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In the previous post, I introduced the main features of what I intend to write about, leaving you guys with some vague questions. Forgive me, for it will be some time before I address repressed desires and such. It is not that there is something special about the subject or my thoughts; I'm just lazy, and I'll write about it when the feeling comes.
What I want to briefly discuss now are the ideas of self-discipline in productivity and the influence of commitment in life. I mentioned the subordination of immediate pleasure for an overall value and I said that it could be liberating. I don't think anyone challenged this directly, and I think it is something worth challenging.
The value I am talking about is spiritual growth, striving to better yourself and be open to challenge. By realizing our own consciousness, we become aware of being. Life is an amazing story unfolding before our eyes, and we can taste and dabble in it. By committing to love life, we commit to love ourselves and nurture our own growth and that of others. Thus, we strive to grow and better, and so we have a clear scale by which to judge decisions in life. This is why I think commitment is liberating: in doing so, you give yourself a clear direction, and so you do not conflict between personal desire and personal growth.
In practice, the self-discipline required for commitment is more than most of us possess. Contiguously, the self-discipline commitment provides as one becomes increasingly adept is staggering. One must be extremely clear-minded to constantly be aware of life and aware of the value of one's action. When these actions cause visible reactions to the pleasure of the committed, their position becomes reinforced.
The difficulty of self-discipline is incredible. I think regardless of result, pursuing greater discipline cannot be more wasteful than the more common pursuits of life. What would be more tragic is if we didn't try.
I'm not sure how I come off - but to compensate for the ambiguity of language: this is what I think is good, and it could be verbal diarrhea. I'm simply basing this on my limited experience of life and the observed consequences of my actions.
For better, or for worse,
Cheers,
Michael
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Err what are you challenging exactly? If it is an immediate pleasure lifestyle I already stated that a present hedonist style of living is not good. Yes, as Csikszentmihali writes in flow you want it so that, as he puts it if i remember correctly, 'your work is play'. Anyway, I would recommend you read Jim Robertson's "the disciplined approach"
I'll give you some quotes:
" In a nutshell, here are three of the main legs on which the Disciplined Approach stands:
1. Discipline is not what you do to yourself but what you do for yourself.
2. School is where you go to educate yourself.
3. School is where you can learn whatever you need to learn to be successful in whichever area you want to be successful in."
" This idea of helping individuals to help themselves – to become their own doctor – is at the core of this approach."
"Without discipline, freedom is self defeating, one cannot attain one’s goals and therefore neither can one fashion a good life. Freedom without discipline becomes freedom to not reach your goals." -- john f covaleskie, 'Dewey, discipline and democracy'
"The Disciplined Approach is all about taking children carefully through this critical time in their development in such a way that they wire up the
prefrontal cortex to be able to make critical judgments for itself about what it should or shouldn’t do."
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You mentioned 'committing to love life' so I'll focus on that.
I don't think it's that most people lack self-discipline so they cheat... I think it's because they were never committed in the first place to the person. They were committed simply to being in a relationship, so whoever it is with is irrelevant.
People who are in relationships because they truly desire the person they're with on an intimate level, don't cheat on them. People who don't want to be in a relationship for the sake of being in a relationship don't ever have the temptation to break their commitment.
But I may have misunderstood what you were trying to say... It's very convoluted.
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hey Michael,
Interesting... I think of commitment as a trick to prop up self-discipline. For example, you've committed to bike around Europe for some time. Once you're there you'll have limited your options, so you no longer have to use self-discipline on a daily basis to tell yourself not to just sit around and watch Starcraft.
(Tip if you're planning on doing a lot of writing: Avoid adding in lots of qualifications. Lots of I think's and other forms of self-doubt (like your last paragraph) distract readers from the interesting points and questions you raise. Zinsser's book On Writing Well is full of good advice.)
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I've got a totally different approach. Lately I've not been trying to better or change myself in any way at all. Just let go  And it's weird, suddenly I never get shy or awkward, I never get stressed and I work harder.
I think it's people constantly checking their behaviour and actions that's making everyone depressed and frustrated. People need to become more at ease with themselves and accept their flaws, it's this constant desire to change yourself by making yourself more discplined or more sociable or more attractive or whatever that's messing everyone up so bad...
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Hey guys, thanks again for the replies. I should mention, I guess, that I don’t consider this serious writing so far. Someone PMed me and, given some later hostility, made me think people take this as though I am here to teach, which is not at all the case (thus, the I think, etc.) I will eventually post an analysis of Dracula that I wrote, where I discuss the repression of desires – but later.
Knickknack, I’m simply pointing out in this post that self-discipline in commitment is a very challenging task. Thanks for the recommendations on the books … sounds like a well-thought process.
Chef, I’m not sure what you’re getting it. There is no discussion of romantic relationships here. To commit to loving life simply means you commit to your own growth and learning.
Polemarch, I think no matter what you do, or however you trick yourself, self-discipline still comes down to will or won’t. Simply because I go to Europe doesn’t mean I’ll actually do anything ‘productive’ – I still have to do it, no matter how few other options I have. Good point, and thanks for the tip.
Piy, I’ve heard, seen and thought of this. I don’t agree with the notion of “accepting one’s flaws”, because most flaws can be changed. Those that can’t (physical traits, chemical brain imbalances, etc.) should be accepted and dealt with rather than lamented. I don’t think the people that are striving to become better people are depressed. If you are trying to become more attractive to others, you are already failing. I’ll add on to this later if you don’t mind, but consider whether people that aim for this “betterment” are actually seeking genuine growth.
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EPT
