You Only Live Once: The Rules of Risk Taking, Rule Breaking, and Existential Angst

A long time ago I promised myself I’d never write this post here or anywhere else. You complain enough about this generation with its recreational drug use, its rock n’ roll, and its Gogurt tubes, I said to myself. But after a period of some reflection and a realization or two, I came to believe it was now the time to address one of the deepest issues of this generation: where to get YOLO tattooed on one’s body. You see, the trend as of late (and I suspect for as long as anyone can remember) has been to justify one’s actions by saying that one only lives once. It’s the new carpe diem; it’s the bastardized call to action in one’s youth. But is there a kernel of truth to be extracted from what was said by who might be one of the worst rappers in the history of the game (you played a paraplegic on Degrassi, man. You aren’t getting much respect from me)?

“During the first period of a man’s life the greatest danger is not to take the risk.”

– Søren Kierkegaard

Well, for starters, it isn’t as if Drake invented this motto. We’ve been saying things like this for as long as anyone can remember. But even when we use it in those circumstances it seems pretty shallow and ultimately meaningless. Case in point: your 4’11 friend with glass bones and paper skin (shout out to my boy living in a pineapple under the sea) decides to rush into a mosh pit at a Slipknot concert because you tell him he only has one life to live anyway, so why not. What can be gained from thrusting oneself into danger for no apparent reason? At the end of the day, you’re going to be the one sweeping up the glass shards and paper scraps that had constituted your friends body.

The truth behind this now deeply reviled statement is to not let fear control your life. In a society in which the youth (read Chase Padusniak) too often fit into one extreme or the other, we need a statement to overcome our fears while moderating our rash decision making. Enter Søren Kierkegaard, proto-existentialist and wonderful sporter of the up-do. And although I have taken the quotation used as this article’s epigraph very much so out of context, I have tried to preserve its essence. That is, when young, when faced with the earlier stages of life, be willing to take the risk (read overcome your existential angst and actualize your feelings). He’s preaching caution as much as he is recklessness. One must be willing to take risks in order to overcome the inevitable angst one feels in a postmodern society in which one can do anything but ultimately all things mean nothing (thanks Derrida!). At the same time, the not taking the risk is called a danger. That is to say, the emphasis is on comfort and safety. Taking risks is supposed to bring you into your own realm of actualized comfort, not dash your glass bones against the body of a burly Megadeth fan.

So the real YOLO is the cautious overcoming of fear. We can’t do the stupidest of things because, well, we can’t be stupid. But we also have to discern the meaning in our lives and actualize it. We can’t let ourselves be deconstructed creatures of lonely sadness drowning in pools of our own inherent meaninglessness. As Kierkegaard also said, “I see it all perfectly; there are two possible situations — one can either do this or that. My honest opinion and my friendly advice is this: do it or do not do it — you will regret both.” In other words, regrets are inevitable. But much like Robert Frost we must contend with the road not taken. Yes, it will make all the difference, but to meditate on what could have been is to deny what we have now. So, go out and live; fight the overpowering odor of postmodern existence with the deodorant of intrinsic meaning. Just make sure not to do anything too crazy because remember: you only live once.