The other day my friend was worried about how to set up her class schedule for next semester. She could either be positive she gets the teacher she wanted and have class on Friday or risk not having a good teacher and not having class on Friday. She was really fond of the idea of a three day weekend every week. So I jokingly lectured her about what we just recently talked about in class. I told her about Nietzsche's philosophy and taught her about the safe and dangerous paths we have to chose from. I said that if she choses the dangerous path, which is risking not having a good teacher but also not having class on Friday, she will be more pleased with her decision.
In life when we chose from the safe and dangerous path we need to remember that we will grow only if we take the dangerous path. Yes, it will be scary because it is something new and the turnout is unknown, however; that is the exciting part. If we always knew what was gonna happen in our lives that would not be a life worth living. Nietzsche says we need to say yes to life! We must embrace the good and the bad.
I completely agree! I believe that an individual cannot fully benefit and improve as a person by taking the safe path of life. The challenges you will encounter by choosing to live dangerously will, in the end, help you to become a better person. With the case of your friend, if she chooses the dangerous path and the teacher is bad, she still benefits.
ReplyDeleteI like the way of thinking about these topics in more everyday situations. Remember, though, that Nietzsche is talking about taking risks that help you to achieve your higher potential. Does having a longer weekend help your friend to grow as a person? Or would she be better off having a better teacher?
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree with the advice you gave your friend, I have trouble accepting the statement that "we will only grow if we take the dangerous path." This statement would mean that any normal, routine activities in your life would be unimportant or even useless as they would not be along the dangerous path. I believe that the routine parts of your life, the safe parts, are important to growth as well. I don't believe, however, that always taking the safer route will allow lead you towards living the best life you can, but there is no shame in taking some safe paths in aspiration of growth.
ReplyDeleteI think this is so true, many people, including me, take the safe path because it is the easiest and do not have to worry about failure. However, that is something that I have been working on since I got to college because sometimes the only way that we learn is through failure. That is why if we stay on the safe path then we will never experience failure because we will never experience hardship.
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