REALITY IS NOT PRETTY — AND THAT’S WHY PEOPLE AVOID IT

REALITY IS NOT PRETTY — AND THAT’S WHY PEOPLE AVOID IT

Reality is not comforting.

Truth is not gentle.

And neither of them promise happiness.

That is why so many people avoid them.

Society teaches us that if something feels uncomfortable, destabilizing, or frightening, then it must be wrong. That if an idea disrupts your sense of safety or identity, it must be harmful. That if a way of living doesn’t fit the approved template, it must be dangerous, immoral, or broken.

This is backwards.

Reality does not exist to comfort you.

Truth does not exist to protect your feelings.

They exist whether you like them or not.

The Lie of “The Only Way”

One of the most damaging myths society promotes is this:

“This is the right way to live — and all other ways are wrong.”

We are taught that:

• Normal is moral

• Comfortable is healthy

• Popular is correct

• Stable-looking is successful

And anything that challenges those assumptions is labeled:

• Criminal

• Immature

• Unrealistic

• Dangerous

• Mentally unhealthy

This is not because those other ways are bad —

it’s because they threaten the illusion.

How Society Replaces Instinct With Compliance

Human beings evolved with instincts:

• To move

• To rest

• To notice imbalance

• To feel discomfort when something is wrong

• To reject situations that harm us

Modern society systematically suppresses those instincts.

Instead of listening to discomfort, we are taught to:

• Medicate it

• Rationalize it

• Normalize it

• Cope with it

• Pretend it’s fine

Stress becomes “just life.”

Anxiety becomes “your fault.”

Depression becomes “a chemical issue.”

Anger becomes “unacceptable.”

But these are signals, not failures.

The Cost of Ignoring Reality

When people are trained to override their instincts, something breaks.

You cannot live unnaturally without consequences.

That’s where:

• Chronic stress

• Anxiety

• Depression

• Rage

• Burnout

• Emotional numbness

come from.

Not because people are weak —

but because they are living in ways that conflict with their nature.

Society then tells them:

“Adapt harder.”

That is not health.

That is submission.

Comfort, Control, and the False Promise

Modern life sells four primary rewards:

• Comfort

• Greed (disguised as “success”)

• Control

• Power

Everyone is told to chase them.

Here’s the part no one wants to admit:

Not everyone can have them.

The math doesn’t work.

The hierarchy requires losers.

The system depends on dissatisfaction.

So most people spend their lives:

• Competing for things they’ll never fully get

• Measuring themselves against impossible standards

• Feeling like failures for not achieving fantasies

And then blaming themselves instead of the model.

The Brutal Truth: Most People Are Set Up to Lose

If everyone is chasing:

• More comfort

• More money

• More status

• More control

Then most people will:

• Be disappointed

• Feel inadequate

• Feel trapped

• Feel angry

• Feel cheated

Not because they failed —

but because the promise was false.

This creates a population that is:

• Permanently dissatisfied

• Easily controlled

• Emotionally unstable

• Desperate for validation

Which is incredibly useful —

to systems that profit from control.

A More Natural Way Is Less Comfortable — And More Honest

A more natural way of existing often means giving up:

• Excess comfort

• Illusions of control

• Social approval

• Status signaling

• False security

It can look harsher.

It can feel lonelier.

It can be misunderstood.

But it is real.

And real things tend to stabilize people —

even when they aren’t easy.

Why Reality Feels “Negative” at First

Reality feels threatening because:

• It removes illusions

• It exposes trade-offs

• It forces responsibility

• It ends fantasy

People don’t fear reality because it’s wrong.

They fear it because it demands change.

And change is terrifying when your identity is built on lies.

Unencumbered Is Not Optimistic — It’s Grounded

Unencumbered does not promise happiness.

It does not promise success.

It does not promise comfort.

It offers something rarer:

Alignment with reality.

That means:

• Less pretending

• Less coping

• Less self-betrayal

• Less living someone else’s script

Reality may not be pretty —

but living in lies is far worse.

The Final Truth

If a way of living requires constant justification, medication, distraction, and denial —

it is not healthy.

If an idea cannot survive reality —

it is not true.

And if a system needs you disconnected from your instincts —

it does not serve you.

Truth is not gentle.

But it is freeing.

And that’s why so many people reject it.