Over the past few days I’ve been watching a creator called ContraPoints on YouTube, and it’s genuinely been a game-changer for me. Her videos are long, philosophical deep dives into culture, psychology, identity, art, and the way we make sense of the world.
It was exactly what I needed after feeling bored with mindless streaming. Most shows feel average or repetitive, and I’d been craving something that wasn’t afraid to go deep or handle complexity. Her Twilight deep dive surprised me by going into really rich territory about desire, fantasy, and human psychology.
That’s where she talked about yearning and craving, and it hit me harder than I expected.
Yearning is longing for something that doesn’t actually exist. It sounds like: “I miss the good old days,” “I just want things to be like they used to be,” “I want that perfect partner or perfect life I imagine in my head.” It’s a longing for a lost past that can never return or an idealised future that was never real to begin with. Because the thing itself isn’t real, yearning can never be satisfied.
Craving is different. You can satisfy a craving, but only for a short time. It sounds like: “I’m craving a drink,” “I need sugar,” “I want a big night out.” These things can be reached. You can have the drink, the sweets, the night out. But an hour, a day, a week or a month later the craving comes back. It never stays.
That’s when I realised my old idea of success in music lived in the yearning category. It was this vague fantasy version of something I’d never defined or experienced. And craving was the temptation to chase viral moments or quick hits of validation that fade instantly.
Seeing it clearly has reset everything for me.
I’m done with fantasy goals. I’m focusing on real, grounded, intentional progress that I can actually experience and build on. GHOST 2.0 is my first step in that direction.
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