May Everyone Live with Peace of Mind in This Age of Uncertainty

Today is New Year's Day, 2026. As one of the masses, I am no exception: every New Year's Day I write a special article to chat with my readers. Although, after this New Year's holiday, I will immediately enter a tense exam week with ten exams to pass one after another, on this special day I am still willing to set aside a little time to write down some personal reflections.

In the past year of 2025, the whole world was shrouded in an atmosphere of unease. The post-pandemic global economy recovered weakly, and superimposed on this, the rapid development of artificial intelligence has eliminated some jobs, leaving some people facing unemployment while others, though not themselves unemployed, cannot help feeling frightened by the sight.

This uncertainty has plunged many of my readers and friends into anxiety; in talking with them I can clearly feel that the uncertainty of the outside world has stirred up a deep inner unease.

I will soon turn 47 this year. Since abandoning my studies at 19 to enter society, I have been working at various jobs to support my family for nearly 30 years. In these nearly 30 years, I have lived through wave after wave of prosperity and witnessed round after round of bubbles bursting, so I have more than a little intuitive understanding of how the world works.

If we are willing to spend some time reading history books, or to distill something from our own life experience, we will find that there is really nothing new under the sun. We are constantly in a cycle of rise and fall; things turning upside-down when they reach extremes, and turbulence, are the normal state of human society. Every so often we encounter a crisis, large or small, but each time it mysteriously repairs itself. As long as we wait patiently, the crisis will pass.

We are now at a stage where an old bubble has burst and a new one is forming. The rise of the Four Asian Tigers, China's accession to the WTO, the internet, and real estate each once swept the globe on a scale and with a force comparable to today's artificial intelligence. Each process was also accompanied by huge bubbles. After each wave of enthusiasm, much wreckage left by human irrationality remains.

When everyone is chattering about a new hotspot, a big bubble circles overhead. The reason is none other than that humans are a species with bad memories; herd thinking again and again pushes most people into an insufficiently rational frenzy. In the waves of a changing era, the excessive greed and fear deep in human nature make most people unable to see the world as it truly is and fall into collective madness. Both excitement and anxiety are magnified; only a few can leap outside this cycle, remain unaffected by the outside world, and continue living their own daily lives, full and peaceful—plain, but happy.

Nowadays, opening social media, we see an avalanche of posts talking about economic crisis and the threat of AI. Some who spread this information are using marketing principles to manufacture panic, raise their profile, and achieve some economic end; others who spread it are genuinely panicked, poorly adaptable, unable to flexibly adjust in a changing era, and psychologically off-balance—which is understandable.

To see the world as it truly is is actually simple. As long as we detach from herd thinking, filter out the noise, and think from our most essential needs about what matters most in our lives, we are not far from the right answer. In fact, herd thinking is always bound up with frenzy and folly; when it reaches an extreme, appalling tragedies even occur. Every cruel folly in human history is closely tied to herd thinking.

Our judgment errs again and again. We always think diamonds are precious, yet diamonds neither fill the stomach nor ward off the cold; when we are parched, diamonds cannot slake our thirst. Air, water, the simplest food, and the most ordinary love are what we regard as cheapest; their market value is far below diamonds, yet they are vital to sustaining our lives. We often overlook the most important things, ignoring what we already have, while fretting over things far removed from our happiness—even going so far as to start wars over them, which is truly lamentable.

At present, the AI industry bubble is inflating ever larger, and its impact on humanity has been magnified many times over. Some academic authorities and social celebrities are solemnly and exaggeratedly painting a terrifying future. If we look back at history, it is not hard to see that celebrities have never been the embodiment of compassion, honesty, or wisdom; they always stir the public into restlessness.

Five years from now, when the new myth collectively manufactured by today's public opinion bursts, people may realize this, and feel it was not worth being frightened and anxious for so long. But now, many are more than happy to add more heat to this new economic barrier lake—which will only make the new wailing shriller when the bubble bursts. The cost of broken hands and feet always falls on those who love thrills.

Essentially, artificial intelligence is not very different from the various auxiliary tools humanity has discovered; it will change some of our labor and lifestyle, but it cannot change the essence of our lives.

From an economic point of view, human society constantly needs to create new bubbles to promote the circulation of wealth. A dull market offers no openings; panic and chaos create new wealthy classes and promote social mobility. Mobility between classes is better for social stability, because it gives those dissatisfied with the status quo hope of striving, and gives their discontent a temporary outlet.

Moreover, the world never lacks ambitious people; such people hate peace and love chaos, chasing overnight riches. If you are such a person, you actually need not be anxious: throw yourself into every economic bubble, be a wave-rider, seek wealth amid danger, and live and die with gusto—you will have gotten exactly what you sought.

If you would rather enjoy a peaceful and happy life, believe me: stay away from every social hotspot, find one thing you love to do, reduce unnecessary casual acquaintances, stop clinging to and comparing yourself with anyone, and immerse yourself in your own interests. Your life will be rich and interesting, and your inner state will be at peace most of the time.