The Tension Between Complacency and Suffering

July 11, 2025

“You sensed that you should be following a different path, a more ambitious one, you felt that you were destined for other things but you had no idea how to achieve them and in your misery you began to hate everything around you”― Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Happiness exists on a razor’s edge between complacency and suffering. The man who settles into his milquetoast day job is wasting his potential, but the one who can never shut his laptop can’t enjoy anything. Would you rather be happy or reach your potential?

I wouldn’t answer that question too quickly.

You may object that you can have both. Dostoyevsky certainly believed it. Maybe happiness is found by reaching your full potential. But that sounds like enduring a lot of misery first. Maybe happiness is being content with what you have and giving up on far-out dreams. But that sounds like a waste to me.

“You had no idea how to achieve them and in your misery you began to hate everything”, You owe yourself the biggest future you can achieve. Dostoyevsky's character suffered because of the gap between vision and execution. Bridge the gap with a plan and enjoy the fulfillment of that plan.

This is from Dostoyevsky's book and you can read the full context of this quote here.