle for a good life.
