Propelled: How Boredom, Frustration, and Anticipation Lead Us to the Good Life

Propelled: How Boredom, Frustration, and Anticipation Lead Us to the Good Life by Elpidorou, Andreas. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780190912963.

ONE OF KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST BOOKS OF 2020 Discover the value of discontent and how boredom, frustration, and anticipation make our lives better. Many of our endeavors--be it personal or communal, technological or artistic--aim at eradicating all traces of dissatisfaction from our daily lives. They seek to cure us of our discontent in order to deliver us a fuller and flourishing existence. But what if ubiquitous pleasure and instant fulfillment make our lives worse, not better? What if discontent isnt an obstacle to the good life but one of its essential ingredients? In Propelled, Andreas Elpidorou makes a lively case for the value of discontent and illustrates how boredom, frustration, and anticipation are good for us. Weaving together stories from sources as wide-ranging as classical literature, social and cognitive psychology, philosophy, art, and video games, Elpidorou shows that these psychological states arent unpleasant accidents of our lives. Rather, they illuminate our desires and expectations, inform us when we find ourselves stuck in unpleasant and unfulfilling situations, and motivate us to furnish our lives with meaning, interest, and value. Boredom, frustration, and anticipation arent obstacles to our goals--they are our guides, propelling us into lives that are truly our own.