You have to forgive those who reared you so you can move forward and decide, on your own terms, what kind of person you are going to be. Then they cease to matter.
Category: Transforming Your Identity
Adapt Yourself to New Realities
To solve a problem systemically is to change yourself to a different way of living. Exploration makes you adapt in response to your new experiences. Without the vital trait of adaptation, you will become defensive against new experiences. Adaptation is necessary for continued growth. You will inevitably discover things that counter your prior self. Adaptation is the doorway to becoming more, not less, in response to difficult experiences.
Problems Define You
Anytime something is not as though you would prefer it, you are dealing with a problem. Problems, though subjectively defined and internally maintained, are fundamental to how thinking, judging brains interpret reality. Your reason and your judgment are tools for solving the problems that are an unavoidable part of living. You can languish in the process of discomfort, or entertain yourself with creating a solution.
Use Judgment Judiciously
Man cannot live on earth without constantly interpreting his environment. Each interpretation is an act of judgment. Like it or not, you are always applying your judgment to everything you are aware of. When you embrace this fact, you can hone your judgment and master its influence.
Be More Than a Spectator in Your Own Mind
Without a correct understanding of how to use their potent minds to receive new information, intelligent people will lead lives of wasted opportunity. The principles of effective thinking are what allow you to tap into the totality of your capabilities. Effective thinking makes your curiosity viable.
Understand the Origins of Your Fear
If curiosity is excitement about the unknown, fear is its opposite. Fear is resistance to the unfamiliar. While curiosity has its foundations in hope and optimism, fear stems from caution and pessimism. These two forces are in a constant struggle within the minds of every person.
Grow Beyond the Space You Occupy
The great trap you must avoid is allowing the world to direct your curiosity onto things you have no care for. It is the default state of ordinary people to push their interests and concerns onto whoever will listen. Nature abhors a vacuum, and those with authority will rush to fill the vacuum they perceive in your head. If you can sidestep these social pressures, you can direct your own learning onto the exceptional path you have chosen.
There is Power in Weakness
It’s not enough to focus on only the positive parts of yourself. The exceptional person identifies their weaknesses too. Without radical honesty about your limitations, you will always be their slave. Knowledge gives you the chance to improve your shortcomings or structure your life to avoid them. Know your weaknesses, but don’t trust them. Do not think you ignore them.
Your Gifts Are More Than You Think They Are
A strength is more than an ability. It is an offering. It is the first way you find your place in a crowded human world. Your strengths might not be limited to whatever you currently think they are. They are not so obvious or neatly categorized as the world would have you believe. To know them thoroughly, you will have to dig deep into the catacombs of your body and mind.
Master Every Emotion in Your Head
When you are free from the slavery of your own emotions, you can focus on developing your strengths. You can begin to act with clarity and purpose.