The Incomplete Promise (EP I.)
Why Your 9–5 Feels Like a Trap (and What They Never Told You About Adulthood)
“He who cannot obey himself will be commanded.
That is the nature of living creatures.”
— Friedrich Nietzsche (Thus Spoke Zarathustra)
*the clock goes off*
You hit snooze and drift back into Neverland for five sweet minutes.
Crrrrrr!!!
The alarm yells again exactly 0.01 feel-minutes later.
“Go fuck yourself,” you mumble while silencing the tyrant.
You roll over, lie on your back, and stare blankly at the ceiling.
Suddenly — like a lightning — it hits you:
How many more times?
How many more rounds of this same old bullshit am I supposed to go through?
Childhood — gone.
School — done.
So... is this finally “the life”?
Is this the moment everyone hinted at?
Your mom, your teachers, Aunt Peggy, random strangers…
“You know… when you grow up…”
As kids, we were promised freedom.
We were told we could be anything.
Somehow, they just forgot to mention the bills.
…Still lying there, balancing between depression and explosion,
you realize you have time for neither.
So you crawl out of the bed to go about your daily business.
Herd Mentality Begins at Dawn
As you're putting on your work clothes, a quiet loop starts running in your mind:
“Is this all there is? Is this really it? Is there NO other way?”
That last question sticks.
No other way… no other way…
Most people live a scripted li(f)e.
A neat sequence: upbringing → education → soul-crushing job → occasional vacations → regret.
Nietzsche coined a term for this:
Herd Mentality —
The mindset of those who follow without asking why.
It’s the default setting.
A blind obedience to norms, rules, and social expectations.
The borrowed dreams. The fake smiles. The quiet despair.
We forget we even can ask questions.
We forget that we once did.
Eventually, Herd Mentality becomes our only view of life.
Not because it’s true.
But because it’s all we’ve seen for so damn long…
It becomes the pattern we live, without seeing it as a pattern.
What They Forgot to Tell You
You were promised freedom.
But what you got was a calendar full of Zoom calls and a fridge full of debt.
You were told you’d grow up and be someone.
But no one told you you’d have to fight like hell to not become everyone else.
Because the Herd Mentality is forced upon us daily.
We’re, as Tyler Durden would say, the middle-children of history.
To escape the condition of Herd Mentality takes guts, self-awareness and persistent relentlessness.
Freedom is never given.
It’s taken.
Always.
Next Time: The Condition of the Herd
In Episode 2, we’ll dissect in greater detail what Nietzsche meant by Herd Mentality, and how this subtle virus infects your thoughts, goals, and even your sense of self.
Most people are infected — but never notice.
You will.
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In this week’s Premium Guide:
How to Break the Herd Loop:
3 Exercises to Wake Yourself the Fuck Up
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Thank you for reading!
See you soon, fellow thinker.