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: learning
Lessons to Learn
A woman I never met in person died today. Yes, that happens all the time, but in this case I feel … guilty.
My Top Ten Recommended Areas of Change for the NVC Network
For quite a number of years I have strongly desired great changes to take place in the NVC world, in hopes of having NVC grow, reach out, and be more effective with different people around the world. Perhaps now is an opportunity for some of the changes that I would like to see to come about, and if so, I would like to do what I can to assist this in happening.
The Main Reason Changing Your Life is Tough
Many of us have things we’d like to change: our exercise and diet habits, procrastination and productivity habits, patience and mindfulness habits, quitting bad habits, decluttering and finances, reading and learning and doing all the things we want to do in life. But very often we fall short of our hopes. What’s the problem? Why do we struggle with these changes?
Social Norms, Moral Judgments, and Irrational Parenting
Our current norm of extreme protection of children has become, unfortunately, not just a social norm, but a moral norm. If you don’t watch your child (or have some other responsible guard watching) every minute, you are, in the eyes of many people, doing something immoral. How can we change this crippling social norm and get back to common sense?
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.
Don’t Be Afraid of Hard Work
It’s easy for people to make the fallacious leap from “hard work isn’t everything” to “hard work isn’t anything.” We may very well be a culture guilty of working too much, but that doesn’t mean we should abandon the idea that there’s such a thing as working too little.
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.
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.
Learning is The Cure-All
Our capacity to glean insights from our struggles gives us power and promise. Each time we’re exposed to a new challenge, we gain the power of resilience. Each time we engage a new concept, we experience the promise of greater possibilities.