November 1, 2025
Stoic vibes vs. rage quits
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love My Shitty Life
From ‘nothing matters’ to ‘do something now,’ the comments go to war
TLDR: A Drift preview blends Trump’s “nothing matters” riffs with modern self-help gloom, and the comments erupt over whether stoic detachment is wisdom or an excuse to do nothing. Some demand action on real-world crises, others preach nuance, while meme lords turn existential dread into jokes—because the vibes matter.
The Drift just previewed an essay that treats self-help like philosophy class, starring Trump’s bleak “nothing matters” moments and Mark Manson’s airport-book mantra that “Hope Is F—ed.” Cue comment wildfire. One side is screaming that stoic chill has become lazy cover for apathy, the other says calm acceptance keeps you sane when the world’s on fire. And then there’s the meme crowd calling Trump’s lines “truth pills” and turning despair into punchlines.
The loudest voice? The “do something” camp. One commenter warns that “letting go” is fine for skipping a beach house, but “tragic” when the stakes are genocide or homelessness, blasting vague “blob forces” and today’s wars. Another torches the Marcus Aurelius fan club, joking that Rome’s favorite stoic blew the only KPI (key performance indicator) that mattered—picking a decent heir—then quips that Caesar at least “hit his KPIs,” chaos and all. Meanwhile, a recovering stoic admits the zen routine kept them stuck when they could’ve changed their life.
Enter the nuance police: one commenter draws a sharp line between “value nihilism” (nothing means anything) and “action nihilism” (so do nothing), warning the internet keeps mixing them up. The thread devolves into meme-fueled therapy: “truck-core” self-help (Trump wanting to drive away) vs. “touch grass” activism. Verdict: existential vibes are in—but apathy is canceled. Read the preview at The Drift
Key Points
- •The article uses Donald Trump’s public remarks to illustrate a perspective that human achievement is futile and that “nothing matters.”
- •It situates rising cultural fatalism among millennials and zoomers within a decade marked by political chaos, noting media references like Cosmopolitan’s 2024 framing.
- •Mark Manson’s self-help books (2016, 2019) are highlighted for advocating acceptance of pain and the view that hope is counterproductive.
- •Manson’s popularity suggests many people seek guidance on shedding expectations, though doing so remains emotionally difficult.
- •The piece presents disengagement as an increasingly seductive coping strategy, while acknowledging the strain of fully embracing persistent dissatisfaction.