Just a Small Hiatus

My last post was in 2014. Yikes!

Reading back over some of the posts, I am pleased with the things I have been thinking and intending. I am not happy about my general lack of follow-through, however. But there it is; that is my kryptonite. Self-motivation.

I began listening to an audio book version of Robert Kiyosaki's book Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and he mentions that an important step along the way is minding your own business, as in tending to the business that is you and yours. I have always believed that writing is part of what I am to be about, and this blog is one outlet for it, a potentially very public part. (Journaling is another way, but that really goes nowhere. I won't draw the obvious parallel to other things you do by yourself.) So since I have so much time to sit and think (since I am currently still driving a truck), and nobody is monopolizing my writing time and effort, I guess I can choose what to write, when to write, and who to invite to read it. Of course, ANYBODY could just stumble by and read it; that's fine. But whether anybody comes back for more really depends on me. The quality of my writing is important. (OH MY GOODNESS, the lack of quality out there is stunning, and yet people STILL MAKE MONEY!!!) But the frequency and consistency is important, too. You shouldn't have to guess whether I will post more. I should post more, and try to be regular. Therefore, I will try this: I will try to post something at least every week. Sometimes the schedule can get a little wild, and I can't really promise daily posts. Plus, at this point, to overpromise breaks trust. So once a week. More when I can.

And starting with the next post, I will try to make it something other than me looking at me not writing!

Mega Man

I have changed the subtitle above after careful consideration, and consultation with a dictionary. I don't really think I have a (bad) mental illness, but I know I do have a tendency to not only dream, but to typically take each and every dream and turn it up, max it out, take it to the ultimate. This drives my wife nuts, and tends to confuse the children; they constantly think we're going to move (because I'm dreaming of houses), or that I'm going to buy a bus (because I want one, badly), or whatever the squirrels tell me to do next. Solution? BLOG IT!!! By writing it out, rather than speaking it out, I can accomplish (at least) two things: I get it out of my system (for the moment), thus making life less confusing for the fam; and I also exercise my writing skills, something that I constantly yearn for, but typically procrastinate terribly about. I anticipate repeating myself endlessly, revisiting old ideas over and over (and possibly with little-to-no variation), but it is the exercise (exorcise???) that is important. Hey, if you don't want to read it, that's your option! Hear me, squirrels??? (On a related note, the triple punctuation marks are just a bad, squirrel-induced twitch in my hands. Bear with me.)

A Popular Misconception

I just finished listening to a YouTube video about how important it is to set and pursue goals. The author maintains that without making plans, you will end up (along with perhaps a 95% majority of people) essentially a failure, having never achieved real success. This I cannot disagree with; the adage goes, "If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail."

The title of this blog refers to a statement he made toward the end of his post, though. It is a popular train of thought, but one that I disagree with. He says, "People are basically good." I am NOT going to say that people are inherently evil scientists, bent on the destruction of the universe; but my contention is that the statement is flawed, and should read, "People are basically capable of being good." Being good, like being evil, is a choice each of us has to make. I think that if we don't plan on being at least a little good, we will tend toward being a little evil; selfishness is a minor evil, after all. Unless you've been trained very well by your parents to share, to reach out, etc., you will probably tend to look to your own interests first.

I think the purpose of life is to have a positive impact on the world, at least the world around you. (We can't ALL be raging megalomaniacs, after all!) But even this takes planning and action on each person's part. We have to want to. I think having no impact on the world is to be a failure. Of course, having a negative impact is worse; you require more people to work harder at being positive influences.

At the same time, I don't think we should just blindly pat people on the back and say nothing but positive things all the time. Sugar coating everything around you is not realistic; in fact, it's essentially lying, which turns your efforts into evil. But slamming people with their failures is counter productive. I think that's where the term "constructive criticism" comes in. It's a positive, encouraging way of telling people how their performance was sub-par. It builds them up, and helps them set better goals, helps them strive to make better impacts.

So, use your powers for good, and not for evil! But please, use your powers SOMEHOW. Make a choice, make a plan, and act. (And physician, heal thyself....)