Monday Motivation, Guest Speaker Pastor Friedrich Nietzsche

I imagine when people first hear about Nietzsche’s concept of the Will to Power, they can’t help thinking of a cartoon villain trying to take over the world. If one gets past the initial four-color dramatic punch of the word “power” and reflects further, one might associate the Will to Power with an ambitious corporate ladder climber, or a super-entrepreneur who can’t stop acquiring markets, businesses, land, etc. 

For our particular megalomaniacal purposes, let’s apply the following passage from Nietzsche’s Der Antichrist to how it feels when you lose another three pounds despite feeling hungry all the time, or write another page despite the burning in your eyes, or get a good workout in despite wanting to give it all up and lie on the sofa watching Netflix:

What is good? — All that augments the feeling of power, the will to power, power itself in man.

What is bad? — All that proceeds from weakness.

What is happiness? — The feeling that power increases — that a resistance is overcome.

Overcoming my personal Will to Laziness by doing anything is a victory for me, as it is for most people.

Maybe for you it will.

However, it is important to note that, at the core of the laziness we so enjoy berating ourselves and (especially) others for is fear. Fear of success seems absurd on its surface, but I’ve seen it at work. Success is feared because it means change. Change requires adaptation. What if I can’t adapt to this alien new thing? What if it requires quitting something I love?

It’s easier to say diets don’t work anyway, the book market is already saturated with these kinds of stories, I’ve got a million billion people I’ll be competing with in this venture, so I won’t bother—and you shouldn’t either!

It’s the Will to Power that dismisses these defeatist attitudes, and makes you feel damn good doing it. 

So who doesn’t like feeling good? Oh, we could all name some people. We’re not them, though. Are we?