According to Dowthwaite, difficult life experiences are what build character and "toughen us up" as humans. Without facing challenges, people wouldn't have much of an appreciation for the good times they're afforded in life. Always being coddled also creates a sense of entitlement that becomes easily "triggered" whenever things don't happen the way one would like – such as Donald Trump being elected president rather than Hillary Clinton.
This could very well be at the root of why many leftist malcontents in modern Western society are so unhappy all the time, despite the fact that many of them live relatively privileged lives with very few obstacles. Such folks lack the resiliency that comes with having to face real adversity, as opposed to the petty nonsense they're constantly whining about, such as not being addressed by their preferred "gender pronouns."
"Recent research indicates that psychological flexibility is the key to greater happiness and well-being," Dowthwaite wrote in a recent piece for The Conversation. "For example, being open to emotional experiences and the ability to tolerate periods of discomfort can allow us to move towards a richer, more meaningful existence."
The only hope for leftists: Abandon your hedonism and grow up already!
Dowthwaite stresses the importance of responding to one's circumstances, no matter how challenging, in a calm, collected, and reasoned way. Even when something goes wrong, or doesn't turn out as expected, it's important to rise above it and press on with purpose – something that Antifa terrorists and other leftist extremists have demonstrated an absolute inability to comprehend, let alone apply in their pathetic little lives.
Even the mainstream media is guilty of such entitlement behavior, as it drones on and on and on about fake Russian conspiracy theories, "girtherism," and other anti-Trump narratives that represent little more than temper tantrums from immature little babies who can't get over the fact that Hillary Clinton lost the presidential election.
There may not be any hope for such people, many of whom are apparently committed to remaining in a perpetual state of discontentment and angst. Should some of them eventually wake up to their ridiculous behavior, however, Dowthwaite presents an alternative to the mindlessness of hedonism, which so plagues the modern leftist mindset.
It's probably too much to ask of these people, but in essence they would need to drop the identity politics, virtue signaling, fake outrage, and political correctness – all of which stem from selfish, attention-seeking, manipulative motives – and instead learn how to consider the needs from a position of reason, common sense, and empathy. Doing this also requires leaving one's echo chamber for at least as long as it takes to break the spell of me-centric, leftist propaganda.
"Hedonists take the view that in order to live a happy life we must maximise pleasure and avoid pain. This view is about satisfying human appetites and desires, but it is often short lived," Dowthwaite writes. "In contrast, the eudaimonic approach takes the long view. It argues that we should live authentically and for the greater good. We should pursue meaning and potential through kindness, justice, honesty and courage."
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