Why you should want to suffer | Paul Bloom

This interview is an episode from The Well, our new publication about ideas that inspire a life well-lived, created with the John Templeton Foundation. Subscribe to The Well on YouTube ► Watch Paul Bloom’s next interview ► Kids don’t always make you happier. Here’s why people have them anyway. A life without suffering is a life without meaning. But this is a paradox. We spend most of our life trying to avoid things like pain, fear, and grief — yet, sometimes, we seek them out. We watch sad movies. We push our bodies to the limit with extreme exercise. Why? There are two reasons: (1) There is a difference between chosen and unchosen suffering. (2) The good things in life only make sense if there are also bad things. Without the bad, the good loses meaning. Read the video transcript ► --------------------------------------------------