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The Cycle of Excellence

Blogs > NastyMarine
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1 2 Next All
NastyMarine
Profile Blog Joined May 2006
United States1252 Posts
Last Edited: 2008-10-31 22:02:14
October 31 2008 03:54 GMT
#1
Many would say there isn't anything more powerful than love. But I would say that there is nothing better than life itself. Life brings many things - including love. But the most powerful experience, in my opinion, is opportunity.

Firstly, life itself brings opportunity. Opportunity presents journey(s), and the journey leads to success. You could argue that that the journey can also bring failure, but that is a linear way of thinking. All journeys test your mettle - knowledge, power etc... regardless of the outcome. The result, if you keep your mind open to as to why you failed or became successful, you should come across more than what you were trying to attain (finding out who you are and what you are capable of and most importantly, where to improve) - that is the real success (if you should fail).

Gaining success grants you, above all things, wisdom. Not all knowing, but you gain knowledge in that success. Wisdom brings glory - where you can rejoice your accomplishment and relish in the outcome. Glory (a sense of accomplishment from others) brings power. Power (the feeling of being unmovable) leads to gaining strength. And strength grants you courage. All of which was spawned by opportunity(s).

Courage gives you a strong chance at success in the next opportunities that are presented in your life. You will always (and I mean always) go through this cycle of [life, opportunity, and] excellence. But as you proceed in previously adventured/familiar territory(s)/path(s) you will gain more than just that faint, inner thought, of courage. If you complete the next level of the cycle you gain an important attribute that is greater than that of courage - which is confidence.

Confidence is a surplus of the self (in you - obviously). So as you approach life's other opportunities (journeys etc.) you can reap the benefits of just that. Confidence is stronger than all of the cycle's steps - Courage, Strength, Power, Glory, Wisdom, Success, Opportunity BUT EXCLUDING the Journey - as you learn more about yourself (weaknesses, strengths, etc) that can strengthen your mettle and allow you, in the end, to be more confident.

Some will argue that courage is just as important as having confidence. Certainly you can have confidence but not be courageous. You can definitely have courage but not be confident in yourself. It depends on the situation, it depends on the strain, and most importantly it depends at which part of the cycle you are in. Identify that stage and you can become self-righteous - which can be bad so following through to prove you mettle is most important - through the journey and success. I will not try to persuade the two but my opinion courage does not surpass confidence. Though you can easily argue that you need confidence in order to be courageous. You can also say you have to possess courage in order to be confident. It goes both ways.

Once you have both though, the world will be at your fingertips. You can pull out all the stops, and grab at all that is placed before you. HOWEVER, if you lose confidence - you may lose much more.

If you don't have it, you have to restart from the beginning and at some stages of life, it can be very hard. Am I right? Your left with only your courageous thought and wisdom of your passed experience. Repeating that of which was already accomplished is a troubling thought and hard process indeed. The idea here is, if you lose you confidence, you lose that inner strength, the power (seen via your peers), glory (seen via your peers), and the feeling of having [any] opportunity.

This brings me to one of my biggest points here - that you could have never gone through the cycle in the beginning without having courage and, or more so, being confident. If you didn't have confidence in the first place, you wouldn't have the strength to pursue the journey, you wouldn't have selected the opportunity, you wouldn't have attained power through the cycle and you certainly wouldn't have had the wisdom - knowing how to gain success along the journey. Correct?

So your probably asking now, "Where does one get such confidence?" Quite simple actually. It is what my professor would call, a mentor, teacher, guide, or in some instances, sage. Obviously this person has already gained, and/or attempted all of the above - Opportunity, Journey, Success, Wisdom, Glory, Power, Strength, Courage, Confidence and also (which I have yet to mention) Excellence - probably a given, right?

The fact of the matter is, you would have never known about the opportunity or journey in the first place and certainly would not know of what is to follow - success, wisdom, glory, power, strength, courage, confidence, and excellence - all of which most people hope to carry in themselves everyday. They lead you forth and guide you into success. The fact of the matter is that the mentor teaches you to be confident - wisdom to succeed - and presents the opportunity and guides you through the journey.

But what if you had no mentor to present that confidence, and wisdom onto you? Think about it. Who is you mentor? Did he or she succeed?

Lastly I'd like to explain my last level of the cycle - Excellence. Attained when you have surpassed doubt altogether and has provided and gained the respect of others. Self-Righteousness is not excellence.

This is the Cycle of Excellence.

*
Treatin' fools since '87
gg_hertzz
Profile Blog Joined January 2004
2152 Posts
October 31 2008 04:17 GMT
#2
Damn. All this cheese and me without any crackers.
NastyMarine
Profile Blog Joined May 2006
United States1252 Posts
October 31 2008 04:23 GMT
#3
not sure what that meant lol maybe im just naive.
Treatin' fools since '87
Fontong
Profile Blog Joined December 2007
United States6454 Posts
Last Edited: 2008-10-31 04:30:56
October 31 2008 04:25 GMT
#4
On October 31 2008 13:17 gg_hertzz wrote:
Damn. All this cheese and me without any crackers.

I guess TL is just on auto-derail mode right now, being that about a million shit threads like 'heeelp meeee' and 'im drunk' have been posted in the last few hours..

Edit: but this thread is good
[SECRET FONT] "Dragoon bunker"
gg_hertzz
Profile Blog Joined January 2004
2152 Posts
October 31 2008 04:32 GMT
#5
On October 31 2008 13:25 Fontong wrote:
Show nested quote +
On October 31 2008 13:17 gg_hertzz wrote:
Damn. All this cheese and me without any crackers.

I guess TL is just on auto-derail mode right now, being that about a million shit threads like 'heeelp meeee' and 'im drunk' have been posted in the last few hours..

Edit: but this thread is good


And the Whine.
Fontong
Profile Blog Joined December 2007
United States6454 Posts
October 31 2008 04:41 GMT
#6
On October 31 2008 13:32 gg_hertzz wrote:
Show nested quote +
On October 31 2008 13:25 Fontong wrote:
On October 31 2008 13:17 gg_hertzz wrote:
Damn. All this cheese and me without any crackers.

I guess TL is just on auto-derail mode right now, being that about a million shit threads like 'heeelp meeee' and 'im drunk' have been posted in the last few hours..

Edit: but this thread is good


And the Whine.

You are pretty smart for thinking up gg hertz. Like I said, auto-derail mode. I think all the admins are taking a smoke break or something.
[SECRET FONT] "Dragoon bunker"
Nitrogen
Profile Blog Joined February 2008
United States5345 Posts
October 31 2008 05:04 GMT
#7
On October 31 2008 13:25 Fontong wrote:
Show nested quote +
On October 31 2008 13:17 gg_hertzz wrote:
Damn. All this cheese and me without any crackers.

I guess TL is just on auto-derail mode right now, being that about a million shit threads like 'heeelp meeee' and 'im drunk' have been posted in the last few hours..

Edit: but this thread is good


hi welcome to the blog section of tl
UNFUCK YOURSELF
NastyMarine
Profile Blog Joined May 2006
United States1252 Posts
October 31 2008 05:10 GMT
#8
Umm, is there something wrong here?
Treatin' fools since '87
il0seonpurpose
Profile Blog Joined January 2007
Korea (South)5638 Posts
October 31 2008 05:35 GMT
#9
CAn I use this for an essay? :D

Good job though, what was it for
NastyMarine
Profile Blog Joined May 2006
United States1252 Posts
Last Edited: 2008-10-31 06:04:13
October 31 2008 05:47 GMT
#10
Wasn't for anything. I just started thinking about being single earlier today and I just kinda went on a wild tangent and recorded what I was thinking (saying) on my phone.

+ Show Spoiler +
I think what my conclusion is varies for everyone if your wondering where I was going with the whole cycle.

The question that should be asked to oneself is, "what part of the cycle am I in?" and "does any of my current feelings/qualities match these"? Or:

"Who is my mentor, did he/she/they succeed in their status?; is he/she/they still guiding me?" - if he/she is, then have you gained success [yet]?

If I were to summarize this whole concept I'd put it this way, plain and simple:

"What is the state of your morality and have you noticed what stage you are at in your life? (regardless of my idea of "cycles"). And are you aware of what you are truly capable of (with or without a mentor)?
Treatin' fools since '87
NastyMarine
Profile Blog Joined May 2006
United States1252 Posts
October 31 2008 22:02 GMT
#11
updated op a bit
Treatin' fools since '87
Chef
Profile Blog Joined August 2005
10810 Posts
Last Edited: 2008-10-31 22:24:09
October 31 2008 22:21 GMT
#12
If there was a point, I missed it (ie. You seem to be lacking a revelation).

But I'd like to comment on your definitions of courage and confidence.

If courage is not intrinsic to confidence, then it must be possible to have the courage to do something, but not the confidence that it is to your benefit. In other words, courage is simply foolishness without confidence.

If you have confidence, you believe that either the result will be positive, or that a bad result will not hinder you. That is, you have confidence that the action you're taking is the best one.

It follows that courage is meaningless, and that only confidence is important. Even when outcomes are uncertain, or dreary, you are confident that what you're doing is better than anything else you could be doing.

With that said, there's hardly a person on this planet who does not follow this order of things, and it seems quite trivial to announce it. It also means that it doesn't necessarily come from a mentor... A mentor only teaches you things to change what decisions you're confident in. He doesn't create the confidence itself.

In short... One does not have to feel strongly about something to be confident. They must only have deemed it the best chance, even if that chance is only 20%, they will be confident that that is the best option to take. Confidence in the results is something else entirely though (but from the tone of your OP, I didn't take it that that's what you were referring to, especially since you related confidence to courage, and no one can be courageous about results).
LEGEND!! LEGEND!!
NastyMarine
Profile Blog Joined May 2006
United States1252 Posts
November 01 2008 08:20 GMT
#13
I agree with what you said for the most part PsychoTemplar. But I did state at some point when you have courageous thoughts (e.i. have courage), you will develop a more solid morale - confidence. Was that not clear?
Treatin' fools since '87
Chef
Profile Blog Joined August 2005
10810 Posts
November 01 2008 17:23 GMT
#14
I don't know. I just don't think it matters. Morale is based on believing you're doing the right thing, ie confidence.

Maybe if there were many equally viable choices, it could be said to be courageous just to choose one... But in my entire life, I've never felt that way. I've always thought "okay, these are all pretty much the same.. Pick one and do it."

I think it would help my understanding if you could provide applications of this information that you've used, or people could use that might be somewhat less than obvious.

PS: In case I'm coming off as a dick, as I often do on the internet, I'll point out that I appreciate the discussion and it's always nice to talk about abstract parts of life with someone else who likes to think.
LEGEND!! LEGEND!!
NastyMarine
Profile Blog Joined May 2006
United States1252 Posts
November 01 2008 20:02 GMT
#15
All situations are congruent and interchangeable at any of those stages and situations in life. You can't think of a time where you felt success? Or glory from your peers? Or Confidence after succeeding in several situations, events - school, sports, etc?
Treatin' fools since '87
NastyMarine
Profile Blog Joined May 2006
United States1252 Posts
November 01 2008 20:52 GMT
#16
Personally I'd rather you argue my points. That way I can use it to refine some ideas and make it a more 'globalized' idea and not subjective.
Treatin' fools since '87
Chef
Profile Blog Joined August 2005
10810 Posts
November 01 2008 20:57 GMT
#17
It's hard to really see what your point(s) is(are). I mean... I'm trying encourage you to elaborate, because I really don't know how after reading this, I'm supposed to apply it to my own life, or feel like I've grown... It's just kind of a collection of premises you've decided to give names with no conclusion. If it wasn't meant to be any more than that... Then I apologise.
LEGEND!! LEGEND!!
NastyMarine
Profile Blog Joined May 2006
United States1252 Posts
Last Edited: 2008-11-01 22:18:13
November 01 2008 22:13 GMT
#18
The point is that you'll always go through cycles or patterns (if you will) in your life regardless of what kind of situations you go through. I feel that if you can identify (be self-aware) of it, you'll able to push yourself mentally to farther extents than you ever imagined. Its almost as if, (and I'm using a cliche here) you make yourself realize your full potential. That's it I guess.

Think of it this way:
You could always say life is a journey - full of opportunity. You could say a walk in the woods is a journey. You could also say that finding the right mate is a journey. You can label all those steps in different situations and the point of that is to know thy self (another cliche). What do you consider confident? What do you consider a success? What do you consider being glorified? When have you felt powerful? When have you felt "strong"? Know thy self.

Life:
- Opportunity
- Journey
- Success
- Wisdom
- Glory
- Power
- Courage

Repeat the cycle:
- Courage Confidence

Repeat the cycle:
- Confidence Excellence

If you should look at life in this respect, maybe some negative thought processess that you feel hinder your morale, can be suppressed.
Treatin' fools since '87
Chef
Profile Blog Joined August 2005
10810 Posts
November 01 2008 22:28 GMT
#19
Ahhh. Okay. I understand now. The first time you do something you have to be courageous. The second time you'll be confident. And the third time you'll be so attuned to it, you'll be excellent.

Right on. To put it straight forward... Even when one doesn't feel they are good at something the first time, if they only continue to do it, they can surpass what they once didn't believe they were even capable of.

StarCraft analogies would have made this make a lot more sense.
LEGEND!! LEGEND!!
NastyMarine
Profile Blog Joined May 2006
United States1252 Posts
November 01 2008 22:35 GMT
#20
ROFL
Treatin' fools since '87
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