In each of our lives there comes a moment when we are faced with a series of recurring choices, as if in an endless game with closed doors behind which happiness is promised.

Breaking the Cycle of Self-Deception

In each of our lives there comes a moment when we are faced with a series of recurring choices, as if in an endless game with closed doors behind which happiness is promised. We, as if mesmerized, repeatedly enter this closed circle of self-deception, where each disappointment only pushes us toward another attempt. Often, after recovering from past losses, we once again plunge into the depths of hope, believing that behind the next door, true satisfaction will finally be revealed, even though the path invariably leads us to familiar dead ends.

This dynamic reminds us of the perpetual striving for change, when an inner desire to distinguish ourselves from imposed social roles urges us to search for alternative paths—even if they repeat the same old mistakes. While the game in which we participate has the power to reveal new facets of humanity, it simultaneously carries us into a world of deceptive illusions—a world where hope becomes entangled with deceit and social pressure merely fuels the fire.

It is important to remember that liberation from this closed scenario is only possible through recognizing the true reasons behind our choices. Acknowledging and abandoning the habit of endlessly striving for unattainable doors helps us exit the labyrinth of illusions and face reality head-on. For only by exposing our self-deception can we find that unique path that leads to genuine happiness and freedom, overcoming the deceptive whirlwind of repeated errors.

What is meant by the “game from which one cannot escape,” and what mechanisms can lead to such a state?

By “the game from which one cannot escape,” we mean a closed cycle of repetitive actions and self-deception in which a person inadvertently becomes trapped in an endless repetition of choices and mistakes. Life becomes such a “game” when a person is constantly seeking new “doors” with promises of happiness, only to find behind them nothing but illusions and deceit. The mechanism of this state is revealed in the fact that after every failure or disappointment, the person recovers, rejoins the crowd, and once again faces a choice—whether to continue making the same mistakes, hoping that the previous choice was incorrect, or to embark on a new, but essentially identical, path of self-deception.

This closed state is characterized by the cyclicality of deception: a person trapped in a web of illusions constantly opts for “deceptive doors,” convincing themselves that just around the corner lies the key to happiness, even though in reality the doors lead to cul-de-sacs and dead ends. This process is intensified by self-deception and social pressure, whereby the individual fails to notice that their choices merely repeat an endless cycle of errors.

Supporting citation(s):
“We are blind, we are completely deluded! The horror of deception remains a mystery, and the crowds, with undiminished enthusiasm, rush toward the cherished doors. Moreover, not only those who have not experienced the deceptive doors eagerly race toward them—the returning ones also fall into this vortex. It happens very simply. A person re-enters the hall and blends with the crowd. Time passes, they recover from their ordeal, and again seek out doors, again choosing paths. Now they run into another deceptive door, thinking that behind it lies the key to happiness and that their first choice was mistaken. There are times when a person, having recovered from their losses and infected by the poisonous toxin of deceptive happiness, will once again rush to the familiar door, attributing the disappointment of the first encounter to their unwise actions and inability to live, rather than to the nature of the deceptive path.” (source: link txt)

“And the game is a necessary and inevitable part of almost everyone’s life, not only that of a child. The game is the ability to be different. It is the dissociation of a person from the social role to which they have become attached and in which others are accustomed to seeing them. There are games in which a person proves to be more human than in their official uniform.” (source: link txt)

Thus, becoming ensnared in such a “game” occurs due to the closed cycle of self-deception, when a person cannot break the habit of seeking happiness behind yet another door, and when social pressure and an inner desire to be distinct from the imposed role exacerbate the situation, making it almost impossible to escape this state.