The biggest problem in the world | The lack of understanding of yourself and your desires

The biggest problem in the world, in my opinion, is that very few people seem to truly know themselves, know what they genuinely want, and consistently make decisions based on that understanding and self-awareness. I wholeheartedly think that the majority of personal and societal problems would be solved, or at least ameliorated, if people developed an intimate, nuanced, and profound self-understanding and then committed to an intentional decision-making process.

Very frequently, I see people behaving like direct products of their environments, blind followers of trends, or unthinking conformists of traditions and social norms. I see people people-pleasing and living impulsively. I see how people are being influenced, consuming informationally and materialistically, and buying into detrimental lifestyles and mindsets. I see people trying so hard to fit in. People definitely seem to lack a strong and clear sense of personal identity. The actual problem with all of this is that people often don't end up getting what they want out of life. They don't feel fulfilled. They struggle with all kinds of problems, whether that is with finance, body image, confidence, or something else. Their lives spiral downwards to unfortunate, unideal, and seriously troubling situations; they ultimately regret the decisions that they've made which led them there.

Instead, we could know ourselves. We could be aware of our environments, situations, and past experiences. We could think critically about trends, traditions, and social norms, then we could choose to only participate in ones that match our identity and desires. We could pinpoint what it is that we really want and what we get out of our decisions/actions, before we engage in behaviours such as people-pleasing, living on the spur of the moment, or trying to fit in. All of these things could offer some people what they want but could deceive others into situations that they would really rather avoid. It isn't hard to understand that we are different individuals and we want different things. It is about figuring out who exactly we are and what exactly we want, and then intentionally making decisions that are the most suitable to our identities and desires.

When we understand who we are as individuals, know what we want out of life, and make decisions accordingly, we can live intentionally, ultimately allowing us to become fulfilled.