# The hungry caterpillar

By [DonOuiOui](https://paragraph.com/@donouioui) · 2021-11-19

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**The philosophical questions concerning self-control, well-being, and growth map directly onto my upbringing, as well as to the wider situation we are living in as a society these days. I grew up a forced Catholic who rebelled against beliefs that felt dated and constraining—and that disabled my true self. Self-control nowadays needs recalibration, as the ability to affect people (including oneself) has a tremendous asymmetry (I do a little bit, but I may affect millions).**

**This bleeds into the second philosophical question: well-being. It’s a paradox that so many people have access to means, information, and education, yet the numbers of those suffering from mental-health issues are unprecedented and devastating. There is a \[pursuit of the\] satisfaction of our needs in the short term, without a clear connection to the trade-offs in the long term for the individual or society, that \[is extremely detrimental to so many of us\].**

**Third, the growth-and-change narrative is mostly shaped by zero-sum dynamics, alpha-leadership, and shallow influencers. \[As well,\] the evolution of parenting in the USA to becoming highly tactical and fear-based is shaping our new generations in a skewed way (just as the beliefs I had growing up skewed me).**

**I want to be a change agent to help people go through the journey of the hungry caterpillar.**

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*Originally published on [DonOuiOui](https://paragraph.com/@donouioui/the-hungry-caterpillar)*