Tag: Buddha

In my opinion, if you admit/address deficiencies to the best of your ability, you never have to worry about whether you’re “strong,” “weak,” “worthy,” “worthless,” or a host of other labels; you’re simply solving problems and doing the best you can.

Sound strategy (which arises from being honest with myself so I can objectively assess my strengths/weaknesses) increases the chance I can dictate the terms with which I live my life.   Unsound strategy increases the chance that life will dictate what I do, as a matter of necessity.

It is uncomfortable—oftentimes painful—to know yourself well enough to assign yourself a functional criteria for success/failure, but if you can do so, you will know when you screwed up, and you can start learning from your mistakes.

It’s fine to believe in magic and miracles, but perilous to rely on them.  Without a solid base of discipline/critical thinking, character, wisdom, and fortitude cease their development. One could argue it’s a blessing in disguise to not have desirable things “magically”  manifest.

From what I’ve seen, many fail to see discipline as a path to strategic excellence.  In acquiring discipline, people set up quantifiable boundaries—neatness, fitness, routine, etiquette—and these are necessary in the beginning, so that one isn’t derailed by their personal cravings.  But IMO, the goal of discipline isn’t to slavishly maintain “respectable” practices; it’s to…

I get why people rationalize away or hide their weakness from themselves (I used to be an expert at it) but pride be damned—I love identifying/addressing personal weakness.  To me, it’s an obvious target in my quest to make myself a little more capable, and my life a little more harmonious.

Hard work and sacrifice in the absence of self-deception (if someone falls prey to self-deception, they could work hard at something to distract themselves from what they truly know they need to do) is bargaining with the future—asking for a better set of circumstances through your immediate offerings.   I’d argue that putting in effort…

I’ve personally suffered from poor discipline and ineffective thought processes.  I try and minimize those faults in myself because I’ve seen friends and family absolutely devastated by them over time.   From what I’ve seen, [being undisciplined/refusing to question yourself/address your failings] is simply not worth it in the long run.  

If I drag my feet or if I procrastinate, life makes me pay with missed opportunities.  If I choose wrongly, life makes me pay with the consequence of error.   So the only thing that makes sense to me is to constantly apply myself, employing as much self-honesty as I can possibly muster, which allows…