You are NOT safe and you are NOT good enough

I'd type that quote by Morgan Freeman in the Shawshank Redemption, if it wasn't so overused and if I could remember it. Here goes.

"Something something ... living, or so and so .... something dying." - Red

LOL!

Oh, Jedi, you warm my heart.

What are the positives we can take from this? What good information and insight can we glean?

Brontyn wrote: If you listen to Watts, one of his discussions was in the pointlessness of trying to change oneself. The person who you are trying to change, is the one who is "not good enough" to begin with. While many would knee-jerk react to this by saying it's all pointless and getting depressed, Watts says this should be a major relief! You don't have to become a different person, because you who you are!

This reminds me also of the movie Fight Club, when Tyler Durden says "self-improvement is masturbation!", referring to the fact that improvement for the sake of improvement is meaningless. Sacrifice is only meaningful if it has a purpose.

Hating yourself for not fitting a mold is a waste of time. You don't "rage against the machine" by becoming a cog in a newer, shinier one. Finding what you truly want, however, and doing it, should be a joyous experience, regardless of the sacrifice and frustration involved. And no amount of complacency or, conversely, hatred, is going to get it done. Action, however, will.

I love how everyone reacts differently in the light of their own existential nature. This thread honestly reminds me of a comic I saw earlier this week.

Hehe,

Obi: "Don't rest on your laurels and pat each other on the back just for your own comfort"

Folks "Stop being negative!, Don't be afraid of who you are!, Don't let others judge you"

Well, I think his point was made for him {-_-}

Though I believe I more or less agree with the "Essence" of Obi's message...

wasting the very little bit of time that you have.

Little? Perhaps my span is short compared to say, a rock, it's still the longest bloody thing I'll ever do.

I don't wanna be liger poop.

JamesSand wrote: Hehe,

Obi: "Don't rest on your laurels and pat each other on the back just for your own comfort"

Folks "Stop being negative!, Don't be afraid of who you are!, Don't let others judge you"

Well, I think his point was made for him {-_-}

I can't speak for everyone else, but I don't take any issue with the assertion that we need to be active and grow and change, I just find that his motivation came from a place of negativity rather than of happiness or hope. I find that while negative emotions can be highly motivational to spur a person on the results are usually not as good as when they are motivated by positive emotions.

Goken wrote:

JamesSand wrote: Hehe,

Obi: "Don't rest on your laurels and pat each other on the back just for your own comfort"

Folks "Stop being negative!, Don't be afraid of who you are!, Don't let others judge you"

Well, I think his point was made for him {-_-}

I can't speak for everyone else, but I don't take any issue with the assertion that we need to be active and grow and change, I just find that his motivation came from a place of negativity rather than of happiness or hope. I find that while negative emotions can be highly motivational to spur a person on the results are usually not as good as when they are motivated by positive emotions.

Donkeys can be motivated to move forward with a carrot or a stick. I prefer the carrot, but I don't deny the effectiveness of the stick either. Ideally, we learn to use both.

Donkeys can be motivated to move forward with a carrot or a stick. I prefer the carrot, but I don't deny the effectiveness of the stick either. Ideally, we learn to use both.

Speaking for the Donkeys...

The image that springs to mind whenever I hear this is a carrot on a string that the donkey chases, unable to obtain.

It's not hard to end up resenting the carrot after a while.




This is getting away from the OP, I suppose I'm just musing on whether motivation to achieve something unattainable is as bad as motivation to avoid something inevitable

JamesSand wrote: The image that springs to mind whenever I hear this is a carrot on a string that the donkey chases, unable to obtain.

It's not hard to end up resenting the carrot after a while.

This is getting away from the OP, I suppose I'm just musing on whether motivation to achieve something unattainable is as bad as motivation to avoid something inevitable

Anyone who's ever trained an animal knows that eventually you do give them the carrot, for the exact reason you stated. If they never get it they'll stop being motivated by it.