See, I find #4 to be the south end of a north bound mule.
“4. The more comfortable you get, the worse your life is going to be”
Abraham Maslow was right when he said, “If you plan on being anything less than you are capable of being, you will probably be unhappy all the days of your life.”
You want to be happy? Let me give you the short and sweet formula for happiness. Happiness is improvement, growth and forward movement. You can be on top of the world, but if you try to stay there you’re going to the bottom. You can be in the pits, but if you’re consistently climbing upward, you’re going to feel better. There is no staying the same. You are either growing or getting rotten, settling into a rut or becoming a better person.
The problem with this is that we live in a “if it feels good, do it,” “we’re here to cater to you” capitalistic society. The bread and circuses that helped rot Roman culture was amateur hour compared to what we have going on in America. If you have a halfway decent job, after work it’s very easy to sit in a comfy chair, watch your favorite TV shows, play your favorite video games, chat with your online friends from your house, utilize some pornography if you get lonely and have food and just about anything else you want delivered right to your home as you sit in a little comfort cocoon.
This is the dilemma of life. The more you achieve, the easier it is to rest on your laurels. But, if you rest on your laurels, you won’t be happy. That means you need to grow and improve, but the more you grow and improve, the tougher it is to make progress as a human being. The moment you start to get comfortable where you are is the moment you start to go backward. So, the moment you realize you’ve gotten comfortable is the moment you need a new challenge.
I find that to be utter horse hockey.
I don’t want, nor need, the latest greatest anything. I don’t need to constantly “improve”. Am I functioning to the best of my ability in helping others? Then, I’m happy. I’ve achieved a lot in my life, and I’ve failed a lot in my life. Maybe I just don’t understand all that psychology, but frankly, if I can help my fellow man out, then I do it. I was at my happiest when I AM comfortable. Being uncomfortable makes me very UNhappy.
I’ve achieved a lot in my life, and I’ve failed a lot in my life.
Our society has become so insular with failure. Failure is no longer seen as an implement to effect change but something to be avoided. Our youth avoid anything that might have even the remotest chance of failure. If we don't fail once in a while, we forget how truly good it is to succeed, which makes us aspire to want more of that success. It's a great feedback loop.
And, FWIW, Abraham Maslow was a very outspoken socialist. He's hardly the paragon of modern thinking the left makes him out to be.