Don't be a dope for a dose of hope! Always use a path instead, so you can use your head!

Pardon the rhymes...

It is important to identify your "life crimes".

Those are the ones where you, though well meaning, rob yourself of the greatest, most valuable gift:  your life.


WHICH BRAIN SHALL RUN THE SHOW?

You see, our primitive brain is wired to "solve problems" and to try to be problem free, as that is how we evolved successfully (by a constant seeking to solve any possible life threatening problem).

But we forget that the primitive mind, though it is a marvel of great mechanical ability, can be a relative dope when it comes to actually thinking and discriminating.

If you (the higher brain that is actually you) don't bother to do the thinking and discriminating, you will end up with an indiscriminate life run by your primitive lower mind.  Metaphorically, your life is being run by the monkey mind if you don't use the higher brain..

Not good!

There are lots of examples of this, from the urge to eat when we don't need to eat (just breathe or drink water or exercise, but DO have a strategy!) to seeking relief from anxiety in relatively stupid, sometimes harmful, ways.

But people with great intentions in life often get mislead, where they get "feedback" from the lower mind "oh, boy, I'm going to get better", "just by doing this".

However, we must remember that the lower primitive mind is, in fact, lower and it is primitive.  It "thinks" close to the level of an animal (which was not fortunate enough to evolve to grow a higher brain).

Many of the so-called "self-improvers" gain very little in actual self improvement because they make the mistake of believing the primitive mind.  This is why many self improvers give a bad name to self improvement, because others see that their lives are not so good!  What good is it to be a "self improver" who doesn't really much improve?


ADD "EFFECTIVE" TO YOUR NAME

What we want to do is become effective self improvers instead of self improvers that settle for a quick little shot of dopamine from the "hope" of things getting better (somehow...).

An effective self improver

1.  Reads to gain results.   He/she "thinks out", ahead of time, to decide what books/articles have usable value and only reads the best.  He/she follows through on all worthy items from his/her reading.  He/she no longer "gets off" on just reading a good book and having the hope dope get stimulated, but not following through.  He/she is essentially starting on a journey but not completing it!  How smart do you think that is? (Smart in this case is referring to using one's higher brain and actually using one's existing true thinking ability!)

See The Best Books Lists - Read The Best Of The Best, First! - And then spend the time to "think out" which list to choose (and then which of those on the chosen list would be most useful). He/she then tickles (and schedules) the time for reading them, keeping the list in an accessible place and checking off the books when the harvesting of the book is complete (not just when it is "read").

2.  Is discriminating as to the value to be derived from a seminar or workshop or training.  Little one hour sessions mostly are a dose of hope, but they normally gain no results, so they are "senseless" except for perhaps feeling the dopamine rush of the hope.  How smart was the selection of such a workshop? (The alternative would be to do one of such things as are in this piece:  Learning Intensives - Intensely Learning And/Or Implementing.)

3.  Follows through and completes all items of value derived from great notes from the experience.  The ineffective person most often doesn't even look at his/her notes, or if he/she does, it is lightly and loosely, with little, if any, results...and probably with the intention to do more about it "later", even though the next year's similar workshops have arrived and he/she is now going to that one, because it is so pleasant and stimulating...

(Be sure to review the piece on the site:  Authentic, Effective Learning, Real Learning, To Get What You Really Want In Life - please stop wasting so much of your life with ineffective learning!)


WHEN HAVE YOU ACTUALLY ARRIVED AT BEING AN "EFFECTIVE PERSON"?

It is always true that an effective person is a person who chooses to only do things that create desired effects (i.e. results!).(Duh!)

He/she also chooses (and prioritizes) what effects he/she wants in his/her life and then chooses the activities that will cause that desired effect.  (He/she creates a prioritized list of the highest value activities he/she wants in her life, and cuts out the lowest.  The thinking would be like in this piece: The Highest Value Activities In Life - Harvesting The Golden Eggs And Enabling The Golden Goose.)

A truly effective person is a happy person.  A person who cannot be effective can never be a happy person (realistically) as he/she cannot produce the desired effects in his/her life (and often doesn't even know what those are).

How can you become, and assure your remain, an effective person?

By using your given ability in your higher brain to "think out" what activities would be the most valuable - and, at the time of choice, asking the thinking question:  "What is the most effective, most valuable thing I can do now?"  (Sometimes, the answer is to "learn" something and/or to decide what are the most valuable things to do.)  Consider these, and related, pieces:  Using The Higher Brain As It Should Be Used - The "Secret" To A Greater Life! and Thinking, Fast And Slow - System One And System Two.

It is a big "Duh! Of course!" to realize that you cannot do well in life if you let your primitive mind decide for you, as you will be turning over your life to the monkeys.

The choice:  be an (illusionary) hope dope (dopamine) or be a person who uses his/her head (higher brain part, that is) to live a better life.

Which you've chosen so far is indicated by the results you are currently getting in your life (and, no, Virginia, it is not due to your "circumstances" or other people!!!).  If you experience much of these, rethink your thinking:  Anxiety, stress, needing approval, or other emotional "agitations" and/or continuing, repeating problems.


WHICH DO YOU CHOOSE?

So...do you need to choose to be a 100% life-responsible, effective person via making all key decisions with true higher thinking or have you already arrived at the greatest life, free of anxieties, problems, and full of high life value?

(Duh!)

[Oh, incidentally, an effective person would decide if there is anything of value in this piece and then set up at least a tickle for follow through on the items of value.  An ineffective, not very happy person, would probably just criticize him/herself, declare it a condition he/she is stuck with (I'm just ineffective...as if "that's me"), maybe say there are valid points, and then do nothing - so that life ends up the same a year or two from now, or for the next ten years or...]

_____________________________

If a person sent you a link to this article (by using the little white envelop right below this post), consider it a caring gesture, not a declaration of no hope, but as something to think about to become even more effective in life!

____________________________

Incidentally, there is no such thing as an "ineffective person".  There is only a person choosing to live in ineffective ways, due to lack of awareness.  Every person on the planet should understand the truths in this piece:  Zero Fault - Only "Just Not Knowing...Yet!".  This is an essential understanding if one is to be emotionally intelligent and to no longer waste energy, effort, and angst involved in the "faulting" that we do to ourselves!