[DesuMaiden]

..."Be yourself; everyone else is already taken" (the source of this quote, I'm not 100% sure where it came from, but I think the message conveyed in it is pretty accurate). Every individual person was endowed with a different genetic make up and experienced different environmental circumstances and events, so every person will end up being unique in his or her different way. Being yourself is the best way to live in life; trying to be someone else, you are destined to fail because you couldn't possibly have the same life experiences and genetic make up to become someone else). You can only possibly be yourself because your own life experiences and genetic make up are unique to you. You can find people with similar life experiences as you, but you will never find anyone who is exactly like you because everyone's experiences are unique.

I only learned this lesson relatively recently, and I was surprised I didn't realize it sooner. Someone told me this, and this life lesson had a profound effect on my life. That's because before I learned about this life lesson, I always tried to mimic those around me, and try to be someone that I was not. This not only ended up being a failure, but it also created jealousy in my heart. I ended up thinking, " why can't I have a girlfriend by my age?" or "why I'm not making an x amount of money with a 'successful' career by my age?".

After realizing that I can only be myself and not anyone else, these irrational thoughts disappeared. And then I started to set realistic goals for myself. I think too many people in our society try too hard to be someone they are not rather than being a unique individual.

[Plantagenet]

I've got a whole page of little sayings I've heard and then written down. My favorite keeps changing.

Right now, this afternoon, I'm think a good life lesson is DO IT. Not the advertising Nike slogan, but the 1960s radical slogan of Jerry Rubin, leader of the Yippies!


If you want a revolution, do it.
If you want to live off the grid, do it.
If you want to drive an electric car, do it.
If you want to be free, do it.
If you want to quit your job and travel, do it.
If you want to live on a sailboat, do it.
If you want to run away to the circus, do it.
If you want to adopt a little puppy, do it.

Sometimes you've got to stop talking and actually go out and do it.

Whatever you want to do, go DO IT now, before its too late.

[Outcast_Searcher]

..."Be yourself; everyone else is already taken"...

Brilliant. I love it.

My version of this has been (since I finally figured the concept out after about 4 decades of being random): "Keep your integrity, because it's the ONLY thing that can't be taken from you."

...

I think I like the "Be yourself" part of yours better, and the "because it's the only thing that can't be taken..." part of mine better, so we get: "Be yourself, because it's the only thing that can't be taken from you".

Very nice indeed. (IMHO) Thanks.

[asg70]

You realize he smoked the killer weed?

Sounds like the kind of information you'd know about.

As far as just doing it....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAVLOHbqWd4

[Rod_Cloutier]

A more important thing to remember is that this life is the vacation from the tyranny of the other side. Think of it, if heaven was better then all 7.2 billion of us would be over there instead of being here. This side of life must be better.

[mmasters]

Goals, purpose (finding your calling) and common sense are vital to leading a happy life.

[Ibon]

think of it, if heaven was better then all 7.2 billion of us would be over there instead of being here. This side of life must be better.

Since there is no other side and since this is all you get why waste it remaining asleep and catatonic chasing security and objects or believing that something follows your last mortal breath? Why not just exit grateful expecting nothing ????

[Outcast_Searcher]

A more important thing to remember is that this life is the vacation from the tyranny of the other side. Think of it, if heaven was better then all 7.2 billion of us would be over there instead of being here. This side of life must be better.

A more important thing is to remember you are making big assumptions with not a SHRED of evidence.

For one thing, I've heard of no religion that says WE have ANY CONTROL over things such as who resides where in the afterlife. And of course, you assume there is an afterlife, heaven, choices, etc.

Religions have named God thousands of things throughout history. What are the odds that your specific beliefs are remotely correct, much less accurate?

[Outcast_Searcher]

Goals, purpose (finding your calling) and common sense are vital to leading a happy life.

Well, that's a real challenge, given how differently various groups would define "common sense".

Examples:

Put X people from varying religions in a room. Which of them have common sense? Any of them? The athiest, if athiesm is allowed to be called a religion? (I'd say it is, but athiests might want to punch me for that).

Put a far left liberal and a far right conservative in a room. Which has common sense? According to whom?

Put a rabid environmentalist, and an industrialist bent on "progress" in a room. Who has common sense? Any odds they could compromise on a common sense agenda based on logic?

....

I'll certainly agree with goals and purpose. I think "common sense" needs some work. Given the world today, maybe ANY sense would be a beginning.