Any inherited rules for how to live are a personal mental prison. You will continue to carry them until you discover life’ s many alternatives. So long as you do anything because you think it is what you ought to do, your are not living your own life. You are living as a manifestation of another mind. You are not true to yourself because you have not discovered what that even means.
Tag: happiness
You Belong Here. Act Like It.
You have as much of a right to pursue happiness as anyone else. You have as much of a right to carve out your own path as anyone else. You have as much of a right to form your own ideas as anyone else. If you don’t have a right to be here, no one else does. If everyone else has a right to be here, so do you.
Not Every Time Should be Cherished
I think people too much of a focus on making the most out of things. I am seeing it as a common thing among parents needing to cherish the time they have with their kids. This seems like a nice sentiment, but I think it leads people into poor decisions.
A Voluntaryist Begins The Proust Questionnaire
I recently encountered the Proust Questionnaire. It is a regular feature in “Vanity Fair” magazine, where it is answered by a guest celebrity. When I got about halfway through I thought, “Voila! This would be a good architecture for an interview with a very objective voluntaryist.”
A Critique of Stefan Molyneux’s Discussion with Stephan Kinsella on Schooling
One of my strategies in sniffing out unequal or one sided relationships is to always shift the players around. Lets say a politician asked the question “How do you manage the behavior of the people?” Your response would likely be something like “Who are you? I am not your subject to be managed!” Of course you are probably thinking, well this is the difference between a young child who lacks experience and mental capabilities and an adult. I would somewhat agree, but also have strong disagreement. There is a little bit more subtlety at work.
4 Step Guide to Letting Go of the Past
What if we could just let go of things have have happened, and be present with the unfolding moment instead? What if we could let the past remain in the past, and unburden ourselves? What is we could see that our holding onto the past is actually hurting us right now … and look at letting go as a loving act of not hurting ourselves anymore? It can be done, though it isn’t always easy. Here’s the practice I recommend, in four steps.
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.
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.
The Role of Money for Greater Personal Happiness
Money is humanity’s imperfect attempt to objectivize countless subjective valuations. Value exists only in the opinion of the individual beholder. It is a measure of personal happiness. What makes one person happy will not work the same for another, even in identical circumstances. It is natural for everyone to seek out the actions, ideas, and items which aid them most according to their own valuations.
The Moment You’ve Been Waiting For
Our lives are spent building up to more important moments, later, the moments when we’ll be happy. But when those moments come, we’re not happier. In fact, we’re already looking ahead to the next big moments: an upcoming trip, a big project being completed, meeting up with friends, getting that great thing you ordered online, finding your next favorite book, meal, drink, experience. What if that wonderful moment we’ve been waiting for is this one, right now?