“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” ― Helen Keller, The Open Door
I like to eat healthily, I tend to work when needed, I try and sleep a lot (on purpose).
About being a maniac: that’s how I am, that’s my nature, for better or worse, in passion and success.
I’m not proud of it, I try to control it, but, yes, I’m a bit of a nerd/maniac.
Sometimes, during a presentation (for example, a PowerPoint slideshow), the presenter wants to state: „OK, this is a self-promotion”.
The thing is, as far as I can tell, most presentations try and sell you something.
It might be something obvious („We talk about the product, you’ll get the hint to buy it, even if it’s not explicit”), but even in the cases where’s no explicit sale, there is generally something being sold – the image of the presenter posing an expert.
If a person is on a stage and speaks to you about matter X, you’ll likely consider that person a professional/expert, and you’re more likely to buy their services.
The prisoner’s dilemma is a standard example of a game analyzed in game theory that shows why two completely rational individuals might not cooperate, even if it appears that it is in their best interests to do so. (Prisoner’s dilemma – Wikipedia)
And, also, have a look at this article (it’s a tough reading): A fragment on courage and stupidity which I like a lot. It’s all about freedom – Blog de Olivian Breda.
I think you can only be free when you don’t take into account the risks you’re put into, and act for the greater good.
To me, the prisoner’s dilemma really exists due to the fact that we, as a species, are weak – we need a state of comfort of the mind.
Had we been free, it would have been easier.
Some powerful people put boundaries.
Think of people like: Bobby Fischer, Garry Kasparov, Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino.
These are some great people.
But do they set limits? As far as I can tell, they do.
You need power to be soft and kind and care about the other.
You also need power to be able to say „No, we won’t cross this line.”.
I got a (what I think to be) cool idea from Nassim Nicholas Taleb: make some small mistakes when you can do so without lots of damage.
So, if you don’t go to the restaurant and make mistakes when you are young, when you grow up you can make a fool of yourself in an important situation.
If you don’t travel, you don’t expose yourself, this gets harder later in life.
I got into a situation like this right this year when I had to order a Taxi in Constanța.
I wasn’t used to it, I didn’t have any numbers on my cell phone, it took around 10 minutes to call various companies (I had no idea which to pick).
Finally, a pirate cab stopped and offered me a poor deal, which I took, being pressured by time.
Things might have gone better had I been used to ordering a cab when the pressure was lower, and now I would have gone in repeat mode.
The conclusion? Make errors when you’re young, it will be easier to avoid errors when you get older.
I have a rather poor memory – I can’t seem to be able to remember common things.
Procedures that I’ve done times and again, and, at some point, I fail to do them correctly.
This way of living has a great advantage – I always need to be creative and imagine things.
It also has a huge drawback, not being able to remember things is not something desirable.
I have traded memory for some creativity.
It’s very tiresome not to be able to recall some things, it can become a burden, at times.
„Could you repeat that?”
Actually, I can’t. Not easily, and steadily.
In „Ralph Breaks the Internet” (2018), one character looks for the weak point, the Achilles’ heel.
So does the devil, as far as I know – if a person has a weak point, he’ll insist in there.
Also, a quote:
43 “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.” (Matthew 12:43-46 NIV)
Most people have one or more weak points. As a paradox, if you admit you can fail, it might show you have strength.
Căci nu vă pară șagă: de la Neamț până la Iași e câtu-i de la Iași până la Neamț, nici mai mult, nici mai puțin. – Ion Creangă
The road from Constanța and Năvodari takes around 20-40 minutes, by car/bus. It’s around 20 km.
What’s the difference between the two?
I’d say it’s a different mentality, a different way of relating to things.
I know people from Năvodari, claiming they’re from Constanța.
Quite the opposite, I feel that I’m from Năvodari, I’m part of a community that’s different from what I’ve seen in Constanța.
You can’t generalize, if I know some people in Năvodari and some people in Constanța, I can’t say „All people in Năvodari”.
But I can make that generalization for myself only, and I can say that I’m quite happy being from Năvodari.
“Reading is a basic tool in living of a good life.” – Joseph Addison
Reading can be difficult. It takes time, it takes an effort of the mind, and a will to do it.
But, despite this, it can be a rather cheap solution to improve your life.
As for myself, I’m trying to read some things, only to find that I end up in front of the TV, a lot of times.
„Omul să fie mulțumit cu sărăcia sa, căci, dacă e vorba, nu bogăția, ci liniștea colibei tale te face fericit”. – Ioan Slavici, „Moara cu noroc”
Îmi place atât de mult citatul acesta!
Poți fi și fericit, și și împlinit pe mai multe planuri.
Este bine să îți îndeplinești planurile pe partea financiară? Da, desigur.
Dar să ai și contra-balansul, să știi că și dacă nu îți atingi obiectivele financiare, poți fi OK și împlinit, nu e singurul indicator.
La finalul zilei, e bine să fii mulțumit și împăcat.