Envy

 

Charlie Munger liked to say, "Envy is a really stupid sin because it’s the only one you could never possibly have any fun at."

There is always reason for Hope.

  

There is always reason for Hope.  For instance, it was during his decade-long period of intense creativity and writing, often marred by solitude and illness, that Nietzsche produced his most significant works and developed the philosophical ideas he’s known for today. 

Remind yourself that with hope there is always a way through the pain.

Freidrich Nietzsche’s quote, “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how,” is a reflection of these ideas. The ‘why’ represents our purpose in life – our driving force, our will to power. The ‘how’ signifies the means, the path, the challenges, and the sufferings we encounter in our journey towards that purpose. According to Nietzsche, if one has a purpose (‘why’), they can endure almost any difficulty or hardship (‘how’) in achieving it. This sentiment echoes his belief in the redemptive, empowering aspect of suffering and its essential role in human life.

The quote reinforces Nietzsche’s philosophy that life is not about the pursuit of happiness or avoidance of pain but about the pursuit of a purpose, of a meaningful existence. And it is through this pursuit that one exercises their will to power.

Even in a modern context, Nietzsche’s quote holds considerable relevance. In our fast-paced, often chaotic world, finding a ‘why’ – a purpose or goal – can provide a sense of direction, a framework to make sense of the chaos and adversity we may encounter.

The quote is especially poignant when considering contemporary discussions about mental health and resilience. Psychologists emphasize the importance of having a purpose or goal to motivate us, to give us reasons to overcome difficulties, much in the same vein as Nietzsche’s assertion. Furthermore, the idea that hardship and suffering can foster growth and resilience is a key component of many modern psychological theories, such as post-traumatic growth.

Nietzsche’s philosophy, encapsulated in this quote, continues to impact modern philosophical thought, psychological theories, and popular culture. His ideas challenge us to seek our purpose and embrace the struggles we face in its pursuit, emphasizing that our ‘why’ can empower us to endure any ‘how’. This thought has endured and will continue to inspire people to seek meaning beyond mere happiness or comfort, shaping our understanding of human existence and resilience.

Read more:

https://quotesexplained.com/he-who-has-a-why-to-live-can-bear-almost-any-how/

Agency Is the Highest Level of Personal Competence

 

 

Agency Is the Highest Level of Personal Competence

Whatever your level, you can hold steady, decline, or grow.

Feeling that you have agency is nice. But feeling agentic falls far short of exercising agency—thinking and behaving competently and making real progress toward your desired goals.

To exercise agency is to acquire significant control over your outcomes in life’s various arenas, including school, work, sports, physical health, and psychological well-being.

The Four Pillars of Personal Agency

Full-fledged agency requires believing you can achieve your goal and engaging in the following activities:

1. Forethought: deciding to take on a challenge, thinking ahead, setting goals, and making plans.

2. Implementation: taking first steps, enacting plans, and persisting toward success.

3. Self-management: taking care of yourself, dealing with emotions and stress, and maintaining good health to sustain your efforts.

4. Learning and adapting: monitoring progress, rethinking strategies and tactics, and making effective adjustments.

Thoughtfully executing all four pillars of agency contributes to your personal and professional growth while helping you perform over time. 

Agency is thus a vital source of power, a capability, a competence that can contribute to your overall well-being.

 

Read more:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/getting-proactive/202203/agency-is-the-highest-level-personal-competence?msockid=1dd14bd34e546e2c051d5a524ff76f4f

Robert A. Heinlein says, I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.

 

“I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.”

—Robert A. Heinlein

Harry Belafonte - Try To Remember (live) 1997

  

Harry Belafonte - Try To Remember (live) 1997

https://youtu.be/IFaPImOyGa8?si=hBdF2v3dH2kyZDl1

Try to Remember 

Lyrics by Thomas Collins Jones (February 17, 1928 – August 11, 2023) was an American lyricist and librettist

Try to remember the kind of September

When life was slow and oh, so mellow

Try to remember the kind of September

When grass was green and grain was yellow

Try to remember the kind of September

When you were a tender and callow fellow

Try to remember and if you remember

Then follow, follow

Try to remember when life was so tender

That no one wept except the willow

Try to remember the kind of September

When love was an ember about to billow

Try to remember and if you remember

Then follow, follow

Deep in December, it's nice to remember

Although you know the snow will follow

Deep in December, it's nice to remember

The fire of September that made us mellow

Deep in December, our hearts should remember

"Try to Remember" is a song about nostalgia[1] from the musical comedy play The Fantasticks (1960). It is the first song performed in the show, encouraging the audience to imagine what the sparse set suggests. The words were written by the American lyricist Tom Jones while Harvey Schmidt composed the music.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Try_to_Remember

https://youtu.be/IFaPImOyGa8?si=hBdF2v3dH2kyZDl1

ADHD

 

ADHD can affect the brain's ability to plan, prioritise, focus and execute tasks. Key characteristics include inattentiveness, impulsivity and hyperactivity.

Civilized Life

 

“Civilized life, you know, is based on a huge number of illusions in which we all collaborate willingly. The trouble is we forget after a while that they are illusions and we are deeply shocked when reality is torn down around us.”

― J.G. Ballard

Chanda Mama | Playing For Change | Song Around The World

 

https://youtu.be/I23Bkk92124?si=8h7SoY3bQP9x1-_f

Marcel Proust, Pleasures and Regrets (1896)

 

 "Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."

Marcel Proust, Pleasures and Regrets (1896)

Rahindranath Tagore

 

“The one who plants trees, knowing that he or she will never sit in their shade, has at least started to understand the meaning of life.” 

Rahindranath Tagore

Robert Burns: Man Was Made To Mourn written in 1784

 

 

Robbie Burns

Man Was Made To Mourn

written in 1784

When chill November's surly blast 

Made fields and forests bare, 

One ev'ning, as I wander'd forth 

Along the banks of Ayr, 

I spied a man, whose aged step 

Seem'd weary, worn with care; 

His face was furrow'd o'er with years, 

And hoary was his hair. 

"Young stranger, whither wand'rest thou?" 

Began the rev'rend sage; 

"Does thirst of wealth thy step constrain, 

Or youthful pleasure's rage? 

Or haply, prest with cares and woes, 

Too soon thou hast began 

To wander forth, with me to mourn 

The miseries of man. 

"The sun that overhangs yon moors, 

Out-spreading far and wide, 

Where hundreds labour to support 

A haughty lordling's pride; - 

I've seen yon weary winter-sun 

Twice forty times return; 

And ev'ry time has added proofs, 

That man was made to mourn. 

"O man! while in thy early years, 

How prodigal of time! 

Mis-spending all thy precious hours- 

Thy glorious, youthful prime! 

Alternate follies take the sway; 

Licentious passions burn; 

Which tenfold force gives Nature's law. 

That man was made to mourn. 

"Look not alone on youthful prime, 

Or manhood's active might; 

Man then is useful to his kind, 

Supported in his right: 

But see him on the edge of life, 

With cares and sorrows worn; 

Then Age and Want - oh! ill-match'd pair - 

Shew man was made to mourn. 

"A few seem favourites of fate, 

In pleasure's lap carest; 

Yet, think not all the rich and great 

Are likewise truly blest: 

But oh! what crowds in ev'ry land, 

All wretched and forlorn, 

Thro' weary life this lesson learn, 

That man was made to mourn. 

"Many and sharp the num'rous ills 

Inwoven with our frame! 

More pointed still we make ourselves, 

Regret, remorse, and shame! 

And man, whose heav'n-erected face 

The smiles of love adorn, - 

Man's inhumanity to man 

Makes countless thousands mourn! 

"See yonder poor, o'erlabour'd wight, 

So abject, mean, and vile, 

Who begs a brother of the earth 

To give him leave to toil; 

And see his lordly fellow-worm 

The poor petition spurn, 

Unmindful, tho' a weeping wife 

And helpless offspring mourn. 

"If I'm design'd yon lordling's slave, 

By Nature's law design'd, 

Why was an independent wish 

E'er planted in my mind? 

If not, why am I subject to 

His cruelty, or scorn? 

Or why has man the will and pow'r 

To make his fellow mourn? 

"Yet, let not this too much, my son, 

Disturb thy youthful breast: 

This partial view of human-kind 

Is surely not the last! 

The poor, oppressed, honest man 

Had never, sure, been born, 

Had there not been some recompense 

To comfort those that mourn! 

"O Death! the poor man's dearest friend, 

The kindest and the best! 

Welcome the hour my aged limbs 

Are laid with thee at rest! 

The great, the wealthy fear thy blow 

From pomp and pleasure torn; 

But, oh! a blest relief for those 

That weary-laden mourn!"

Resilience

 

Resilience is the art of bouncing back, not as the person you were, but as someone stronger, wiser and more determined.  When life pushes you to your limits, it's a call to dig deeper, to find strength you didn't know you had.  Every fall is a chance to rise again, more powerful than before.

Television and other Screens

 

“I think there are enormous obstacles to deep reading now. I think that the tyranny of the visual is a frightening thing.”
— Harold Bloom

Despite the enormous quantity of books, how few people read! And if one reads profitably, one would realize how much stupid stuff the vulgar herd is content to swallow every day.
—Voltaire

DR. SEUSS SAYS,

 

WHY FIT IN WHEN YOU ARE BORN TO STAND OUT!

- DR SEUSS

THE MORE THAT YOU READ, THE MORE THINGS YOU WILL KNOW. THE MORE THAT YOU LEARN, THE MORE PLACES YOU'LL GO.

- DR SEUSS 

BE WHO YOU ARE AND SAY WHAT YOU FEEL, BECAUSE THOSE WHO MIND DON'T MATTER, AND THOSE WHO MATTER DON'T MIND.

- - DR. SEUSS

YOU HAVE BRAINS IN YOUR HEAD. YOU HAVE FEET IN YOUR SHOES. YOU CAN STEER YOURSELF ANY DIRECTION YOU CHOOSE.

-  DR. SEUSS

UNLESS SOMEONE LIKE YOU CARES A WHOLE AWFUL LOT, NOTHING IS GOING TO GET BETTER. IT'S NOT.

- DR. SEUSS

Ralph Waldo Emerson says,

 

“Few people know how to take a walk. The qualifications are endurance, plain clothes, old shoes, an eye for nature, good humor, vast curiosity, good speech, good silence and nothing too much.”

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

Theologian and philosopher Soren Kierkegaard on the power of walking:

 

Theologian and philosopher Soren Kierkegaard on the power of walking:

"Above all, do not lose your desire to walk: every day I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness; I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it. Even if one were to walk for one's health and it were constantly one station ahead—I would still say: Walk!

Besides, it is also apparent that in walking one constantly gets as close to well-being as possible, even if one does not quite reach it—but by sitting still, and the more one sits still, the closer one comes to feeling ill. Health and salvation can be found only in motion... if one just keeps on walking, everything will be alright."

Source: Letters and Documents