Volitional Action Items
When working on self-improvement, I often come across advice that sounds really good, but after reading it, I realize that I don’t have any practical ideas for how to incorporate the advice into my life. For example, if I hear “try to focus more on the present”, I recognize it as good advice and maybe […]
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The Academy: Objectives and Guidelines
The Academy is an organization that supports a community of members in achieving the following objectives: Tier 1: Overcome barriers to personal development Tier 2: Liberate time and energy Tier 3: Develop philanthropic capacity Tier 1 involves such things as Avoiding materialism and other burdensome attachments Avoiding unhealthy habits that drain money and/or energy Avoiding […]
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The Problem with Goals
Conventional wisdom tells us that we should strive to be goal-oriented, and to most of us this sounds like good advice. There are things we want and setting up goals will keep our efforts focused on achieving those things. It’s true that goals will help you focus your efforts and thus aid you in attaining […]
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Future Worship
Religion is usually defined by its promotion of belief in some supernatural power. But more fundamentally, we could define religion as a system of morals and beliefs that skews one’s ability to properly compute their life-quality maximization function. According to this definition, there is a subtle and insidious religion thriving in modern society that is […]
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The Drive for Success
I’ve noticed an interesting psychological phenomenon with regard to people’s perceptions of their material desires. There seems to be a disconnect between the desire and the root motivation. People often feel that their desire is based on comfort or aesthetics, when really the primary motivation is social prestige. This is not too surprising from a […]
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Life Traps
One of the main reasons I end up planning and analyzing too much is to avoid falling into traps. There are many kinds of traps that you can fall into. The common property that they have is that a trap is difficult to get out of. For example, a famous historical trap is the serfdom […]
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Choosing Your Battles
When you believe strongly in your principles, it becomes tempting to put up a fight whenever they are challenged. The problem with this is that fighting for your principles takes time and resources that will be quickly depleted if you take on every battle you come across. I still think it is good to fight […]
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Conversation with a True Zen Master
Buddha in Kamakura Exploring the zen philosophy on life. Photo courtesy of chaojikazu cspice: I still don’t fully understand the zen philosophy. It seems that one is supposed to live in the present moment and demphasize analytical thought. I like the concept of living in the moment and I agree that much of analytical thought […]
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Late Night Adventures
The Bar at the IFC Spicy night-life without compromise. Photo courtesy of Stuck in Customs Social adventures are an appealing aspect of a spicy lifestyle which often consist of meeting new people in a high energy setting and playing subtle psychological games with them throguh conversation and body language. These adventures provide plenty of opportunity for […]
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The Evolution of the American Dream
Play Time Cubicles The world from a higher vantage point. Photo courtesy of Stewf In the traditions of America, there is an ideal that says “If you work hard and honestly, you will be rewarded with wealth and happiness.” This tradition is passed down through the many success stories of individuals who followed this ideal […]
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