Life Philosophies
As most of you know, I like to do a lot of thinking and have a bunch of life philosophies... Well since the summer has begun I've come up with three that I think are pretty important... Some I thought of because of myself, some I thought of because of others, but they all apply to me, and they may all apply to you if you really think about them, but none are aimed at any one person in particular so here it goes.
1. "The problem with dreamers is that while they're dreams are grand in their minds, in actuallity, when it counts, they always fall short"... That is a quote from Rudy and while I find it to be completely inaccurate, there is a ring of truth to it. Big dreams are very important to have. If we do not dream big we are selling ourselves short because we are all capable of great things. What decides if we achieve these great things though is our motivation, determination, and commitment. Many of us (and I am definitely very guilty of this) create these dreams of what we want to do and goals that we set for ourselves yet we take not steps in achieving the dreams. Those people who simply set high goals and then sit around talking about them or wasting their time on other things are the ones who will become failures. Like I said, this is not to say don't have dreams because if the motivation, determination, and commitment aren't there most dreams can be achieved but without the combination of both, one has nothing.
2. The second theory has to do with how we deal with our failure and our mistakes. There are four levels of "dealing" and they reveal alot about a person's character although, we must remember, character is always changing so no real conclusions can be drawn, but examinations can be made. The lowest level of dealing is the person who fails or makes a mistake, that dwells, mopes, and feels pity. The mistake is dwelled on and the person is brought down without any real attempt at using hindsight and bettering yourself because of the mistake. The focus is on feeling sorry, not on understanding and growing. The third level (ascending) is dwelling on the mistake with an attempt to make understanding, often achieving understanding, but then not learning or growing, and making a similar mistake in the future. It is good to consider and try to understand our mistakes but if we do not apply what we learn then it does us no good. The second level, is dwelling, understanding, and then learning. You are a changed person (slightly of course) because you learn from your mistake. You rarely repeat mistakes and after much considering of the situation you fully understand what went wrong and how to fix it. Persons 4 and 3 often blame others for their mistakes or failures. Persons 3 and 2 will usually blame themselves if they are to blame, and persons 2 and 1 will find something that they could have done differently or improved even if it was not largely their own fault. The highest level does not DWELL on their mistake. The process is simple, they reach the understanding phase without having to dwell and consider it for a large period of time. There is nothing wrong with being type 2 over type 1, type 1 is just more advanced and usually comes with more experience.
The third philosophy has to do with selflessness. For awhile people have told me I should ACT more humble or BE more humble and I would try but it never really worked. Recently though, something occurred to me when I was thinking about a great man that I know. He is one of the most selfless people I ever met, and he does things to help others without THOUGHT of self. He sees it more as just doing the right thing, he never DESIRES praise. This is a man that I highly respect, and I was like, wow, wouldn't it be nice if I was as selfless as he was, but every time I try to act selfless it never really works/feels quite right. It finally dawned on me that selflessness is something that is completely internal. No one can ask it of you and in many ways it cannot be seen. It is a FEELING, not an external trait. This is an important observation in that now I finally know how to go about becoming more selfless but unfortunately it's gonna be harder this way because it has to be 100% integral, not an act or it will not work, and it will take time to reach that 100%, but keeping in mind I can neither look for, nor expect people to notice, that's a journey worth taking.
Keep in mind that all 3 of these philosophies I try to incorporate into my own life and I only put them in here to inspire thought. If you disagree with them, I don't care... that's what makes people different. If you like them, feel free to try them. Ta-ta for now :)
1. "The problem with dreamers is that while they're dreams are grand in their minds, in actuallity, when it counts, they always fall short"... That is a quote from Rudy and while I find it to be completely inaccurate, there is a ring of truth to it. Big dreams are very important to have. If we do not dream big we are selling ourselves short because we are all capable of great things. What decides if we achieve these great things though is our motivation, determination, and commitment. Many of us (and I am definitely very guilty of this) create these dreams of what we want to do and goals that we set for ourselves yet we take not steps in achieving the dreams. Those people who simply set high goals and then sit around talking about them or wasting their time on other things are the ones who will become failures. Like I said, this is not to say don't have dreams because if the motivation, determination, and commitment aren't there most dreams can be achieved but without the combination of both, one has nothing.
2. The second theory has to do with how we deal with our failure and our mistakes. There are four levels of "dealing" and they reveal alot about a person's character although, we must remember, character is always changing so no real conclusions can be drawn, but examinations can be made. The lowest level of dealing is the person who fails or makes a mistake, that dwells, mopes, and feels pity. The mistake is dwelled on and the person is brought down without any real attempt at using hindsight and bettering yourself because of the mistake. The focus is on feeling sorry, not on understanding and growing. The third level (ascending) is dwelling on the mistake with an attempt to make understanding, often achieving understanding, but then not learning or growing, and making a similar mistake in the future. It is good to consider and try to understand our mistakes but if we do not apply what we learn then it does us no good. The second level, is dwelling, understanding, and then learning. You are a changed person (slightly of course) because you learn from your mistake. You rarely repeat mistakes and after much considering of the situation you fully understand what went wrong and how to fix it. Persons 4 and 3 often blame others for their mistakes or failures. Persons 3 and 2 will usually blame themselves if they are to blame, and persons 2 and 1 will find something that they could have done differently or improved even if it was not largely their own fault. The highest level does not DWELL on their mistake. The process is simple, they reach the understanding phase without having to dwell and consider it for a large period of time. There is nothing wrong with being type 2 over type 1, type 1 is just more advanced and usually comes with more experience.
The third philosophy has to do with selflessness. For awhile people have told me I should ACT more humble or BE more humble and I would try but it never really worked. Recently though, something occurred to me when I was thinking about a great man that I know. He is one of the most selfless people I ever met, and he does things to help others without THOUGHT of self. He sees it more as just doing the right thing, he never DESIRES praise. This is a man that I highly respect, and I was like, wow, wouldn't it be nice if I was as selfless as he was, but every time I try to act selfless it never really works/feels quite right. It finally dawned on me that selflessness is something that is completely internal. No one can ask it of you and in many ways it cannot be seen. It is a FEELING, not an external trait. This is an important observation in that now I finally know how to go about becoming more selfless but unfortunately it's gonna be harder this way because it has to be 100% integral, not an act or it will not work, and it will take time to reach that 100%, but keeping in mind I can neither look for, nor expect people to notice, that's a journey worth taking.
Keep in mind that all 3 of these philosophies I try to incorporate into my own life and I only put them in here to inspire thought. If you disagree with them, I don't care... that's what makes people different. If you like them, feel free to try them. Ta-ta for now :)