There are so many instances which I could go back to and like to do differently (don’t we all?). Most would revolve around doing it another way (is there even a right way of doing anything?)
If I Could Turn Back Time
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Tag Archives: life
Moments to Remember
What are the three most memorable moments — good or bad, happy or sad — in your life? Go!
This is a very tricky question, as there are of course many stored in the subconscious of my head, as photographs in my hard drive and shared with others. I can’t pin point to which one were the most memorable (yet?) so for now I’ll grow with:
- That moment when I finally learned to love and embrace myself, and tell myself I’ll do fine, even if I’m stuck in a shit storm.
- When quarter life crisis stuck me hard and I realized uncertainty is all I’ve got to move on ahead.
- This is my 701st blog post on this blog. Yay?
Golden Years
The Golden Years is less of a definitive period and more variant for an individual as opposed to others (like the golden age of comic books or television)
By definition, Golden Age refers to a mythological period of primeval human existence perceived as an ideal state when human beings were pure and free from suffering.
But as already said, when you take into account life of an individual and not something collective, it’s different for everybody. Usually the golden years for a person can be regarded at their initial ages, a baby or young child being loved and pampered by everyone around. But those born with a disease, thrown away as unwanted, or worse born into some captivity like slavery shows a different picture. For many school/college life is the most cherished, but not for many going through perpetual struggles which range from bullying to monetary. All well to do and happy? Time for some real retrospection.
All this is not even dramatic, it happens everyday all around the world, even right now. The more you know, the more you realize how much things are really fucked up. But hey, happiness is not an unachievable goal. It’s always unknown when will one be free from suffering, even for a bit, but that’s not what the aim should really be. It’s should be for finding oneself and true happiness. Golden years don’t just come, they have to be made, just like from the ore.
Threes
In our last moments, our lives flashes before our eyes.
There is this, and there is that.
And somewhere else, another story begins to be written…
We’ve all been raised by evil love stories
Another gem of a post thanks to Oliver Emberton, thought provoking for the date today as you can see. Couldn’t have put it better. 🙂
A lifetime of bad lessons can mess you up. Let’s look at every love story ever told:
Boy meets girl. Their eyes touch and for a heartbeat the world stops turning. But it cannot be because there’s another guy:
Or perhaps another girl:
Or maybe just crappy ol’ circumstances:
This doesn’t stop our hero/heroine. Through their undying faith in destiny they battle to win the heart of Their One True Love.
And they succeed!
Only to screw it all up for dramatic reasons.
And in one final act of soul-aching humility (that always seems to involve chasing a train or plane) our star-crossed lovers come to realise they’re perfect for each other.
And they live happily ever after. The End.
Unfortunately, this is all total wish fulfilment bullcrap. Worse, it’s poisonous to real relationships. Let me show you why.
Lie #1: Wanting someone means you should be together
In our stories, our hero knows they’ve found the one, and they’ll do anything to win them over.
We all make this mistake. We want someone so much. Surely, that means we have to be together? Right?
In reality, few people find each other equally attractive. In fact, this almost never, ever happens. Pick two people at random, and if one of them does fancy the other, chances are the other one doesn’t feel the same way.
What makes a relationship isn’t just the strength of your feelings, but of your partner’s too. That combination is hard to find. But when we’re smitten, or heartbroken, it can be hard to notice how blind we are.
In our stories, our hero clings to their strength of feeling, no-matter what the obstacles. Their feelings give them the power to win over the target of their affections, even if they are rebuffed again and again. In real life, a person who does that is kind-of a crazed stalker who really needs to let go.
Lie #2: Sincerity wins hearts
In our love stories, our heroes win by breaking down and confessing their feelings.
Now you might yearn for a world where we can all just be honest with each other, but that’s not this world. People are wired to take someone else’s desperation as proof of lower value. When someone comes on too strong, we instinctively want to run away.
And if someone is too direct with their feelings, we think they’re a callous asshole:
This is why we have flirting.
Flirting is how we advertise and measure interest in another person, without lowering our perceived value. The whole essence of flirting is we tease deniable hints that we like someone. A flick of the hair, a brag, a light touch on the arm. It’s a game of tit-for-tat, where both sides are trying to evaluate a prospective partner, and find out if the other person likes them as much as they do without coming over too strong.
People who skip this stage, or who don’t get it, are usually rebuffed and don’t know why. The truth is, attraction is a game, and you have to play by the rules.
Lie #3: ‘The One’
The concept of The One is ridiculous. Most people could think of three celebrities who they’d marry on sight. Are they all your Ones?
What we do look for is the best person we can find, the one who compliments and completes us, and one who feels the same way about us. In a world of 7 billion people, there’s probably quite a few of those, but that doesn’t mean they’re easy to find (see Lie #1, above).
In fact, our standards are 90% dictated by our options. So if you live on a desert island, you’ll find your ‘One’ right there. Where you live, they might be your neighbour or your co-worker. What are the odds?
The One is an evil myth to spread because (a) it’s not true (b) you’re unreasonably expecting your partner to be literally the best person for you on Earth and (c) if you ever break up with such a person you would feel justified in ending your life right now, because you just lost your one shot at happiness. Which you haven’t.
The true formula to dating success
Well that was depressing. Don’t you wish dating actually made sense? Like, if only there was some kind of magic formula to finding your special someone? Well, there is.
Let’s break it down.
Jellybeans
Imagine you filled a jar with 500 blue jellybeans, and then 500 pink jellybeans:
That’s like most social circles. Not a lot of blue and pink beans are going to get together. You’re one of them, and you need to mix it up.
The amount of mixing with potential partners you do in your life is a multiplier for your dating success.
Notice I said multiplier. You’ve got a great product (that’s you!) – but you need to get in front of buyers to sell it. Even if you’re super fit, smart, funny, successful supermodel who’s just won a Nobel Prize, that doesn’t do you a lot of good if you live alone in the woods.
Meeting the same people won’t expand your pool. Getting drunk won’t expand your pool. Try a new hobby. Join a club. Travel the world. Move to a new city. Sign up for speed and online dating. These things are literally multipliers for the number of people you meet, and therefore for your success. Not all of them will work, but that’s not a reason not to try.
Awesome
Some people are just more attractive than others. And you might think there is little you can do about that, but there is.
Here’s a test: what’s going on in your life right now? What are you looking forward to in the near future?
Are you travelling somewhere interesting? Learning to scuba dive? Writing a book? Dancing in front of a crowd? How about giving blood, starting a business, helping homeless people, making a billion dollars or juggling knives?
When your overall life is awesome, your attraction rises. Your confidence, and understanding, and imagination and humility and empathy and a million other skills all increase. You become more interesting. You become more unique. And you will almost certainly be happier, even when you don’t have a partner.
A surprisingly large number of people find their spouses in what might seem like the least likely place imaginable, they found other awesome people who were doing the same. They mixed up their jellybeans and made their life awesome all in one.
Paradoxically, one of the best things to do to improve your dating success is not focus on dating. Live awesome first. And don’t be afraid to mix up your jellybeans.
Just whatever you do, don’t buy into more stupid love stories.
Sweet Sixteen Again
Write a post inspired by your sixteenth birthday.
Ah, the same similar prompt again exactly after a year! Well here is my post on it last year.
Not sure what to add on it, not that there is any inspiration to take. Hopefully will have much better things to say when I’m 26.
Life and Donuts
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My Number One
Who is the most important person in your life?
I honestly don’t know what to answer to this question. It’s perhaps my mother, who brought me into this world, and well, so far is keeping me intact, even though I’m not that close to her (or anyone else for that matter). It’s perhaps my ex-girlfriend, who made me into the current better version of myself, both when we were together and now unfortunately due to circumstances who is not there with me. Perhaps it’s my own self, because if I’m not there, there is nothing to even think about, but that might sound a bit narcissistic and perhaps stupid.
I don’t know, I’ve stopped finding absolute points in the important aspects of life (and others). I’m more into co-existence and amending.
Your Journey Is Your Own
“I feel like my life has taken a turn. I’m heading down a road I’ve never been on before.
Nothing is familiar. The signs don’t make sense.
Do I get off the road, or do I keep riding?
Do I go alone or take others with me?
Who do I trust for the journey?
I now understand why being a leader requires isolation.
I have to remove myself from those whose lives were affected by my decisions. Those I love… as well as those I hate.
It’s getting more and more difficult to be a brother, when my decisions are the ones a father has to make.
By the time you’re old enough to make sense of this life, you’ll know everything about me, the things I’m proud of and the things I regret, and then you’ll be faced with your own decisions. And as much as I want to help you, tell you what to do, those choices will be yours alone.
The only advice I can give you, sons, is to examine who you are as men.
Figure out what’s important to you. Know yourselves. Know what’s in your heart. Don’t be swayed by fear or history or the opinions of outsiders.
Find your own truth.
It will lead you to the things you love.” – Jackson “Jax” Teller (Sons of Anarchy, S06E01)
My Precious
I wish I had a definitive answer for this one, I really really do. But the truth is there can’t be such a one, even you can’t even put your own name as an answer for this one. Our mistakes and flaws, no matter how bad, is what keeps us alive.
Also on another note, I just came back some time ago from watching The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug at a special screening. Good watch. My precious, get it?
The Nameless One 