The first rule of Fight Club

Is that you don't talk about fight club. Why is this both the first and second rule of fight club?

At first, I thought this was because Tyler wanted to keep the criminal activities of the Club hushed up. But that did not make sense. The club would never have gained that many members if they had adhered to this rule. Tyler would never have gained the several hundred (or more) followers that he gained in order to carry out his criminal master plan. Tyler's war was a spiritual war. By asking the members to not talk about fight club he sought to help them internalise the process of masculinity. If you start talking about the fight club you start seeking validation. The reasons for your fighting there changes. The fights every night would have been reduced into competitions to see who could fight the best. It would stop being a quest.

It would be nothing more than a glorified boxing gym. By asking the members not to talk about it, Tyler transforms the Club into a spiritual arena instead of a physical arena.

And I think this is relevant to life elsewhere too. If the reason you workout or learn guitar or engage in any form of self-improvement is because you want to show your progress off on social media then the process loses its sheen. It stops being a profound and meaningful journey towards self-actualization. It is reduced to a dopamine fuelled ****-measuring contest .