Living Happily in a Clusterfuck – Part 3: What if things do end up going really wrong?

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In the first part, we looked at the themes of acceptance (1.), togetherness (2.), letting go (3.), loss (4.) and burnout (5.). In the second part, we then looked at flexibility (6.), body awareness (7.), self-moralising (8.) and rituals (9.). Does this mark the end of our journey through the world of mental survival amidst this clusterfuck (multi-crisis)? Not at all – the looming future will still force us all into life situations that lie far beyond the limits of what we today consider ‘worth living’

In the first part, we focused on the themes of acceptance (1.), togetherness (2.), letting go (3.), loss (4.) and burnout (5.). In the second part, we then looked at flexibility (6.), body awareness (7.), self-moralising (8.) and rituals (9.). Is the journey through the world of mental survival in this clusterfuck (multi-crisis) now complete? Not at all – the looming future will force us all into life situations that lie far beyond the limits of what we would today describe as ‘worth living’.

Trigger warning: At this point, it should be noted that the advice that follows relates to a time that lies several (hopefully many) years in the future. A time when the familiar stability of the environment and society is crumbling – not just as background noise in the climate and democracy debates, but in a very concrete and tangible way within our individual realities.

So far, so ominous – now I’d like to throw a few more aspects into the mix that are worth considering in the context of this clusterfuck. Of course, this is also an oversimplification and full of gaps, but an article cannot replace individual training. In any case, I’ll be glad if, in this series, I’ve been able to give you a few ideas that will still be useful to you in ten or twenty years’ time, and which foster a certain inner contentment in terms of your ability to take action.

10. Practical knowledge

What are you going to do when a flash flood hits, but at the same time the power’s gone out, so that the Instagram video ‘Sealing Your Cellar for Dummies’ isn’t available just at that moment? What if, during the same power cut, you need to provide first aid – something you’ve never learnt? The answer is simple: reach for a book! It’s just that it’s also an advantage to have a few such books at home.

Certainly not in 2026 – even a civilisational collapse takes time – but looking ahead, you should – alongside the usual survival kits – also build up a well-stocked collection of books: crafts, first aid, farming, weather observation and amateur radio are important keywords. As a precaution, any book you buy today could be a decisive advantage tomorrow. What does this have to do with a contented life? The hierarchy of needs provides the answer.

11. Combat sports

I’m not calling for street fighting here (only poor idiots enjoy street fights), but rather highlighting a specific aspect of martial and combat sports. Incidentally, I learnt these skills through fencing, not MMA. What I mean is the targeted training of mental composure in critical situations (combat sports are always critical situations), the ability to act in a focused and considered manner, and equally targeted reaction speed.

Apart from the lowly street brawl, there are far more scenarios in which mental composure, precision and speed of action are essential. A flash flood is one such event, a tree falling during a storm, a bus driver collapsing in the heat, and so on. Today, in this context, we can still speak of ‘low-risk, high-impact’ events; in a ‘clusterfuck’, however, the risk quickly escalates to ‘medium-risk’.

Preparatory training in maintaining mental calm and acting swiftly can considerably minimise the damage in such situations; the positive effect on how you feel physically in everyday life is simply the icing on the cake.

12. Talking about emotions

What may sound mundane at this point is fundamental – we’re still talking about ‘contentment in the clusterfuck’, in other words, a matter of emotions. And men, in particular, find it difficult to talk about their emotions. One consequence of this is that they often do not understand their own emotions and have no access to them. In a world that is set to cause increasingly painful emotions, this repression is a direct route into depressive and/or aggressive territory.

After all, repressed emotions tend to erupt, which, as collateral damage, quickly leads to innocent victims. But let’s be honest, tough bloke: do you want to be one of the factors making the clusterfuck even worse, just because you can’t cope with your emotions? If, on the other hand, you’re on first-name terms with your emotions, then even under intense pressure you can counter the ‘so-called evil’ with something good.

13. Dealing with animals

Who hasn’t heard of the aggressive Saxon with his Dobermann by his side? Well, in this clusterfuck, not only will such types have the wind in their sails, but there’ll also be more stray animals on the hunt for food: street dogs, hungry, infectious, moving in packs. Today we still live in a world where a life without contact with animals is possible (albeit pointless), but what do you do if, whilst fleeing fire, flood and gangs of thugs, you find yourself in the midst of a pack of stray dogs?

Will you be sweating fear from every pore, which is precisely what makes the dogs aggressive in the first place? Can you seize leadership of the pack and, with its help, put the thugs to flight? But also: can you approach an injured animal in such a way that it allows you to help it? You should be able to do all of this – the key here is: communication through body language.

14. Camouflage

I already touched on Oskar Schindler’s ‘camouflage’ in Part 2 – though I didn’t call it that at the time. Allow me to make this point, because ‘camouflage’ (the act of concealing oneself and avoiding detection) is often confused, particularly in left-wing circles, with submission or even collaboration. Did Schindler submit to fascism or even collaborate with it in his dealings with the Nazis? Of course not! He merely feigned this collaboration; in truth, he stood firmly alongside the countless people he saved from the gas chambers.

The meaning and purpose of camouflage in repressive systems could not be illustrated more clearly. Yet camouflage can also serve an offensive purpose, for example, when you infiltrate the enemy’s ranks to plant a small (metaphorical) bomb within their midst. Camouflage is an art you should master if you don’t want to go under in the clusterfuck. And like so many things, camouflage also originates in nature.

15. Autogenic Training

Meditating away in a state of relaxation amidst the clusterfuck through autogenic training… Er, what? Of course not! Autogenic training is mentioned here by way of example because it is an easy-to-learn method for regulating both mental and physical functions. The fact that breathing, muscle tone, the solar plexus and the sensation of warmth all play a part demonstrates the versatility of autogenic training – in contrast to many similar exercises, which usually focus on just one of these aspects.

Once learnt, you’ll have this quick and direct access for the rest of your life, and you’ll be able to use it specifically even in extreme situations (e.g. to reduce bleeding or manage pain). Of course, it is important not only to learn the basic exercises of the autogenic ‘lower level’, but also to master the techniques of the so-called ‘upper level’.

16. Stress Tolerance Window

This model is a useful tool for self-regulating stress. Quite simply, it describes the (metaphorical) window within which stress has no control over you. As long as stress doesn’t throw you off course, and as long as you remain consciously capable of acting, you are within the stress tolerance window. Beyond that, things become extremely unpleasant for you and those around you: loss of control, rushed solutions, passing on stress and much more then accumulate to create your very own personal clusterfuck.

To prevent this from happening, you should be aware of your personal stress tolerance window – which, incidentally, can vary considerably depending on the situation and the people involved: who hasn’t come across those people who drive you up the wall particularly quickly? In any case, the stress tolerance window also helps you to manage stress in the long term and go about your business a little more contentedly in this falling-apart world.

17. Ending suffering

The hardest part for last: we’ll probably find ourselves in situations where the question arises as to whether we shouldn’t just put an end to ‘this suffering’. This may be our own suffering, but above all it will be the suffering of others. What do you do when your bedridden grandad, already tormented by pain at the start of a sweltering summer, cries out for help, whilst the healthcare system can no longer provide that help?

Of course, such questions are difficult and, nowadays (thankfully!), still largely irrelevant. Yet they will become more relevant the further the world and its societies fall into disarray. And that is why this capacity – which, incidentally, draws on love – should at least be addressed now: to end suffering rather than clinging to life. Life is finite anyway – must it also be a torment in the end, just for the sake of one more year, give or take? I don’t think so, but that’s something everyone must decide for themselves. Think about it!

What’s still missing

Humour. It can occasionally be found between the lines, and I hope that you’ve managed to have a laugh now and then whilst reading this rather heavy text. Because without humour, without the odd hearty laugh, life is simply not worth living. Of course, we all have our stressful or even depressive phases when we really aren’t in the mood to laugh. Yet even people with chronic depression have a sense of humour – just think of Peter Sellers, Robin Williams or the brilliant Sarah Andersen.

Humour is when you laugh anyway: despite the dire situation, and even despite the immoral antics that humour is prone to. We should free ourselves from the moral straitjacket that often hangs around humour’s neck like a lead weight. It is essentially a conservative tendency within a liberal society (see 8. Self-moralisation).

Motivational psychology, too, would be worth a chapter of its own, if not an entire article. One could argue that motivation depends on circumstances and emotions, that it can be switched on and off quickly, and that the causes of motivation vary greatly from person to person (for example, one might suspect that Friedrich Merz harbours an antisocial indifference to the happiness and suffering of others).

However, the more meaningless and hopeless the world appears, the stronger the inner slacker becomes – which, after all, represents the exact opposite of motivation: lying about listlessly, devoid of desire, vigour and energy. Yet precisely where this inaction can have fatal consequences, it is – apart from the occasional rest period, of course – not an option.

Of course, this does not mean that you should now go about your business like a robot, but rather that, with a view to what lies ahead, you should not let your mental self go to waste, but should train it. Since such training takes time, yet time is clearly working against us, I recommend intensive mental training with all its painful but instructive experiences (see, for example, 4. Loss, 9. Rituals, 15. Autogenic Training).

In any case, I hope that with this short series, alongside one or two practical tools, I’ve been able to convey above all the variety of ways in which you can maintain your motivation, zest for life and inner contentment in a world teetering on the brink of a clusterfuck. Perhaps even enhance them.

When considering mental states, the capacity to act is, of course, always taken into account. For one thing should not be forgotten: A world of dangers and of necessarily flexible coexistence (2. Coexistence, 6. Flexibility) is a world for which Homo sapiens is made – even if, in the capitalist-overcrowded reality of recent decades, we have unlearned and forgotten this.

So, first and foremost, it is a matter of awakening abilities that are already slumbering somewhere within you. No more, but also no less.

Living contentedly in a clusterfuck – Part 1: How do you develop resilience to crises?

Living contentedly in a clusterfuck – Part 2: How do you stay strong during crises?

About the author: Dominic Memmel, born in Würzburg in 1980 and based in Leipzig since 2014, works as an activist, communications consultant and podcaster. Visit the author’s page.

would describe it.

Trigger warning: It should be noted at this point that the advice that follows relates to a time that lies several (hopefully many) years in the future. A time when the familiar stability of the environment and society is crumbling – not just amidst the background noise of the climate and democracy debates, but quite concretely and tangibly in our individual realities.

So far, so ominous – now I’d like to throw a few more aspects into the mix that are worth considering in the context of this clusterfuck. Of course, this is also an oversimplification and full of gaps, but an article cannot replace individual training. In any case, I’ll be glad if, through this series, I’ve been able to give you a few ideas that will still be useful to you in ten or twenty years’ time, and which foster a certain inner contentment in terms of your ability to take action.

10. Practical knowledge

What are you going to do when the flash flood hits, but at the same time the power’s gone out, so the Instagram video ‘Sealing your cellar for Dummies’ isn’t available right now? What if, during that same power cut, you need to provide first aid – something you’ve never learnt? The answer is simple: reach for a book! It’s just that it’s also an advantage to have a few such books in the house.

Certainly not in 2026 – even a collapse of civilisation takes time – but looking ahead, you should – alongside the usual survival kits – also build up a well-stocked collection of books: crafts, first aid, farming, weather observation and amateur radio are key topics. As a precaution, any book you buy today could prove a decisive advantage tomorrow. What does this have to do with a contented life? The hierarchy of needs provides the answer.

11. Combat sports

I’m not calling for street fighting here (only poor idiots think street fighting is a good idea), but rather highlighting a specific aspect of combat sports. Incidentally, I learnt these skills through fencing, not MMA. What I mean is the targeted training of mental calm in critical situations (combat sports are always critical situations), the ability to act in a focused and considered manner, and equally targeted reaction speed.

Apart from the lowly street brawl, there are far more scenarios in which mental composure, precision and speed of action are essential. A flash flood is one such event, a tree falling during a storm, a bus driver collapsing in the heat, and so on. Today, in this context, we can still refer to these as ‘low-risk, high-impact’ events; in a ‘clusterfuck’, however, the risk quickly escalates to ‘medium-risk’.

Preparatory training in maintaining mental calm and acting swiftly can considerably minimise the damage in such situations; the positive effect on one’s everyday physical well-being is the icing on the cake.

12. Talking about emotions

What may sound mundane at this point is fundamental – we are still talking about ‘contentment in a clusterfuck’, in other words, a matter of emotions. And men, in particular, find it difficult to talk about their emotions. One consequence of this is that they often do not understand their own emotions and have no control over them. In a world that is set to cause increasingly painful emotions, this repression is a direct route into depressive and/or aggressive territory.

After all, repressed emotions tend to erupt, which quickly leads to innocent victims as collateral damage. But let’s be honest, tough bloke: do you want to be one of the factors making the clusterfuck even worse, just because you can’t cope with your emotions? If, on the other hand, you’re on first-name terms with your emotions, then even under intense pressure you can counter the ‘so-called evil’ with something good.

13. Dealing with animals

Who hasn’t heard of the aggressive Saxon with a Dobermann by his side? Well, in this clusterfuck, not only will such types thrive, but there’ll also be more stray animals on the prowl for food: stray dogs, hungry, infectious, roaming in packs. Today, we still live in a world where a life without contact with animals is possible (albeit pointless), but what do you do if, whilst fleeing fire, flood and gangs of thugs, you find yourself in the midst of a pack of stray dogs?

Will you be sweating fear from every pore, which is precisely what makes the dogs aggressive in the first place? Can you seize leadership of the pack and, with its help, put the thugs to flight? But also: can you approach an injured animal in such a way that it allows you to help it? You should be able to do all of this – the key here is: communication through body language.

14. Camouflage

I already touched on Oskar Schindler’s ‘camouflage’ in Part 2 – though I didn’t call it that at the time. Allow me to make this point, because ‘camouflage’ (the act of concealing oneself and avoiding detection) is often mistaken for submission or even collaboration, particularly in left-wing circles. Did Schindler submit to fascism or even collaborate with it in his dealings with the Nazis? Of course not! He merely feigned this collaboration; in truth, he stood firmly on the side of the countless people he saved from the gas chambers.

The meaning and purpose of camouflage in repressive systems could not be illustrated more clearly. Yet camouflage can also serve an offensive purpose, for example, when you infiltrate the enemy’s ranks to plant a small (metaphorical) bomb within their midst. Camouflage is an art you should master if you don’t want to go under in the clusterfuck. And like so many things, camouflage also originates in nature.

15. Autogenic Training

Meditating away in a state of relaxation through autogenic training amidst the clusterfuck… Er, what? Of course not! Autogenic training is mentioned here by way of example because it is an easy-to-learn method for regulating both mental and physical functions. The fact that breathing, muscle tone, the solar plexus and the sensation of warmth all play a part demonstrates the versatility of autogenic training – in comparison to many similar exercises, which usually focus on just one of these aspects.

Once learnt, you’ll have this quick and direct access for the rest of your life, and you’ll be able to use it specifically even in extreme situations (e.g. to reduce bleeding or manage pain). Of course, it is important not only to learn the basic exercises of the ‘lower level’ of autogenic training, but also to master the techniques of the so-called ‘upper level’.

16. Stress Tolerance Window

This model is a useful aid for self-regulation of stress. It simply describes the (metaphorical) window within which stress has no control over you. As long as stress doesn’t throw you off course, and as long as you remain consciously capable of acting, you are within the stress tolerance window. Beyond that, things become extremely unpleasant for you and those around you: loss of control, rushed solutions, passing stress on to others and much more then accumulate to create your very own clusterfuck.

To prevent this from happening, you should be aware of your personal stress tolerance window – which, incidentally, can vary considerably depending on the situation and the people involved: who hasn’t come across those people who drive you up the wall particularly quickly? In any case, the stress tolerance window also helps you to manage stress in the long term and to navigate this sinking world with a little more contentment.

17. Ending Suffering

The hardest bit for last: we’ll probably find ourselves in situations where the question arises as to whether we shouldn’t just put an end to ‘this suffering’. That might be our own suffering, but above all it will be the suffering of others. What do you do when your bedridden grandfather, already tormented by pain at the start of a sweltering summer, cries out for help, whilst the healthcare system can no longer provide that help?

Of course, such questions are difficult and, fortunately, are still largely irrelevant today. Yet they will become more relevant the further the world and its societies fall into disarray. And that is why this ability – which, incidentally, draws on love – should at least be addressed now: to end suffering rather than clinging to life. Life is finite anyway – must it really end up being a torment, just for the sake of one more year or so? I don’t think so, but that’s something everyone must decide for themselves. Think about it!

What’s still missing

Humour. It can occasionally be found between the lines, and I hope that you’ve managed to have a laugh now and then whilst reading this challenging text. Because without humour, without the occasional hearty laugh, life is simply not worth living. Of course, we all have our stressed or even depressive phases when we really aren’t in the mood to laugh. Yet even people with chronic depression have a sense of humour – just think of Peter Sellers, Robin Williams or the brilliant Sarah Andersen.

Humour is when you laugh anyway: despite the dire situation, and even despite the immoral antics that humour is so fond of getting up to. We should free ourselves from the moral stranglehold that often hangs around humour’s neck like a lead weight. It is, essentially, a conservative tendency within a liberal society (see 8. Self-moralisation).

Motivational psychology, too, would be worth a chapter of its own, if not an entire article. One could argue that motivation depends on contextual factors and emotions, that it can be switched on and off quickly, and that the sources of motivation vary greatly from person to person (for example, one might suspect that Friedrich Merz harbours an antisocial indifference to the happiness and suffering of others).

However, the more meaningless and hopeless the world appears, the stronger the inner sloth becomes – which, after all, represents the exact opposite of motivation: lying about, devoid of desire, vigour and strength. Yet precisely where this inaction can have fatal consequences, it is – apart from the occasional rest period, of course – not an option.

Of course, this does not mean that you should now go and work like a robot, but rather that, with an eye to what lies ahead, you should not let your mental self go to waste, but train it instead. Since such training takes time, and time is clearly working against us, I recommend intensive mental training with all its painful but instructive experiences (see, for example, 4. Loss, 9. Rituals, 15. Autogenic Training).

In any case, I hope that with this short series – alongside one or two practical tools – I’ve been able to convey, above all, the variety of ways in which you can maintain your motivation, zest for life and inner contentment in a world teetering on the brink of a clusterfuck. Perhaps even enhance them.

When considering these mental states, the ability to act is, of course, always taken into account. For one thing should not be forgotten: A world of dangers and of necessarily flexible coexistence (2. Coexistence, 6. Flexibility) is a world for which Homo sapiens is made – even if, in the capitalist, overcrowded reality of recent decades, we have unlearned and forgotten this.

So, first and foremost, it’s about awakening abilities that are already slumbering somewhere within you. No more, but no less either.

Living contentedly in a clusterfuck – Part 1: How do you develop resilience to crises?

Living contentedly in a clusterfuck – Part 2: How do you stay strong during crises?

About the author: Dominic Memmel, born in Würzburg in 1980 and based in Leipzig since 2014, works as an activist, communications consultant and podcaster. Visit the author’s page.