2 extremes on life’s continuum, self-destruction & self-creation are discussed. The former involves multiple committments to the irrelevant, e.g. work, the “playboy” concept, obscurantism. Self-creation involves the rejection of multiple committments to the irrelevant & an “imaginative search for the relevant”. The irrelevant is linked to the complexities of modern society, especially the committment to work. Leisure is suggested as an antidote. A list of self-creative strategies is included. CC