I'm deeply bored with narratives that stem from fear. I'm fed up with the collapse gurus, the visionary prophets, and the whole multimillion-dollar industry that thrives on keeping you glued to the screen, worrying about the wrong things.

You know what's the funniest part? This tactic is not new, not new at all. Ever since humans learned to communicate, they’ve been convinced they’re living in the end days. The Romans swore the empire was crumbling (it actually lasted 1000 more years), the Black Plague was the end of the world (and here we are), World Wars were going to end everything (nope), and now it’s climate change, AI, or the geopolitical conflict of the day.

Today, it's worse because fear narratives have become a thriving industry. There are survival websites, YouTube channels about collapse, end-of-the-world newsletters, and even university degrees dedicated to studying how we're going to extinct. All this constant bombardment creates what experts call "crisis fatigue": a state of emotional exhaustion that paradoxically paralyzes us instead of moving us to action.

Let me tell you something personal. A few years ago, I was so caught up in the news loop that I woke up checking Twitter, had lunch reading about the global economic crisis, and went to bed watching documentaries about the ecological collapse. The result? Chronic anxiety, insomnia, and zero real ability to change anything. I was so busy worrying about the world that I forgot to live my own life.

The Anthropocene and Hyperactivation

Beyond the geological changes I already mentioned in the first episode, this era has us living in a state of constant psychological "hyperactivation".

Philosopher Byung-Chul Han describes our era as the "performance society", where we’re so obsessed with productivity and information that we've lost the ability to simply be. It's synthetic euphoria, a permanent digital dopamine high that has us running on the hamster wheel while the world supposedly crumbles.

But here’s what’s relevant: the world has always been falling apart. There have always been wars, crime is "worse than ever", there's always not enough money to get to the end of the month, there’s always a fight between conservatives and liberals. The difference is that now you have 24/7 access to every damn crisis on the planet in real-time.

Before, we used to be alarmed by seeing ONE blurry footage of a robbery on the news. Today, for the same robbery, we have 6 different angles, 4K shots, slow motion, HDR, the livestream of the guy passing by, the viral TikTok with dramatic music, the 47-part Twitter thread analyzing frame by frame, and the 3-hour podcast explaining why this particular robbery signals civilizational collapse.

The Wisdom of the Digital Surfer

When I say we need to learn to "surf the end of the world", I'm not talking about ignoring real problems. The surfer metaphor is perfect: you don't control the waves, but you can learn to read them and navigate with them. A surfer doesn’t cry because a big wave is coming; they develop the skills to ride it.

The first skill is selective detox. Cal Newport suggests removing social media apps from your phone and using them only on your computer for specific purposes. Not to live disconnected but to use technology strategically.

I propose an experiment: this week, every time you feel the urge to check the news, ask yourself: "Can I do something concrete about this today?" If the answer is no, close the tab. Not because you don't care, but because, literally, you still have to show up on Monday to fulfill your obligations.

And speaking of obligations, here’s another uncomfortable truth: the crucial difference is between the obligations we consciously choose and those imposed on us. Most of us live up to others' expectations while postponing what our conscience truly wants.

Do you know how to identify an authentic obligation? Tasks that emerge from your deepest convictions give you energy instead of draining it. They’re sustainable in the long run because they’re aligned with who you really are, not who the world expects you to be.

The problem is we're so busy scrolling through global problems that we don't have time to ask ourselves: What do I want to change? Where is MY real capacity for impact?

Here comes the part that’s going to trigger some: your greatest capacity for impact is in your immediate surroundings. With your friends, family, or communities. Yes, it may hurt to admit it, but you can probably do more for the world by helping your neighbor than by sharing posts about Gaza.

When we focus on the local, what we see is bounded by love: your neighborhood park, the lady on the corner, your family, your real friends (not the 5000 "friends" on Facebook). These are spaces where your actions have direct and measurable consequences.

Jordan Peterson, controversial as he is, has a point when he says that sometimes it’s more effective to "look around your immediate environment to see what needs to be done" instead of obsessing over saving the world.

The Practice of Mindful Attention

Living in the Anthropocene requires a new form of attention management. Social media is literally "a giant machine designed to waste your time worrying about the wrong things". And the worst part is that this constant worry not only solves nothing but programs you to respond to crises completely out of your control.

Here are some concrete strategies from my research for writing these lines:

Simplify your concerns: Instead of being anxious about 50 different causes, choose a maximum of 2-3 battles where you can truly contribute.

Project serialization: Focus on one big project at a time. Your brain isn’t designed for existential multitasking.

Strategic underachievement: Consciously decide in which areas NOT to seek excellence so you can concentrate resources where it really matters.

Here comes the part I'm most excited to tell you about. If the world is full of problems, what if, instead of just complaining, we start asking what solutions we bring to the table?

Look, every problem you see is an opportunity in disguise. Is the food terrible? Maybe there's a business opportunity there. Is education obsolete? Perhaps you're the one to create the alternative. Are the media rotten? Perfect, there’s room to do something different.

The world doesn’t need more armchair critics. It needs people who see the mess and say: "Okay, how do we fix this?" And the best part is you don’t need to solve all the world’s problems. You just need to choose ONE that obsesses you enough to dedicate your energy to it.

Daniel Dennett argues that truly autonomous people understand they will be held accountable for their actions. That responsibility includes not just criticizing what's wrong but actively creating what could be right.

The Final Invitation

I'm not telling you to live with an "I don't care" attitude. Quite the opposite. I'm inviting you to care so much that you stop wasting your vital energy on digital theater and invest it where you can make a real change.

In an Anthropocene that demands your energy, time, and attention constantly, true rebellion is to focus these resources on your real life, on the people you see, on the issues you can tangibly influence.

The ocean’s "rebellious" waves that seemed completely chaotic actually follow predictable patterns. Similarly, the apparent chaos of the world has its rhythms. The key is not to control the waves but to learn how to surf them.

So the next time you feel that familiar anxiety rising because "the world is ending," remember: it has always been ending. The difference is that now you can choose whether you spend your life documenting the shipwreck on Twitter or building real rafts with the people next to you.

And better yet, you can choose to be part of the team building the world that comes next. Because yes, this world is ending, but that means another one is waiting to be created. And that world needs your ideas, your energy, your solutions.

Breathe deeply, turn off the notifications for a while, and remember: the world will keep spinning even if you don’t read about every crisis in real time. And perhaps, just perhaps, it will spin a little better if you dedicate that energy to building the solutions waiting to be born through you.