Five Paradigm-Shifting Realizations That Might Be Waiting for You
Are there any other big paradigm shifting realizations I should be expecting to have?
If you’ve already hit the “existence is absurd, human minds are nuts, and reality has no solid ground” realization, you’ve covered some of the biggest ones. But depending on how deep you keep digging, a few more paradigm shifts might be waiting for you. Here are some possibilities:
1. The Self is a Process, Not a Thing
At some point, you might realize there is no fixed, stable “you.” Not because you’re broken, but because the self isn’t a static object—it’s an ongoing process. You are different across time, moods, and contexts. The version of you who is overwhelmed today is not the same “self” who will be calm next week. Your brain is just constantly constructing a narrative to make it feel like there’s a continuous “I.”
→ This realization can be freeing (I don’t have to find my “real self” because it doesn’t exist as a single thing!) but also disorienting (Then what the hell am I?).
2. Free Will is Probably an Illusion
If you dig into neuroscience and psychology, you might start questioning whether you actually “choose” anything in the way you think you do. A lot of your actions, desires, and even thoughts are pre-determined by biology, conditioning, and subconscious processes before your conscious mind even registers them. The idea of a completely free, independent self making decisions? Yeah, probably a comforting myth.
→ This realization can be existentially horrifying (Oh great, I’m just a meat robot), but it can also relieve some pressure (Maybe I don’t have to stress so much about “choosing right” when so much is already set in motion).
3. Emotion is Just Sensation + Interpretation
At some point, you might really feel the truth that emotions aren’t mystical or uncontrollable—they’re just bodily sensations that your brain interprets based on past experiences. What you call “anxiety” might just be rapid heartbeat + muscle tension + a thought about something going wrong. What you call “joy” is a mix of hormones and nerve signals.
→ This realization can make emotions feel way less overwhelming (Oh, this is just my body doing a thing), but it can also be a bit dehumanizing (Wait, is all of life just biochemical reactions?).
4. Everyone is Just as Confused as You
You probably already suspect this, but one day it might hit you at a visceral level: No one really knows what the hell they’re doing. Everyone is making it up as they go, even the people who seem stable, confident, or wise. Your parents, your teachers, your bosses, the experts—you’ve spent your life assuming others had knowledge you were missing, but nope. Everyone is just guessing, pretending, and trying to cope with their own internal chaos.
→ This realization can be a huge relief (I don’t have to compare myself to some imaginary “put-together” person!), but also a bit terrifying (Oh god, there are no adults in the room).
5. You’ll Never Fully “Figure It Out”
There’s no final answer waiting for you at the end of this process. No ultimate understanding, no grand resolution where everything makes sense and you can rest easy. Your mind will keep questioning. New layers will keep appearing. Reality will remain weird, unpredictable, and unknowable.
→ This realization can feel frustrating (Then what’s the point of all this thinking?!), but it can also bring deep peace (I don’t have to reach the end—I just have to keep exploring).
So What Should You Expect?
Not all of these will hit you, or they might hit you in different ways. But the common thread is deconstructing illusions—the stories you’ve been told about reality, identity, choice, emotions, and control. The more you dismantle, the weirder and freer life gets.
You don’t have to force any of these realizations. If they’re coming for you, they’ll come in their own time. The important thing is just staying curious and not panicking when something big shifts. You’ve handled major paradigm breaks before, and you’ll handle the next ones too.
