Since the advent of psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, pharmaceuticals, and grandiose illusions of purpose, meaning, and happiness, those who do not fit neatly into “normal” behavior have faced stigma and violent prejudice. We have also dehumanized large segments of society in favor of political, ideological, economic, or dogmatic ignorance and stupidity.
Tag: personal development
There’s an element of our psychology that runs through everything we do — an integral, organic essence that zigzags like a dramatic line chart, dotted with significant events over the course of a lifetime. The y-axis naturally represents emotional impact.
Every lifetime has its ups and downs, peaks and valleys, flurries of activity, lulls and stagnation; times of stillness, contemplation and regrets, gratitude and love… but ultimately, it all ends. A forest, a community, a nation or empire; a civilization, a religion, a species — all of their stories eventually come to a close. That which endures through the ages is subtlety, energy, the building blocks for what’s next, fragmented timelines, and relics of what once was.
For each of us, on the winding road toward discovery, wisdom, meaning and making sense of this singular lifetime, we are endowed with unique capabilities. We can choose to free our minds of relics, fragmentation, and stagnant energies.
You cannot wait to start living your best, most inspired life. Waiting to start exercising or cleaning your house on a regular basis, flossing your teeth, pursuing that PhD, or setting aside a percentage of your income for something, invariably defers other things that you will not believe are related to — or connected to — both your ordinary and ambitious goals.
How you do anything is how you do everything. Take a look at your life and you’ll realize how true this statement is.
Like many lifelong-learners, I’ve suffered through periods of outright analysis paralysis. I’d study and absorb everything I could about what I was really excited to do (or be), what I wanted to do (or be), or what I was interested in maybe trying one day (to be)… It really never ends. And today, there’s an absolute glut of information and resources at our fingertips that can and will keep us floating around in existential limbo forever. Undoubtedly, I learned and personally grew the most by actually doing something. In hindsight, I should have resisted and complained less, and embraced the process.