Albert Camus: 4 Robust Ways To Knit Your Expectations With Reality
Trade one thread for another.
We can thank Mr. Camus for a variety of reasons:
- His patience
- Living in the war era
- Marrying two times but failed
If you look closely, you’ll find a common thread between the above points. So what are they?…
“Patience and tolerance.”
Even as a French novelist and activist, Albert Camus struggled to publish his work.
One of his famous works, “The Outsider,” was published on the verge of WWII. “A happy death” and “The First Man” were published 35 years after his death.
With each passing era, humans are evolving.
This includes an increase in the:
- Expectations
- Illness
- Anxiety
- Depression, and
- Unemployment rates
But before you label yourself as “unlucky,” remember that those who came before you didn’t wear a trouble-proof jacket.
Problems come in many forms. One of the problems circulating today is parenting expectations.
Below are 4 Albert Camus quotes that will guide you to live in the present and stop expecting.
1. Be like a firm needle
Camus was famous for living his life like there was no tomorrow.
He:
- Smoked Gauloises brand cigarettes
- Had a deep love for theatre
- Wrote at least 8 books
What was his trick?
Even when suffering from tuberculosis, nothing stopped Camus from writing.
He always believed:
“The greatness of man lies in his decision to be stronger than his condition.”
In other words, Camus’s brain didn’t control him. Instead, Camus harbored his brain.
How to apply?
How many times do you feel you should quit?
Life is like stairs. With each level, you find new experiences.
The thing is, as soon as you’re done with a stair, you can climb another. But stairs aren’t something you can trade with.
Nothing in this world can help you climb stairs if you’re ill, sad, or anxious. Only you have to do that.
Isn’t it better to get it done (sooner?)
2. Crossstitch your life with fiction
Once upon a time, we all were wiggling our tails to read fiction novels.
- Fiction is fine.
- Non-fiction is humiliating.
That’s what most of us thought. But as we cut deep into our lives, we realized we understood the wrong part of the fiction.
Albert Camus clarifies:
“Fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth.”
Being intrigued by cinderella and fairy tales, I overlooked the true essence of the story.
It wasn’t about a happy ending but making the right choices that led to the happy ending.
How to apply?
Whatever we do:
- We get one step closer
- Or one step backward
To/from our goals.
There’s no hold. Stop expecting from life like it’s a living thing.
Make decisions that help with your growth, inspire creativity and make you feel calm.
Realize that fiction isn’t always about happy endings — but learning to make the right decisions.
3. The Second name of knitting is hardship
- Albert Camus moved to Paris in 1940.
He wanted to join the french army but couldn’t due to his tuberculosis illness.
This wasn’t it.
He was completely low on the money provided to refuel his writing and publishing them.
(Do you see a pattern?)
“A pattern, most probably: there is no joy without working hard.”
We humans have evolved in a way that we believe no gift comes without hardships.
That may or may not be untrue.
As Camus believes:
“Always go too far because that’s where you’ll find the truth.”
How to apply?
- So what is far?
- How far is far?
We don’t know.
We were always told to go far and work hard for the things we wanted to achieve. But today, entrepreneurs earning with the low effort say quite differently about what’s happening.
This means we humans should know in which phases of life we must go far.
Most things we go far for are not worth the effort. (Ain’t?)
Instead, only go far for:
- Relationships
- Career and study
- Skills
- Health
All else can wait!
4. Trade one thread for another
I recently wrote a story where I wrote:
“We had to trade one experience for another.”
In other words, life provides you with choices. But life doesn’t keep the end of the bargain.
It’s something like this:
- For each experience you have, you have to give up something.
Remember when you had to explore the mountain peak top?
… Didn’t you fake cry to soothe your leg pain?
… Or perhaps when you wanted to cook a casserole and were too optimistic about the taste?
As Albert Camus says:
“You will never be able to experience everything. So, please, do poetical justice to your soul and simply experience yourself.”
How to apply?
The problem isn’t about expecting.
The problem is about (over) expecting.
When life gives you two options:
Can’t you go and select the experience which provides you with fewer hassles and fewer chances to cry? Always make a table in your mind and analyze:
- The experiences you’re getting
- And the knowledge you’re trading
This will immediately tell you a loss/profit ratio.
Use this strategy to determine if an experience is worth the effort compared to another experience.
Most of these situations can happen during travel, business, and relationships.
Final thoughts:
Albert Camus believed: “those who lack courage will always find a philosophy to justify it.”
Even growing up with a deaf mother, being denied the experience of participating in WWII, and his tense relationships, Camus sustained his status as the Nobel Prize Winner.
Camus worked hard and wrote best-selling books even when he lived in the middle of the war.
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