Passionate and pained
On finding thy self, on seeking to belong, and the heaviness that comes with it
Passionate and pained
We’ve been told that the meaning of life is self-actualisation, to achieve some perfect state of mental health and productivity. Don’t commit until you have perfect control. But I think that way of thinking will backfire. Because the end point of trying to control everything is you become like a machine: emotionally detached, hyper-productive, supe... See more
how much of our search for connection is genuinely about others, and how much is about affirming ourselves?
And indeed, that IS the question: whether to float with the tide, or to swim for a goal. It is a choice we must all make consciously or unconsciously at one time in our lives.
Farnam Street • Hunter S. Thompson’s Letter on Finding Your Purpose and Living a Meaningful Life
People either pursue an interesting or a happy life (that does not mean you are either boring or miserable; it means these values guide your decision-making). Penelope Trunk has a test I came across years ago. People who fall in the ‘interesting’ camp move away from family for career reasons, are maximisers of looks, status and experiences, have st... See more
Hunter S. Thompson’s Letter on Finding Your Purpose and Living a Meaningful Life
Farnam Streetfs.blog
Almost every time I meet somebody who I'd consider to be a genius, I discover that they have some debilitating inhibition like severe insomnia, addiction, mania, or paranoia. Nature trades in fine balances. Rare is the one who gets the gift but not the curse.
David Perellx.comI really believe that the only way to find relief from anxiety, to find self-esteem, self-respect, self-love—everything we’re searching for and is so prized in modern culture—is trying to live a more virtuous life.
N.S. Lyons • A World In Upheaval
In the area of thought, there is the intellectual who discusses his or her personal problems as though they belong to someone else. In a state of total dissociation, this individual does not experience the emotional meaning of anything he or she says or hears; such an individual prefers to talk about psychology in general rather than his or her ago
... See moreNathaniel Branden • Honoring the Self: The Pyschology of Confidence and Respect
Control and surrender have to be kept in balance. That’s what surfers do—take control of the situation, then be carried, then take control. In the last few thousand years, we’ve become incredibly adept technically. We’ve treasured the controlling part of ourselves and neglected the surrendering part.
Brian Eno