WonderSeeker

Underrated piece of advice

1 post in this topic

Deal actualized audience,

Try this little science experiment and see what happens:

  • Goal: Go Meta on the forum. Deconstruct the forum. 
  • Notice how you use the forum.
  • Notice how others are using it.
  • Ask: "How often do I use the forum?"
  • Ask "Is this really helping me develop?" 
  • Ask "Is the forum a distraction?"
  • Ask "Am I using the forum wisely?"
  • Ask: "Does arguing on the forum--even if you are 'right'--serve anybody?"
  • Ask: "Am I using this forum to avoid learning real social skills?"
  • Ask: "Am I adding value to the forum?" (Ah, here's a good one!)
  • You probably assume that being on this forum helps you. But is this true? How are you using this forum?
  • Notice how you resist taking up the idea of questioning what you're doing on the forum, let alone what the forum is.

Qualifying note: I'm not implying that the forum is an 'evil' or all doo-doo. Your answers to these questions should be more nuanced than that.

---------------------

One thing that I've become keenly aware of over the past couple of years in this community is just how much people are trying to ape Leo's life and be just like Leo. Nothing wrong with having a role model, but can't you see how this is a giant trap? Figure out your life in your own way, cross-referencing your unique capacities, preferences, and values with some of the great models that Leo has shared. Too many of us are going for the golden fruit of Awakening too soon.

It seems to me that a lot of you are absorbing what Leo says as concrete facts to be stored away in your mental store-bin as a new paradigm to which you judge all other views. This is not real learning and understanding. Can't you see how this will fuck up your aspirations in a hurry? Even worse, it will distort what you think is worth while pursuing. It's a self-defeating strategy. (I know because I lived from this trap--albeit to only a minor degree, thankfully--for about a year.)

This is your reminder to work on the lower-half of Maslow's hierarchy first! Even that will give you some satisfaction, as surprising as it sounds.

A fellow fool,
jp

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