Is it possible to live our lives without experiencing even an ounce of suffering? That’s not possible. While other philosophers and Stoics assume that suffering is bad and that we need to get rid of it or at least try to overcome it, Nietzsche looked at it from a different perspective. In fact, the lessons from Nietzsche on suffering are completely different.
Friedrich Nietzsche was a German philosopher who rose to fame after his unconventional criticisms on religion, society, and traditions. The 19th-century philosopher says that suffering is essential and that it is the only path to achieving greatness. To him, there is no depth without pain, and there is no triumph without struggle. If you are going through a lot of anguish in life, then Nietzsche’s philosophy on suffering and why it is necessary to suffer will be an indispensable piece of advice for you at the moment.
1. Suffering destroys false illusions
“You must be ready to burn yourself in your own flame: how could you rise anew if you have not first become ashes?”
– Thus Spoke Zarathustra)
When we are devoid of suffering, we fall into comforting illusions and start believing that we are living a good life. It convinces us that life is easy and we don’t need to strive harder. But Nietzsche urges us to step away from these illusions.
Only when we confront reality in its raw, unfiltered form do we begin to grasp the real weight and depth of it. Life begins the moment we get a real understanding of reality.
2. It is the source of creativity
“I say unto you: one must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star. I say unto you: you still have chaos in yourselves.”
– Thus Spoke Zarathustra
As a writer, I can deeply relate to Nietzsche’s belief that the meaning of life is suffering and that true creativity and artistic expression emerge from internal conflict, suffering, and chaos. I started writing when I was in the depths of my own misery, for great works of art, philosophy, and even personal integrity come through suffering, not in spite of it.
Take artists like Van Gogh, Beethoven, Virginia Woolf, and Frida Kahlo. All of them suffered their whole life, and they turned their suffering into creative expression. Nietzsche teaches us that pain and agony make us profound beings who can fuel our artistic side.
3. Suffering is important to experience pleasure
“Suppose that pleasure and pain are so intertwined that whoever wants as much as possible of the one must also have as much as possible of the other – that whoever wants to know ‘rejoicing to heaven’ must be prepared for ‘grieving onto death’ as well? And such might be the case! At least so the Stoics believed, who were consistent when they sought as little pleasure as possible, that life might afford them as little pain as possible.”
– The Gay Science
Pleasure and pain go hand in hand, they are inseparable, and they are the two sides of the same coin. If you want to feel heavenly joy, you must also confront grief that feels like death. You need to go through everything. The rejections, heartbreaks, loneliness, and everything that can possibly break a person if you want to enjoy happiness and glee. This is how to live according to Nietzsche.
The Stoics believed in minimizing pleasure and sadness, but Nietzsche’s lessons on life and beliefs differ from theirs. He says that both happiness and pleasure are transformative forces of life. The more hardships you face, the more grateful you become for life’s simple pleasures. In simple words, to be human, you need to experience the loudest of laughs and the most anguishing cries.
4. It helps you grow
“To live is to suffer; to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering.”
Another life lesson from Nietzsche is that suffering acts as a catalyst for growth. From the challenges you face in your life, to pain and failures, they are all necessary parts of a person’s journey to help you become your best self.
Therefore, you need to overcome adversity if you want to grow in life. But if you run away from problems, you are running away from yourself. You are on the verge of becoming a coward, because what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
5. It keeps you away from the herd mentality
“In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.”
– Beyond Good and Evil (Aphorism 156)
If there is something Nietzsche hated the most, it was herd mentality, the ridiculous tendency of humans to conform to societal norms and follow the crowd without ever questioning or challenging those beliefs.
To Nietzsche, the herd mentality is driven by fear, like fear of being different, of standing out, of thinking independently. But the sad part is that most people would rather follow the familiar path laid down by society, religion, and tradition than confront the uncertainty of creating their own values.
Suffering Is Truly The Path To Greatness
“To those human beings who are of any concern to me I wish suffering, desolation, sickness, ill-treatment, indignities – I wish that they should not remain unfamiliar with profound self-contempt, the torture of self-mistrust, the wretchedness of the vanquished: I have no pity for them, because I wish them the only thing that can prove today whether one is worth anything or not – that one endures.”
Nietzsche’s understanding of why he thinks a person’s agony can make them stronger is an interesting paradox that helps us understand life as it is. Don’t avoid it or think of it as a curse. Think of suffering as something essential, even sacred, and that it is important in the making of a powerful life.
Conclusion
The biggest life lesson from Nietzsche on suffering has the power to purify your soul, and it can help you get away from the herd mentality. Only by enduring hardship can we break free from inherited values, question the illusions of conformity, and create meaning on our own terms. Thus, do not seek a comfortable or a painless life. Suffer and rise above it.
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