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Excellence is a habit, but so is failure

awesomekling.github.io

231–240 of 268 posts

Re: Excellence is a habit, but so is failure

#231

Life is about taking risk. We make daily decisions that involve big and small risk constantly. Choosing to enjoy life today instead of waiting for tomorrow for that enjoyment isn't a failure , it's a choice. It comes with risk and tradeoffs. Everyone thinks there's a magical line that everyone else should take that straddles that line between enjoyment today and tomorrow. That lines doesn't exist, and isn't even the…

I believe you had enjoyable meals with friends, but to be honest, are those by themselves happening often enough to gain a problematic amount of weight? What if you would find the habit to balance these events with some counter measure (be it going to gym, eating more fruits and vegetables at the rest of those days or weeks). I think the point of OP still holds, the "failures" are habits. What failure is, is subjective, but if you are mindful of what you do when -- your habits, you know what to label a failure and what not, and when to steer/change an intention. Easier said then done though.

Re: Excellence is a habit, but so is failure

#233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think if more people were vulnerable, the world would be a kinder place. I also wish more CEOs were vulnerable. They are forced to "show strength" and "not complain" especially if they are a billionaire. But it would really show how much their lives are a mixed bag and we all face challenges and try to figure it out.

> They are forced to "show strength" and "not complain" I wonder about this. Sometimes I think that is the job of a CEO: to put on a good face and keep and maintain “The Plan Is Gonna Work” vibes. Every CEO I’ve worked under—no matter how compassionate they were on a personal level—has had a policy of absolutely crushing voices of dissent. Maybe not immediately, but within a couple quarters. At least when the dissent…

> I’ve come to appreciate that this attitude may be necessary… that companies (with headcounts in the 50-500 range at least) cannot afford to have some of their people pulling in a different direction than their roadmap. And that people who will do that must be excised.

There's a big difference between differing opinions and outright insubordination though, and one should not mistake one for the other.

IMHO, a good leader should encourage his underlings to express their opinions and giving him feedback and advice, but when the boss has made a decision then that decision should be followed. A leader who does not allow the former is a weak leader.

But it is difficult sometimes, because being able to give and take criticism in a constructive way is a skill that not everyone has, but it can be learned.

Re: Excellence is a habit, but so is failure

#234

I found it interesting to learn about the etymology of the word "character". It comes to us from Latin which took it from the Greek (χᾰρᾰκτήρ) which comes from kharasso (χαράσσω) - I scratch or engrave . Our character can be thought of as the result of a long process of engraving or scratching. I tend to see it as a solid metal shield full of scratches from long battles. The resulting grooves tend towards virtue or v…

For a similar idea from another culture, see the ancient definitions of karma : Now as a man is like this or like that, according as he acts and according as he behaves, so will he be; a man of good acts will become good, a man of bad acts, bad; he becomes pure by pure deeds, bad by bad deeds; And here they say that a person consists of desires, and as is his desire, so is his will; and as is his will, so is his deed…

Rarely do people get what they deserve.

The idea of Karma only "works" when embedded in a spiritual belief system that adheres to some form of iterative life cycle, e.g., reincarnation.

Re: Excellence is a habit, but so is failure

#236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For a similar idea from another culture, see the ancient definitions of karma : Now as a man is like this or like that, according as he acts and according as he behaves, so will he be; a man of good acts will become good, a man of bad acts, bad; he becomes pure by pure deeds, bad by bad deeds; And here they say that a person consists of desires, and as is his desire, so is his will; and as is his will, so is his deed…

oligarchs who were killing, stealing, raping and betraying their whole lives, now are laughing on this joke so hard, on their super-yachts.

[deleted]

Re: Excellence is a habit, but so is failure

#237
post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My life philosophy boils down to: you can do whatever you want as long as you're willing to pay the price and deal with the consequences.

So you have perfect knowledge of consequences for everything you do in your life? 50 years ago general public was not aware that smoking is that bad as we know today. For a lot of things we don’t know the real consequences or full price.

Obviously, you cannot be omniscient. The idea is that you have to accept that you made the best decision with the information you had at the time. If that information changes, make new decisions.

Re: Excellence is a habit, but so is failure

#238
post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My life philosophy boils down to: you can do whatever you want as long as you're willing to pay the price and deal with the consequences.

That’s an okay attitude from an interpersonal standpoint, but horrible advice from a mental health perspective.

Genuinely asking, how so? I've had my bouts of depression and burn-out in my life, but even then, I just assumed it was an unforeseen consequence of some action(s) and got treatment.

This is also the boiled down version though, so I'm kinda curious what you see in it and how it could influence the bigger picture.

Re: Excellence is a habit, but so is failure

#239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For a similar idea from another culture, see the ancient definitions of karma : Now as a man is like this or like that, according as he acts and according as he behaves, so will he be; a man of good acts will become good, a man of bad acts, bad; he becomes pure by pure deeds, bad by bad deeds; And here they say that a person consists of desires, and as is his desire, so is his will; and as is his will, so is his deed…

Rarely do people get what they deserve. The idea of Karma only "works" when embedded in a spiritual belief system that adheres to some form of iterative life cycle, e.g., reincarnation.

That’s a common misunderstanding. Karma is not a “restoring force”. Karma is habit. Act with kindness and your life will become one of kindness. Act with rage and your life will become one of rage.

Karma is not there to get you. Is the law of cause and effect. If you seed rage, you will get rage. No other result can become from rage than rage.

Re: Excellence is a habit, but so is failure

#240
post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So you have perfect knowledge of consequences for everything you do in your life? 50 years ago general public was not aware that smoking is that bad as we know today. For a lot of things we don’t know the real consequences or full price.

Obviously, you cannot be omniscient. The idea is that you have to accept that you made the best decision with the information you had at the time. If that information changes, make new decisions.

I am non smoker, never started.

My parents were smokers - can I blame them for their smoking habit that had negative effect on me, on their health?

Well not really because they never had a bad intent.

When they got smoking induced health issues were they able to make a new decision? - Not, it was too late.

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