A shot in the arm and the next 24 hours...

This sounds like one of my favorite quotes from the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius.

“Begin each day by telling yourself: Today I shall be meeting with interference, ingratitude, insolence, disloyalty, ill-will, and selfishness – all of them due to the offenders’ ignorance of what is good or evil. But for my part I have long perceived the nature of good and its nobility, the nature of evil and its meanness, and also the nature of the culprit himself, who is my brother (not in the physical sense, but as a fellow creature similarly endowed with reason and a share of the divine); therefore none of those things can injure me, for nobody can implicate me in what is degrading. Neither can I be angry with my brother or fall foul of him; for he and I were born to work together, like a man’s two hands, feet or eyelids, or the upper and lower rows of his teeth. To obstruct each other is against Nature’s law – and what is irritation or aversion but a form of obstruction.”

Excellent challenge you've asked of us, Cabur. I find that oaths, vows, pledges, and resolutions are only as good as our ability to commit to the next action. If we can't make a positive decision in the moment, plans are only sentiment. I often say things like, "Oh, that's future Reacher's problem." And then later, "Man, past Reacher really screwed me over." It's tongue-in-cheek, of course, but the idea is serious. It highlights my own relief of responsibility in the decisions I make moment to moment. In truth, present Reacher is the only Reacher that actually exists.

This reminds me of the Cindarella man. A person who rises to fame/riches and still acts in a way that is humble, regardless of what others think.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wl7JYp8yMu8

I always try to live my life by this way. If you think about it logically the most "optimal" way to go about things is being severely selfish. Doing good is not hard only because you have to go out of your way to help others, but also because oftentimes you can expect to get nothing for it. This is why I adopted the philosophy of this original post and realized that if I am to do good, I must do it for its own sake! I do believe that doing good will lead to good things coming for you, but all of that doesn't matter. I commit to doing good for its own sake and not because I expect or demand anything from it.

I receive all I give.

I accept

love this i will commit

carlos.martinez3 wrote: I accept

Holy molly this is a very revealing task. Thank you Cabur! I will continue this!

I needed this. Thank you.