There are fundamentally two types of externalities: things we can control, and things we can’t. Some cases are much more clear than others, but each situation can be broken down into one of these two outcomes.
The ones that we can control are much simpler, if not easier, to implement. We know how we can manipulate variables and influence outcomes, so our minds are naturally more at rest when thinking about problems of this nature. Even if what is required of us is difficult, at least we know where to begin.
Because of our preferences for certain conditions, we struggle with letting go of externalities that we can’t control. Rather than accepting that there are limits to what we can influence, we look for the blind spot we’ve been missing. In some cases, yes, this can lead to innovation, but in others it simply causes stress and unrest.
Even citing innovation should not automatically justify conditions of stress, because a proper defense must be made in the context of a final goal. If innovating and progressing the human race is your vocation, then by all means, go ahead and do just that! But if it isn’t, then stop trying so hard to impress people – yourself included. All you will be doing is making yourself unhappy.
At the end of the day, fix what you can fix, be present to those around you, and let go of everything else. Endlessly trying to perfect conditions is much more likely to cause a lack of overall presence and meaning than success in increasing life’s condition.