mimetic desire briefly discussed before in Naval's podcast

its the current trend of society

quick overview from chatgpt on René Girard's theory of mimetic desire

i’m not a political guy, but between iryna being stabbed and charlie kirk being shot

i think civil war happens within the next few years in the US

feels like something’s brewing

any thoughts from politics knowers?

once again i am reminded and thankful for my country because it is so safe here

despite ridiculous cost of living, the safety makes it worth it

one of the most fundamental needs

". . . The thing I would say is, when you grow up, you tend to get told that the world is the way it is, and your life is just to live your life inside the world. Try not to bash into the walls too much. Try to have a nice family life, have fun, save a little money. But life, that's a very limited life. Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact, and that is: Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you. And you can change it. You can influence it. You can build your own things that other people can use. And the minute that you understand that you can poke life, and actually something will, you know, if you push in, something will pop out the other side, that you can change it. You can mold it. That's maybe the most important thing is to shake off this erroneous notion that life is there and you're just going to live in it, versus embrace it. Change it. Improve it. Make your mark upon it. I think that's very important. And however you learn that, once you learn it, you'll want to change life and make it better. Because it's kind of messed up in a lot of ways. Once you learn that, you'll never be the same again."

Steve Jobs Secrets of Life
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYfNvmF0Bqw

You need to be bored. Here's why.

Being bored can lead you to ask big questions (eg. what is the meaning of life?), which are beneficial and important in attaining happiness. The current explosion in mental health issues such as depression is largely due to the elimination of boredom through smartphones. Most people use their phones as a crutch in escaping boredom, making it harder to find meaning in life.

If you learn to be bored, you'll end up happier.

Remedies:
Aim for regular 15mins+ periods of being bored
No devices during meals
No devices during certain periods of the day

https://youtu.be/orQKfIXMiA8?si=zYoX9uFEFjpVv8NM

I'm someone that does not use my phone much, I guess that is a good thing!

probably the main reason why I am questioning life so often and journaling things as well

especially when I'm with company, I think it is important to put your phones aside

aside from being disrespectful to the other party, it helps you stay in the present and be more intentional

the amount of times I have seen friends whipping out their phones to scroll social media the second there is a pause or break in the conversation is astounding

IF (BIG IF)

racism, crime, and violent tendencies are genetic, would it be justifiable to kill the 1% of the population that is contributing to 80% of the crimes, to save the 99% of society?

'Do not ask your children to strive' by William Martin

religion

I remember when I first embarked on my journey to self-esteem years ago, self-respect was a foreign concept to me

symptoms of it show in the smallest habits in life, such as procrastination

a large part of a lack of self-esteem arises when you fail at achieving the simplest of tasks that you set for yourself eg. washing the dishes by 9pm or folding your clothes by tomorrow

failure of such tasks (procrastination) subconsciously leads to a lack of respect for yourself, hence a lack of self-esteem as well

this further dominos into confidence and zeal in life

and most will wonder why life isn't happening for them

religion cont.

the ripple effect begins

first high-profile political assassination

https://fxtwitter.com/howdymerry/status/1965944135975866420

Edward Bernays' Propaganda

The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, and our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of…. It is they who pull the wires that control the public mind.

https://theconversation.com/the-manipulation-of-the-american-mind-edward-bernays-and-the-birth-of-public-relations-44393

Dostoevsky after nearly being executed

every human nearing death says the same few things

makes you think

the plateau of latent potential

have experienced this multiple times in life thus far

enjoy the process, focus on the journey, and not the destination

i once sent a short story to a friend that i found really helpful in focusing on the journey in general

[short story]

once upon a time, there was a man that wanted to achieve wisdom and nirvana from an elder monk

man: how many years will i need to achieve your wisdom and happiness?
monk: 5 years.
man: what if i study twice as hard?
monk: 10 years.
man: what if i double my effort in everything i do?
monk: 15 years.

the man got a bit pissed

man: why is it that the more effort i put in the longer it takes? are you playing w me?
monk: the more you focus on the result, the longer you'll take to achieve it. focus on the process and you'll get there faster.

moral of the story: while you're doing your routines, do not focus on the end goal aka thinking every day "am i more confident? is my self esteem up yet?"

just focus on doing you and doing the routines without thinking about the end result so often and it will eventually come sooner than you expect it

to relate it to our 2 eyes, one eye to look forward and target the end goal far ahead, while the other helps to look at what's in front of you to prevent you from tripping over the obstacles immediately ahead of you. both eyes must NOT be just focusing on the end goal (being too focused on the result) because in doing so you'll trip and take much much longer to achieve your goals

tldr; focus on the process more than the end goal!

v important to keep in mind while you're in pursuit of greatness and this is applicable to most things in life

Pattern Recognition

https://fxtwitter.com/hamptonism/status/1965734284918173820

choose meaningful relationships

Nepal chose a new leader through discord..

https://x.com/SouthAsiaIndex/status/1965809426897735987