At what point in your life did you get your shit together

Someh wrote:Most frozen pizzas are one hundred times worse.

there's some false equivalency in this comparison too

frozen pizza is delicious even though it makes me feel like i'm eating wood shavings

undo wrote:
Need to take a few drastic, or at least powerfully symbolic, changes in my life in the very near future.

How about:
- looking into some of the things that make you "small" and start doing the extreme opposite (if you don't talk much at all to people, talk all the time to them, if you dont want to spend time with people, spend a ton of time with them, if you spend too much time at the computer stop or completely limit it, go slow if you normally go fast, etc).
- call up a family member that caused you pain in the past and confront them. this can change your life
- pick one activity that you are afraid to do (karoake, public speaking, performing at open mics) and do that every day for two weeks
- read about true heroes (MLK, Ghandi, Bonhoeffer, etc) and study the Hero Archetype. realize no one truly becomes human painlessly. Meditate on how you can become the PERSONAL hero. what do you need to work on, give up, sacrifice, develop, create, in order to become this vision?
-take time to develop a strong inner world that is impervious to the bullshit of the outer culture.
-do something random and bizarre every weekend (go to a mosque for services, stand at the top of the hancock building and meditate, build a sacred shrine in the forest and create a ritual).
-develop rituals in your life that create meaning in your actions. YOU can CREATE meaning in your life.

you sir, need to get CRAZY!

You pay taxes and support a massive war machine that is killing Afghan children. You're not a hero and you are never going to be.

wp64 wrote:You pay taxes and support a massive war machine that is killing Afghan children. You're not a hero and you are never going to be.

You are not going to save everything with your actions, true. Heroes come in all shapes and sizes.

not implying by dropping out of college to start a blog or something is on the level of MLK. but still if it's where you truly need to be then take the chance

Probably the only thing worth doing is not focusing on self-improvement and try to collectively organize action against something you have a grievance towards. If you want to be happy then you have to do that by being happy with others.

The happiness that comes with "getting your shit together" is not happiness but security. Security is important as well, but should not be mistaken for some sort of flourishing happiness.

right now i'm just thinking that 'getting your shit together' can be defined as seeking out what you really want to achieve either personally or for others and taking action to do so.

the self improvement you think is not part of the process i would think would be crucial (seeking knowledge, taking better care of yourself, changing by going through extremes, experiencing pain of breaking from cultural norms and so on). it is one and the same as getting your shit together.

Yeah, but to go about applying your definition of self-improvement to the context of this thread is dangerously anachronistic. The majority of the thread is devoted to various boarders talking about finally achieving financial security and now being able to focus on emotional needs.

wp64 wrote:Yeah, but to go about applying your definition of self-improvement to the context of this thread is dangerously anachronistic. The majority of the thread is devoted to various boarders talking about finally achieving financial security and now being able to focus on emotional needs.

so i'm outside of the majority opinion on what getting your shit together entails and i'll live with that.

have you moved back into your own house yet avec?

Bruegel wrote:have you moved back into your own house yet avec?

yeah, lol

coyote wrote:go to a mosque for services

i've always thought something like this would be cool. like, just tour places of worship on Saturday or Sunday mornings. it gives you something to get up and something powerful and different to experience.

wp64 wrote:You pay taxes and support a massive war machine that is killing Afghan children. You're not a hero and you are never going to be.

jesus fucking christ, dude

you need to start picking your battles and realizing that being so incredibly dour is going to fucking kill you

Have you ever noticed... all our information is controlled by the people who misinform us... that's fucked up

Coyote - I'm curious to know if you follow Umair Haque (@umairh) on Twitter and what your thoughts are regarding his outlook for this generation. Assuming of course, you use that website.

Nick wrote:Coyote - I'm curious to know if you follow Umair Haque (@umairh) on Twitter and what your thoughts are regarding his outlook for this generation. Assuming of course, you use that website.

I don't have twitter and don't really understand it. Just tried to read his posts but seemed like he was responding to some other twits, so I can't get a handle on who this guy is.

Seems like an intellectual with big ideas, I looked over the wiki entry. I give him credit for trying to change or explain how capitalism should move forward, but still have no sense about what his ideas actually are.

I am not interested in corporate strategy though. I just want to live with the culture and not in it.

I tried reading a bit of him and it's too business-speak for me.

About a week ago, and I am still in the process. It is hard, you feel weak sometimes, but every little thing you accomplish matters. It is a matter of decision. I was tired of not using my potential of having so many dreams and not doing anything to really pursue them. You need discipline, self-confidence and understanding it is a process of consistency. The party animal is dead, I am in my first year in college. Now I know there is a balance between having a good time and just going out for inertia, careless. When you realize how much you can do, you realize your potential, only you set the limit and the guidelines. I have high goals, but none will become true if real effort doesn't come with them. It is my time, not to shine, but use all my potential to generate an impact and make my city, country and the world in general a better place.

jesus jones wrote:

wp64 wrote:You pay taxes and support a massive war machine that is killing Afghan children. You're not a hero and you are never going to be.

jesus fucking christ, dude

you need to start picking your battles and realizing that being so incredibly dour is going to fucking kill you

It's not like I live my day to day life trying to grapple with this. I am just cognizant of it and realize that it means that hero worship is pointless as long as we live within oppressive institutions.

And yeah, of course there is meaningful change that can be achieved to reform our systemic crisis and I want to assist in those 'battles'. But it shouldn't be the end goal.

Someh wrote:Have you ever noticed... all our information is controlled by the people who misinform us... that's fucked up

This is because all of the anarchist and Marxist literature has been hoarded by Andy T so he can unintentionally ruin his family's cruise experience.

Woke up at 4am this morning. Showered, had a bagel, looked at the weather report. Got dressed.

Headed off to work for 8am. Halfway there... today is Easter Sunday.

Sitting here in my pajama bottoms w/ a dress shirt, tie and dress socks still on.

I do not have my shit together at all.

Is it acceptable for a 30 something dude with his shit together to wear Nike Air Force 1 high tops?

I hope so! (Not a fan of high tops in particular, but I wear plenty of comparable sneakers.)

Don't see why not, Nick.

Might not wear AF1s with a three piece suit or to a formal meeting/presentation. Or just work in general.

But I wear black low top AF1s all the time with jeans for average/everyday casual wear. Jeans + a clean cotton tshirt, polo or button up are pretty much AF1 fodder.

my big brother is getting married saturday.  i get to give a toast.

also, buying a new (used) car next week. 

also, buying a new bike in the very near future. 

feeling like my shits all in order these days.

Definitely now. Married, child, great job that pays well.

Can only go downhill from here!