Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well summarized
There's even a poster. http://www.myspiritgarden.com/Cotton-Scroll-The-journey-is-t...
There's even a video.
To Anyone Who Thinks They're Falling Behind in Life
41–50 of 55 posts
Re: To Anyone Who Thinks They're Falling Behind in Life
#42Re: To Anyone Who Thinks They're Falling Behind in Life
#43This article doesn't cover the cost of making horrible mistakes. A series of them actually... over a couple of decades. This article was more for the rats stuck in the "affluenza" maze, not the chronically depressed or others struggling with more fundamental issues than 'keeping up with the Joneses' Yeah, I learned a whole lot about my blind spots (in being taken advantage of, ignoring issues, actively avoiding them.…
I can certainly relate. Good luck to us both then.
Re: To Anyone Who Thinks They're Falling Behind in Life
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
There's even a poster. http://www.myspiritgarden.com/Cotton-Scroll-The-journey-is-t...
There's even a video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERbvKrH-GC4
There's even a video game.
Re: To Anyone Who Thinks They're Falling Behind in Life
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
There's even a video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERbvKrH-GC4
There's even a video game. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKqeD7ojynw
Re: To Anyone Who Thinks They're Falling Behind in Life
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
That was a horrible comment :) The author is clearly saying " We have to put in our best efforts and then give ourselves permission to let whatever happens to happen". And then that after we've put in our best effort , we must accept that some things are out of our control and impossible to accurately predict: things like timing! She doesn't dismiss effort or time: she just says that you can't rely on them to produce…
The article doesn't even mention personal responsibility until roughly halfway through it. And you comment about "born to be lazy" holds no water. If you want to be lazy, you have to accept that you won't have opportunities non-lazy people will have. If you're "born to be lazy", that's fine unless you want to be somewhere that non-lazy people are. If you're sitting on your butt cause the inspiration for your novel ha…
> If you're sitting on your butt cause the inspiration for your novel hasn't come along because it isn't time yet
I'm not a writer, but I assume that a writer can simply go on with his life, doing other useful things, and postpone writing that novel until true/natural inspiration comes to him/her. I've read enough crappy writings imbibed with the stench of "synthetic/forced-through-work inspiration" that the only advice I could give to writers is: wait until you have something to truly write about, and wait until you actually get the right perspective of things, and the "inspiration", and only then go and work hard to inflict your literary masterpiece upon the world.
The world is full of "forced art", "forced architecture" and "forced industrial design" made through "working hard enough" instead of actually exploring around until you bump into a "good perspective".
And about:
> If you want to be lazy, you have to accept that you won't have opportunities non-lazy people will have
In the real world things don't work like this at all. Maybe all I want is to sit around in my hut in the rainforest... maybe I'm even content and at peace with the fact the only one of my two children is statistically likely to reach adulthood because malaria or whatever... and being ok with this I just do the bare minimum hunting and enjoy living in nature... until some "hard workers" show up with chainsaws or mining equipment. I'm not a lazy person, but I sympathize with the people that just want to "live their life in their own natural rhythm", but end up being forced out of it by some who worked hard enough to buy the property of the land underneath them, or worked hard enough to make the money to fully "buy off" the government of their peaceful tropical country and then start exploiting it.
As an engineer I love hard work. But when it comes to art or politics I think we need less of it. Less bad art and literature. Less dehumanizing enterprises.
Re: To Anyone Who Thinks They're Falling Behind in Life
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
I feel as though you missed the point of the article by advocating for people to make meaning and purpose in their lives by doing something that scares them. I think this type of thinking gives way to the mentality that leads to the problems described in the article. It is not about working hard to make meaning or to 'fix' things that are broken or that you are not happy about but rather to 'let go'. To let go to the…
I feel as though you picked a single statement out of my comment and took it out of context. The whole concept of running the hamster wheel in the first place is flawed; who are you "falling behind" if not comparing yourself to other people. The article wants us to "take a fucking step back for a moment, stop beating ourselves up into oblivion, and to let the cogs turn as they will". What I'm saying is don't put your…
It's not so much a self-help article as it is a you-can't-help-it article. It's about recognizing that sometimes there isn't anything you can do and that there is no need to feel pressure. In lieu of that, you just relax and let these moments pass. For some people, that realization can bring happiness.
Re: To Anyone Who Thinks They're Falling Behind in Life
#48Wow, this article sounds like the perfect invite to not work too hard in life and just cruise by. Thanks! Thats just what more American's need, a reason not to work! And yes, I read the comments here about working hard, then letting the chips fall where they may. But that was not the message of the article. It was just one line smashed between a bunch of crap about accepting where you are in life. WTF is this junk? I…
People who don't want to work don't really need a reason not to work.
Re: To Anyone Who Thinks They're Falling Behind in Life
#49I wonder how many people will read this article, have a lightbulb go off in their head, feel warm and fuzzy about it all, then wake up tomorrow and do absolutely nothing about it. Probably most. This article is unfortunately what it epitimizes the most -- a self-help conundrum. Advice given from the perspective of a workaholic. But alas, what tools does it actually provide to take action? Walk away from everything? S…
+1. Just bought a racing bike for a 250km cycling marathon through the Alps in June. A bit scared, but so stoked for it.
Re: To Anyone Who Thinks They're Falling Behind in Life
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
I feel as though you picked a single statement out of my comment and took it out of context. The whole concept of running the hamster wheel in the first place is flawed; who are you "falling behind" if not comparing yourself to other people. The article wants us to "take a fucking step back for a moment, stop beating ourselves up into oblivion, and to let the cogs turn as they will". What I'm saying is don't put your…
It's not so much a self-help article as it is a you-can't-help-it article. It's about recognizing that sometimes there isn't anything you can do and that there is no need to feel pressure. In lieu of that, you just relax and let these moments pass. For some people, that realization can bring happiness.
If your work is winding you up to the point of causing severe anxiety, then maybe you should be looking at why you're there in the first place...
I don't know if you've read much self-help, but there's a lot of "you-can't-help-it" contained within. "Letting the moment pass" is a micro-solution to an entire-life size problem.
Speaking as someone who experiences some of the same emotions described in the article, it's far more effective to reduce stress and anxiety by removing non-essential tasks from your list than it is to "just chill". People don't need to "step back every once in a while", they need to learn how to say no.