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There are very few silver bullets in life
Thursday, 22 March 2007
Popular children's stories are often themed on easy solutions being found to difficult problems. Harry Potter is a miserable orphan, but his situation is turned around when he discovers he's a famous wizard. Dorothy only has to click her heels together in order to get home. Horribly scary Freddy Krueger can only hurt you if you believe in him.
This idea that there's an easy solution to our problems is a seductive one. The classic expression of it is the silver bullet used to kill werewolves. Generally in werewolf tales, the heroes try everything to kill their enemy, before discovering that a silver bullet is all they need.
Real life contains few such silver bullets. One of the appeals of fiction is that it offers a simplified world. One that we wish we could live in - filled with adventure, spirituality and easy solutions that are simply waiting to be discovered.
It appeals because the real world is so messy and cold. Nobody here cares if you want to get back to Kansas, and clicking your heels together is unlikely to work.
Overcoming the childhood myth of easy solutions is very difficult, and many people never escape it. That's why gambling and drugs, to name two examples, are so popular. The idea that you can solve your financial problems through a simple roll of the dice or a good hand of cards is very seductive. As is the belief that you can control your emotions through the use of chemicals. Both come from the same psychological source as the children's book idea that there is one simple solution, and that you only have to be brave enough to take it.
Instead, realise the reason that so many people struggle with finances, emotions, relationships and health is that such issues are complicated and difficult. Solutions to problems with them do exist, but they're likely to involve hard work, risk and compromise. Rather than looking for the easy path that doesn't really exist, accept that you have to put in effort and time to achieve your goals.
Realise childhood ideas of easy solutions are sweet, but are myths really. Act like an adult and take the difficult but realistic road to contentment. You can wait around for someone to tell you you're a famous wizard if you like, but realise that you'll certainly be disappointed.
There are very few silver bullets in real life. Rather than wasting time looking for them, take the path that other successful people have already followed.
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