by John Doe 54 Replies latest jw friends
Things are as they are. Labeling them one thing or the other is a judgment based on conceptions of success/failure.
That was my point. And being a failure has more to do with self perception than actual non achievement of goals. That doesn't by any means indicate that people aren't successes or failures.
I'll have to think about it
That was my point. And being a failure has more to do with self perception than actual non achievement of goals.
That's right. Without the label you are neither a success nor a failure. Non-achievement of goals are just that, non-achievement. If there is some investment of self-worth based on achievement/ non-achievement then you have become trapped in the mind.
That's right. Without the label you are neither a success nor a failure. Non-achievement of goals are just that, non-achievement. If there is some investment of self-worth based on achievement/ non-achievement then you have become trapped in the mind.
And so, being a failure is being trapped in the mind, right?
And so, being a failure is being trapped in the mind, right?
To think of yourself as a "failure" is to identify with it. So yes, that is being trapped in the mind. Rather than think that way acknowledge that a goal hasn't been met and leave it at that. Leave out all labels and judgments about it. Continue to work toward the goal if you want but without investing any belief that it will somehow "complete" you or make you more whole by reaching that goal. You are already whole, though you may not recognize this.
Consider what happens when goals are met. For a time there is satisfaction, but inevitably there will be another goal to strive for. Why? Because ego is always looking for completion outside itself, but it will never find lasting satisfaction. What isn't recognized is that beneath the ego wholeness and completeness are already here, but the constant striving of ego blocks the seeing of this completeness. This is what keeps people on an endless quest for happiness.
They'll look for that happiness in many ways: through religion, philosophy, power, position, material possession, knowledge and on and on. In other words, they look to the world of form, to add something to their current conception of where happiness can be found - that is all to meet a mental idea that has been accepted as true.
If people would look for the formless reality of what they are instead they would find wholeness. That wholeness is inherently peaceful. There is nothing that has to be added to be what you already are in reality, beyond ideas that only exist in the mind.
Are you downplaying the importance of setting goals and working to achieve them?
Are you downplaying the importance of setting goals and working to achieve them?
No. I'm saying don't look for wholeness, completion, happiness, or peace in the goal. They don't exist there. Those things already exist within you right now. So go ahead, set your goal and reach it or not, but with the realization that you don't need to meet the goal to be happy. Reaching the goal may bring some physical comfort or improvement over present conditions, but that doesn't mean you'll be happy. Lots of very "successful" people aren't happy.
Not sure I agree with you. . .
Not sure I agree with you. . .
That's fine with me.
Lol.
S
