Where should we be aiming?

We should be aiming towards Iraq and Syria

OKAY that was a really ignorant post of me

But we should go to war with ISIS…

STOP ISIS

(sorry to make this thread about ISIS)

i think maybe they saw your potential, we have all got potential and its something that we need to understand, we all need to be encouraged how to reach our full potential as human beings,

my dad was a very good example of a person who encouraged others (especially myself) to reach my full potential and go beyond the realms of possibilities (with the right meds regimen) he knew what i was capable of and he built on that,

education is huge, the ability to learn, the ability to research our condition and being able to understand it,

i realise we will all have a different walk in life, we are all unique individuals but i was wondering why we shouldnt all have the same common goals in life,

@PinCushion contentment is a really good one, to be content, content with ourselves, inner peace, how we reach that though is another thing entirely, what makes us content, we should be asking ourselves these questions. what could make us content,

imo we have to reach for the prize, the ultimate goal in life, we need to be rewarded somehow for what we have done

like the rats in a maze there is always a prize at the end, why shouldn’t life be like that for us as well?

My goals and aims shift… After I was dx’ed, my goal was to get back into university, preferably into a specific renowned MSc programme. When I passed the selection procedure and was admitted this was a huge thing for me. Then the goal shifted, it became to survive the programme, in terms of grades, and just keeping up. One course at a time. As things progressed, I started to take for granted that I was in the programme now, still happy about it, but did not quite see it as an achievement anymore, now it was just what I did. New goals replaced old ones. I was managing fairly well. New goal became not just to survive the programme, but to thrive. Grades became better. Now I aim to graduate with distinction, from the situation I am now in, my grades are more than sufficient for it, just the thesis I am working on needs to be good enough. So it is within reach, but I haven’t got it yet…

Small steps at a time, and the goals shift with each step… Seems to me you’ll have to aim for things that are within reach. Think of it as trying to grasp an object. If it is way out of reach, trying to grasp it is just silly - if it is too far away, you are not even distinguishably grasping for it, but just making a random movement in thin air.

3 Likes

Great stuff here.

Thanks. As someone who is aiming for a doctorate, and is excited and terrified at the same time, this is inspirational for me. I’m going to bookmark it and come back to it as needed.

1 Like

totally agree :+1:

I know you were addressing @flybottle, but I just wanted to say that it can be done, slowly, patiently, mindfully and one day at a time. That and build a good solid corps of faculty advisors.

1 Like

Advice much appreciated, thank you! My hangup in the past has been trying to swallow the whole meal in one bite. I always choke. I’m taking the view of checking off boxes now - it’s a professional doctorate rather than a terminal degree, and the coursework is pretty regimented. One at a time, don’t look down, gotta keep telling myself.

Just pick 'em off. And don’t worry about “perfection” until you get in front of the committee.

1 Like

Oh, I see now. If the practicum committee is “chill,” they will help you find that perfection. Most of the good ones, anyway.

1 Like

Let me state this more logically. Facts = parts and parts are not whole. Truth = whole.

I agree that the Scientific community is aiming for something but that something is not reached about by only looking at the parts.

I would say becoming a person guided by moral principle is the foundation.
Instead of aiming for the high, I would aim for the low.

just thought i would post some of the main characteristics of self actualisers-

Maslow’s self-actualizing characteristics

Efficient perceptions of reality. Self-actualizers are able to judge situations correctly and honestly.

They are very sensitive to the fake and dishonest, and are free to see reality ‘as it is’.

Comfortable acceptance of self, others, nature. Self-actualizers accept their own human nature with all its flaws.

The shortcomings of others and the contradictions of the human condition are accepted with humor and tolerance.

Reliant on own experiences and judgement. Independent, not reliant on culture and environment to form opinions and views.

Spontaneous and natural. True to oneself, rather than being how others want.
Task centering.

Most of Maslow’s subjects had a mission to fulfill in life or some task or problem ‘beyond’ themselves (instead of outside of themselves) to pursue. Humanitarians such as Albert Schweitzer are considered to have possessed this quality.[citation needed]
Autonomy.

Self-actualizers are free from reliance on external authorities or other people. They tend to be resourceful and independent.

Continued freshness of appreciation. The self-actualizer seems to constantly renew appreciation of life’s basic goods. A sunset or a flower will be experienced as intensely time after time as it was at first. There is an “innocence of vision”, like that of an artist or child.

Profound interpersonal relationships. The interpersonal relationships of self-actualizers are marked by deep loving bonds.
Comfort with solitude. Despite their satisfying relationships with others, self-actualizing persons value solitude and are comfortable being alone.[19]

Non-hostile sense of humor. This refers to the ability to laugh at oneself.
Peak experiences. All of Maslow’s subjects reported the frequent occurrence of peak experiences (temporary moments of self-actualization). These occasions were marked by feelings of ecstasy, harmony, and deep meaning.

Self-actualizers reported feeling at one with the universe, stronger and calmer than ever before, filled with light, beautiful and good, and so forth.
Socially compassionate. Possessing humanity.

Few friends. Few close intimate friends rather than many surface relationships.[20]

i think we should be aiming to emulate these characteristics in my opinions

2 Likes

I have agreed with these since I first read them in the late '60s (in a ready room on an aircraft carrier off the coast of Vietnam, btw). And when I got back to the states and out of my uniform, I started trying to find the paths to them. Gurus in books. Gurus on grassy lawns. Gurus on slick stages in rooms full of the ever-hopeful. I thought they’d at least get me to the Cliff’s Notes version, and I could get back to being Duddy Kravitz and Jack Nicholson in “Carnal Knowledge.”

Hah.

1 Like

maybe you were looking in the wrong places,

i dont need a mantra or a peace pipe lol

should i salute?

sorry if i am being rude