2-29: Eternal Recurrence

The Loop Will Repeat Tomorrow

Imagine hearing a voice that says, “You will live this same life again and again, exactly as it is.” Every joy, every sorry, every love, every regret repeated forever. This thought experiment questions how you would live your life if this were true. Nietzsche proposed this idea as a test of values. It forces you to ask whether the life you are living is one you would willingly repeat. The concept is less about eternity and more about awareness. Thinking to yourself you’re destined to spend your time in the exact way you are spending it will make you thoughtfully consider even the smallest of your actions.

I’ve long been a proponent of the mindset that if I can’t do something every day, then I am a lot less likely to implement it into my routine. Maybe it’s the OCD in me, but when it comes to scheduling and workouts, I tend to shy away from variety in favor of consistency. Three miles on the treadmill, the usual free-weight and dumbbell routine, a quick ab session, twenty pull-ups, and that’s it. Nothing fancy, no “this day / that day.” Everyday is an everything day. Sure, I’m not a bodybuilder and definitely don’t hit every muscle group, but to me, my workouts are doing exactly what they’re intended to, which is to primarily get my heart rate up and get my body moving.

That said, I’ve come to recognize the value of allowing room for flexibility and novelty. One way for me to work novelty into my routine is simply going for my runs outside. Living in the city, every run outside, even if on the same route, is sure to be immensely more memorable than the same run on the same treadmill. It’s also then a lot easier to change up my run, or be inspired to take a new route. If we were to experience the same day over and over again forever, perhaps this novelty, including taking a different route on a run or walk, would be the part that still surprises us.

Another angle to view this thought experiment is considering the length of time that “repeats forever.” Take, for instance, a single hour, day, month, year, or lifetime. The shorter the time frame, the more likely you are to question whether you would want that moment to repeat forever. This evokes the “how you do one thing is how you do everything” way of thinking.

Eternal recurrence is less a metaphysical claim and more of a practical filter. It represents a way to evaluate whether the life you are shaping is one you would willingly live again. It makes you intensely question the intent of why you do everything. The moments that withstand this scrutiny reveal what matters most. The moments that do not point to what needs to change. Should you find yourself wishing you had spent your time differently, it is never too late to change. With each new day, we are granted countless opportunities to subtly redirect ourselves. In this way, the thought experiment becomes a compass, guiding us towards a life that would be genuinely worth repeating.