"Live life fully while you're here. Experience everything. Take care of yourself and your friends. Have fun, be crazy, be weird. Go out and screw up! You're going to anyway, so you might as well enjoy the process. Take the opportunity to learn from your mistakes: find the cause of your problem and eliminate it. Don't try to be perfect; just be an excellent example of being human."
― Anthony Robbins
If I could go back in time about 15 years or so and give my younger self advice, this is what I would tell myself... "Our belief is not a belief. Our principles are not a faith. We do not rely solely upon science and reason, because these are necessary rather than sufficient factors, but we distrust anything that contradicts science or outrages reason. We may differ on many things, but what we respect is free inquiry, openmindedness, and the pursuit of ideas for their own sake." - Christopher Hitchens Pull the trigger. You will be faced with many choices. The painful truth is that you never know which choice might be the best. Don't hesitate indefinitely to choose a path. Take the time to make a wise choice, then pull the damn trigger. Don't let fear hold you back. Do the best you can, and if you fail, pick yourself up and keep going. Persevere, stand tall, press forward. Only look back if you intend to learn from your past. Don't let your past define you. You are not unforgivable. You can be whatever you want to be. Never say, "that's how I've always been." You can always improve yourself. Learn from your experiences. Recognize that the very molecules that make up your body, the atoms that construct the molecules, are traceable to the crucibles that were once the centers of high mass stars that exploded their chemically enriched guts into the galaxy, enriching pristine gas clouds with the chemistry of life. So that we are all connected: to each other biologically, to the Earth chemically, and to the rest of the universe atomically. ― Neil deGrasse Tyson
Don't set start dates! New Year's Resolutions almost never work out. People who say, "Oh, I'll start next week," almost never accomplish what they're hoping to do. The right time to do the right thing is always right now. People who fail to accomplish the things they want out of life (whether it's weight loss, or quitting smoking, or growing one's savings account) don't make those goals an intrinsic part of their lifestyle, and that's why they fail. Setting a start date is almost always an excuse for procrastinating and delaying. For such people, the only intrinsic part of their lifestyle is the proclivity for making excuses and shifting the blame to anyone or anything other than themselves.
Be different. Make deliberate choices. Make every choice important, even the ones that seem trivial. Meditate. It's not just for Buddhists. Appreciate the benefits of calming oneself and finding the strength and peace to take on the day. Work on your whole being. Read a book, exercise, spend time with friends. Find a hobby that is both relaxing and challenging. Learn how to budget your money. Don't neglect one part of your being in order to work on another part. Every aspect of you matters.
Celebrate solidarity with humankind. We're all connected. Embrace the ethics of reciprocal altruism grounded in the solidarity and commonality of all humankind and all life on earth. Always champion truth, justice, compassion and freedom - including freedom of speech and freedom of thought - and the pursuit of truth, understanding, knowledge and wisdom. Teach others, and let them teach you.
That's kinda cool.
That makes me smile.
And I actually feel quite large at the end of that.
It's not that we are better than the universe.
We're part of the universe.
We're in the universe and the universe is in us.
Make people matter. Be honest. Have fun. Be realistic, but positive. Don't wallow in childish drama. Eat a lot of broccoli and blueberries. They are wonder foods. Eat a lot of Greek yogurt. Study the martial arts, and never quit. Try new things. Never be a victim. Never think more of yourself than you ought. Likewise, never think less of yourself than you ought. Never forget that you are a warrior. Never forget that the journey is as important as the destination.
Dead-Logic.com
