5 Philosophies We Can Learn From Fight Club

1. €œThe Ability To Let That Which Does Not Matter, Truly Slide€ €“ Don€™t Sweat The Little Things

Fight Club Ok, so we€™re all guilty of this one. No-one can ever really say that nothing gets to them. And sure, it€™s ok to sh*t yourself when your house is on fire, or you get into a car accident. But whether or not your T-shirt goes with €˜that€™ pair of jeans, or if you€™re getting too many wrinkles? None of this REALLY matters. In the grand scheme of things, when you€™re on your death bed, and they ask you what do you regret, no-one is going to say €˜I wish I had chosen the blue sofa instead of the green€™. Worry, in an evolutionary perspective, is a good thing. For example, it's good to worry about looking as you cross the road, because if you don't you're likely to get hit by a car. However ,excessive worrying €“ dubbed by psychiatrist Edward Hallowell as 'toxic worry' €“ mainly focuses on the 'what if' rather than the 'what is'. In an excessive form this kind of worry can sometimes be classed as 'generalised anxiety disorder', where the worry is disproportionate to the actual problem. It's this kind of worry and stress that actually makes solving the problem harder, because the brain can't focus on the solution. It's a case of not being able to see the wood for the trees, and if you spend all your energy on worrying about the problem, you can't work out the solution. In Fight Club the narrator says "After a night in fight club, everything in the real world gets the volume turned down." Having gone through a fight (something that would get most peoples attention) the things the narrator used to irrationally worry about, didn't seem as important any more. He realised that most stress and worry is a self created state, and by having something real to contrast it with, he's able to let the rest slide. So there you have it, 5 philosophies neatly extracted from €˜Fight Club€™. How does the story make you feel and what did you take away from it? Post your comments below, and remember, €œin Tyler we trust€€
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Contributor

I'm a 26 year old Welsh psychology graduate working in PR & Journalism. I enjoy writing, films, TV, games, sport, philosophy, psychology and mixing them all together. I occupy time and cyberspace on twitter @simcolluk