Room At The Top
"There is always room at the top."
~Daniel Webster~
In a zero-sum game, no one can win without someone else suffering a corresponding loss. Fortunately, life is ont a zero-sum game, though there are some who seem to believe that it is. We don't have to push others aside to be winners. And we don't have to enjoy our successes alone. In fact, sharing our successes with others can make them much more meaningful and pleasurable.
I want to succeed - and to include other with me as I do.
My thoughts: Once again, I totally agree with this post. I think it's a very powerful thing to share experiences with others, and feel the power of a moment together. It helps keep things in perspective and also helps us work on a better feeling of community. :) Love your friends and accomplish things together. It's much more fulfilling. :) Have a wonderful day, everyone! :D
Asking For Nothing
"We never reflect on how pleasant it is to ask for nothing."
~Seneca~
It can be very unpleasant to ask others for the things we need. Often what we ask for is given freely and with love, but we are still uncomfortable asking for it. We tend to feel weak or inferior when we have to ask others for help.
What we rarely think about, though, is how pleasant it is not to ask for someone else's help. Not needing is a good feeling, but not needing to ask may be an even better feeling.
I will not be embarrassed about asking for help when I need it, but I will also appreciate the times when I don't have to ask for anything.
My thoughts: I think that the heart of this post is really saying this: "Trust yourself." You should know when you need help, and when you don't. Ya know? Don't be too proud to ask for help when you need it, but trust yourself that you can rely on yourself to get things done. I think this post should have more emphasis on the idea that it IS actually okay to ask for help. Too much of our society is closed off in a personal endeavor mental attitude, and I think it actually hinders progress versus help it. We are stronger together. Don't be afraid to ask for help :D Have a wonderful day!
Community
"There can be no vulnerability without risk; there can be no community without vulnerability; there can be no peace, and ultimately no life, without community."
~M. Scott Peck~
Most of us are hesitant when we first join a new community. Will we fit in? Do we want to let the other members of the community into our lives? What does becoming a member of the community say about us? These are important questions to consider.
But we can't make the world a better place except by working with others. And we can't work with others if we merely stand in the background judging and withholding. We must be willing to risk vulnerability if we want to be an engaged member of a real community.
I am willing to risk being vulnerable because I believe in the power of community.
My thoughts: I absolutely love this post. I think it is a very real thing that everybody everywhere deals with, and if they don't, it's because they are stuck in routine. Everyone wants to be liked wherever they go, and I think it's engrained into us as humans based on our will to survive. We know that being in groups and having others to depend on makes it far easier to not just survive, but to thrive.
However, there are over 7 billion people on this planet, and I can guarantee you that you can find people to accept you as you are. I know that 'being yourself' is such a cliche thing to say, but it is for a reason. It is such a hard thing to do, but I think that if we can get to that point, everything becomes easier. I struggle with this myself as well. I wonder if my music is going to be well-liked or accepted by others, or if I look good, or if I wrote a paper that my teacher will like. The problem with this is that we start living to others standards instead of our own. We need to take accountability in our lives and let the people in our lives lift us higher instead of standing back and judging everything we do. The entire world truly is one big community. It's time that each one of us start acting like it. I'm here being vulnerable on this blog in a way. I love positivity, and I believe in it. Take it or leave it. :) (As an example.) So what do you love? Who are YOU? ...Great. Now go show the world.
Side note: I sincerely apologize for missing a couple days this weekend. I will work to be better about this. :)
Freedom
"You can only protect your liberties in this world by protecting the other man's freedom. You can only be free if I am free."
~Clarence Darrow~
Great societies are founded on the idea that everyone's freedom is important. Not freedom for the wealthy or freedom for the powerful, but freedom for everyone.
We don't always realize how we put our own freedoms at risk when we acquiesce to others losing theirs. "It won't happen to us," we say. "We're not doing anything wrong. We've got nothing to worry about." But history gives us many examples of freedoms lost, bit by bit, because people thought it couldn't happen to them.
I enjoy my freedom and know that it is something I need to protect. I will be as vigilant about protecting the freedoms of others as I am about my own.
My thoughts: Be thankful for your freedom! HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY EVERYONE! :D
Laughing Together
"Laughter is the shortest distance between two people."
~Victor Borge~
Make someone laugh, and we've made a friend. We're drawn to people who are amused by the same things that amuse us. It's a sign of other common interests and a similar outlook on life.
I enjoy laughing with new people. It helps me get to know them.
Keeping Quiet
"There's nothing wrong with having nothing to say - unless you insist on saying it."
~Anonymous~
The people we dread sitting next to at parties aren't the silent ones. However reticent the person next to us may be, we can usually find something to say. Or we can at least sit there in quiet companionship.
No, the people we dread are the ones who insist on filling every moment with the sound of their own voices. They babble on about everything while saying nothing, and we can't wait to find an excuse to get away from them.
I don't need to fill in every gap in every conversation. I can listen to others or just sit quietly. No one will think there's something wrong with me if I'm quiet - but they might if I insist on talking all the time.
My thoughts: I don't really like this post much at all! I think what they are trying to say is a very good point, but this was not said in a very good manner at all. I think what's more important is to realize that everyone is different and we should try to be compatible as much as we can with that instead of saying the other person is at fault and needs to 'shut up'.
Experience
"Experience is not what happens to a man; it is what a man does with what happens to him."
~Aldous Huxley~
We all know people who have gone through experiences that should have made them stronger, more interesting, more confident, or more empathetic. Yet somehow they've passed through the experiences seemingly unphased.
We should see such people as cautionary examples of what happens when we fail to actively engage in the world. Our experiences are not going to do anything for us unless we choose to do something with our experiences.
I will try to see every new experience as a chance to learn about myself and grow into a better person.
My thoughts: I think it is a very important thing to learn from experiences and allow them to shape you into a better person, but I think this post is a little too black and white for me to fully accept it. I don't believe everyone who isn't a 'better' person from their experiences isn't living. They may have had enough of whatever they're going through that they choose not to deal with it anymore. Or they've learned not to let something painful affect them. To say that someone is 'failing to actively engage in the world' is not entirely fair. Don't let this quote get you down! Everyone has their own way of interacting with the world :) It's up to you what kind of live you live. Experiences will shape you, and who you are is influenced by your past, but it's ultimately up to you. You choose your life, you choose who surrounds you, you choose what you do, you choose how you do it. Do something you're proud of. :)
