Personal growth: Inflexibility and the failure to achieve goals May 8, 2018
Posted by Dennis Mellersh in personal development ideas.Tags: achieving goals, goal visualization, inflexibility, inspiration, life, personal growth, personal growth program, philosophy, psychology, self-actualization, writing
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In our efforts to focus zealously and determinedly on our self-development goals, we can sometimes want so badly to go in a certain direction in our self-actualization that we may willfully ignore real obstacles and brush them aside without thinking carefully on how to overcome them; and, as a result, perhaps fail significantly in our overall personal growth objectives.
On a much larger scale than the purely personal, this was a problem faced by President Abraham Lincoln as the Civil War with the Southern States was drawing to a close, and Lincoln was seeking support for a non-punitive approach to rebuilding the South after the end of the war.
In the movie Lincoln, the President is portrayed as having a discussion with Thaddeus Stevens, a prominent member of the U.S. House of Representatives, who held the view that the South should “pay” for its secession and for the war through a variety of measures that Lincoln considered vindictive.
Lincoln makes an argument against this “untempered” approach to Reconstruction in this excerpt from the movie:
It’s a strong argument against clinging too rigidly to what we might consider “a correct view” and then failing utterly in our goal, instead of being willing to compromise and achieve at least part of the good outcome we seek.
— Dennis Mellersh
Getting more joy out of life by focussing on the present May 6, 2018
Posted by Dennis Mellersh in personal development ideas.Tags: achieving goals, future focussing, inspiration, life, living in the present, personal growth, philosophy, psychology, The Clock of Life, writing
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Because human nature seems to have a built-in bias towards looking to the future, rather than fully enjoying or dealing with what is presented to us right now, psychology experts constantly remind us of the importance of living in “The Now.”
So, in the tradition of offering a light reminder of the importance of living in the present, there is a poem (attributed to Robert H. Smith in the version I found) which sums up why we should focus more on the present. No doubt some readers will already be familiar with it.
Here are the two key verses:
The clock of life is wound but once
And no-one has the power
To tell just when the hands will stop
At late or early hour.
The present only is our own
So live, love, and toil with a will
Place no faith in “Tomorrow”
For the clock may then be still.
Paying attention to the future and being optimistic about its potential is important, but putting too much energy towards the path ahead may mean missing important opportunities on the path we are walking today.
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