Perseverance Toward Life Goals Can Fend Off Depression, Anxiety, Panic Disorders

I would somewhat agree, I grew up in a third world European country (yeah, we exist) and I realized, compared to a lot of people in Western Countries, people here (older people at least, the younger generation is influenced by the west) are extremely stubborn and perseverant, spending much of their time thinking about how they can provide and being optimistic considering all the factors, thus being less susceptible to depression and anxiety.

A lot of my family were optimistic and happy, even though they worked long hours, and tried to make it, and generally we didn't have problems with mental issues (even though we've been through an economic crisis, wars, poverty, famine, etc...)

I disagree, perseverance is not the same as goal-seeking for goal seeking's sake, or at least, it doesn't have to be.

Twenty years ago I set a thirty year goal, literally bet my life on it. It wasn't until two years ago that I was reasonably sure it had a chance of success. I had to, and continue to basically give up everything, no one funds very long term research, so I had to learn to live on less than $200 a month. No healthcare, not being able to buy a new pair of glasses, only being able to buy clothes once a year or so. But I found a university who believed in my work, gave me an office and a flat on campus outside of Phnom Penh and the freedom to follow the project wherever it went. No salary, but it's been enough.

Perseverance is what keeps you sane, gets you up in the morning. It gets you through whatever is thrown at you. I have not had a happy or easy life, but it has been a life full of purpose. I have seen and done things that most people couldn't imagine, that has been, many times, too weird to be believable even as fiction.

Perseverance is a skill you practice every day for the rest of your life. But there are many small compensations. You find kindness and beauty and from time to time pleasure in unexpected places along the way.

With the university's help we will go to press with the first volume later this year, with a volume every year or so until it's finished on or about 2030. No one would willingly choose such a life, you fall into such things, and I was one of the stupid one's who took on such a ridiculously ambitious challenge. With a little luck I will live to see it through to the end.

So for some, purpose and perseverance, trump happiness and comfort and security. Though I admit I am likely and edge case.

I must say though, my wife and I sure as shit would like to live on a little more than $200 a month. :)

> how do you craft a mission from a hodgepodge of difficult and unrelated skillsets?

I'd say you don't have to fit the entirety of your skillset into a mission to be happy/successful, and that a mission with only part of your skillset doesn't imply you'll be at a competitive disadvantage.

All attained skills and knowledge do — or will eventually — contribute in one way or another to your path, even if they are currently irrelevant to your mission.

Personally, the best decision I have made was to start going to a psychologist weekly. It's essentially a debugger for the mind, provided you put in the work of dumping your mind data on them.

Our brains have evolved mainly for cultural knowledge accumulation over generations.

We must learn any specific hunting/gathering skills from role models while growing up. We even learn from others what goals are worth achieving. We are right now learning from each other how to think about our goals and problems.

This is not the first time humans have the choice of picking their goals. Even on an evolutionary scale we have always had cultural institutions to guide us with that (and/or exploit us). For example we have thousands of years of stories about worthy and unworthy goals.

>It seems Frankl has been somewhat exposed/debunked. Would you believe he was at Auschwitz for only a few days, performed medical experiments on Jews himself

The Wikipedia link doesn't mention anything of the sort. And the other discussion just points to the same link / "proof".

On the contrary, it does mention that he helped save thousands of mental patients from the Nazis, and that he was held not just in Auschwitz, but in 4 camps (in which case, whether he was in Auschwitz just for "a few days" is irrelevant).

As for the "performed medical experiments on Jews himself", which makes him sound like Mengele, what he did was treat people including Jews who had attempted suicide. He used electroshock therapy and even lobotomy, but those widely used in the time, they weren't some nazi-like experiments (and up to the 1970s in the USA for example).

>and it appears his main thesis about attitude mattering above all else for survival in the camps is simply false.

That's just what some other professor said in some papers. Not some definite rebuttal. You can find papers against anything...