The Harder You Try, The Worse It Gets

“The more you get what you want, the more dissatisfied you become.” — Pablo Coelho

Ah, the paradoxical dance we humans do with desire, effort, and entropy. We strive and toil, yearning for that elusive state of “having it all together.” Yet the universe seems to chuckle, swapping our crystal ball of hopes with a kaleidoscope of chaos.

The struggle is real, my friends. We’re all actors in an absurdist play scripted by the Gods of Murphy’s Law. Our protagonists pursue lofty goals — success, happiness, a perfectly curated life. But the plot thickens with unexpected twists that leave us wailing “Why is this happening to me?!”

Just as we inch closer to sipping from the chalice of achievement, some cosmic force slams on the brakes. The gym-honed body gets sidelined by injury. The zealous decluttering turns the tidy home into an insane scene from Hoarders. The budding romance withers from over-watering it with neediness.

It’s enough to make you launch your self-help books into the stratosphere and binge-watch Friends reruns while demolishing a party-size bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. After all, why bother trying when the universe seems determined to thwart us at every twist and turn?

Here’s the delicious irony though — our flailing efforts may be the very catalyst for life’s rich, messy, profoundly human experience. Embracing the struggle, the setbacks, and the universal punchlines is the ultimate font of growth.

As I tango with the whimsical forces that seem to conspire against my best-laid plans, I’m reminded of a time when I manifested peak “try hard” energy…

It was my freshman year of college, and I was determined to craft the perfect university experience. I landed a spot in the honors dorm, signed up for every academic club known to man, and meticulously arranged my color-coded stationery atop a minimalist desk-scape.

On the first day of classes, I strode across campus embodying the very archetype of the put-together overachiever. My mind spun with dreams of graduating summa cum laude, instantly landing a high-powered job, and breezing through the corporate ranks to live out my corner office/Instagrammable latte life fantasy.

Then the universe chuckled and let the dominoes fall.

Within weeks, I was drowning in a sea of color-coded binders and membership fees. I bombed my first round of exams, caught a mysterious plaguelike illness, and my minimalist haven devolved into a dorm room horror scene.

As my grandiose visions of perfection crumbled around me, I faced a choice — cling stubbornly to flawed expectations or embrace the circus that is the human experience.

I decided to let that ruthlessly high-achieving persona die a meme-rific death and give myself permission to be… well, delightfully imperfect. To stumble, fumble, and rumble through the cosmic gags that life tosses our way.

That pivotal moment sparked an aha-epiphany that continues to shape how I move through the world. While I haven’t abandoned healthy ambition, I’ve made peace with life’s messy masterpiece.

These days, when I catch myself falling into “try hard” robotic rigidity, I counter it with a self-parodying power move. Maybe I’ll voice my racing thoughts in a plethora of eccentric accents or shake it off with a spontaneous body roll choreography.

Sometimes I’ll pause and reminisce about my childhood self joyfully wiggling around in a footie pajama onesie and smearing ketchup across my beaming face. That pure, uncomplicated presence is my spiritual anchor in our hyper-optimized world.

If this delightfully imperfect article resonated with you, I’d be honored if you considered buying me a coffee at buymeacoffee.com/kaydee to support my writing! Your contribution would mean the world and allow me to keep crafting authentic, heartfelt stories that celebrate the messy magic of being human.

At the end of the day, maybe the greatest breakthrough is realizing that we don’t need to relentlessly “try” to curate some flawless existence. Perhaps the secret is to stop trying so hard to escape the chaos and instead… laugh along with it.

Life’s ironic twists and detours are the very spark that catalyzes deep self-discovery. They disrupt our tired narratives, shaking us awake to novel perspectives. They keep us humble, curious, and ever-evolving.

So go ahead and reach for those shining dreams. Chase your ambitions with fervor. But don’t be afraid to belly laugh when the monkey wrenches start flying. Slip on those metaphorical footie pajamas and dance amidst the contradictions, curveballs, and cosmic punchlines.

Therein lies the sweet paradox of the human journey — the harder you try to control it all, the more deliciously awry it goes. But by embracing the chaos with whimsical self-awareness, you become a graceful improvisational artist thriving amidst the unexpected encores of your one wild and precious life.