Just some thoughts :)

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iwasaloverb4thiswar

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This was something I had to write for an English class, enjoy :) Some of its pretty bad, some of its spot on. I don't know, I hope you can take something from it.

There are very few days in which I feel like I know what I am doing, and even in retrospect I often feel like on those days I might just have been misleading myself. I am only 20 years of age, and from what I understand this is a pretty common state of being among my peers; deciding ones future or even identifying what one wants to do with it leaves most young adults with a lot to sort out, myself included. Even then, even after a choice has been made, then there are the million little steps it takes to get anywhere at all, and making them, in a somewhat timely fashion, is difficult. As someone who has struggled with very severe depression and anxiety disorders for a long time, there are a few things that I have discovered that are necessary to creating the healthiest quality of life that I know. I have learned to define contentedness as not a destination or a conclusion, but as the knowledge and satisfaction of moving forward in a generally positive direction; it’s about being making choices that put you closer to your best self and knowing how to recover from mistakes. No one is going to be perfect all of the time, and why should they be? It is often our mistakes that reveal the most about our characters. The key is to not let our mistakes define who we are. The best tools for creating and sustaining a positive lifestyle that I have found are self-honesty, deliberate action, and forgiveness.
Before beginning any journey, it is important to know ones destination. In life, this doesn’t mean literally knowing the physical coordinates of one’s future, but rather, what the purpose of the journey is, what are we seeking? Understanding your own motivations and desires is hard to do and requires a lot of honesty. Often the reasons for our actions have very little to do with ourselves; family members, friends, and societal pressures all have a great influence on our choices. More than that, reacting to fears or false preconceptions from our past can create patterns of behavior that we repeat throughout our lives as we struggle to overcome them. How many times must I suffer from sleep deprivation before I finally learn that a little bit of time management would save me the trouble? Good question, but more importantly, why do I keep perpetuating that chaos in my life? Understanding why we behave the way we do is crucial; it will help us identify our strengths and weaknesses and avoid repeating egregious mistakes in the future. Essentially, we learn to become our own watchdog. Achieving this is difficult, it requires that we remain objective and honest about our feelings and desires and become accountable for our choices. People can accomplish this in many different ways, but no matter the person, it takes practice. Time for self-reflection is necessary, and usually in a neutral environment where the individual is free from distraction and emotional triggers that may bias their thoughts. Many people practice self-reflection through spiritual rituals such as attending church, studying religious documents or meditating, but it is not something that has to be tied to any religious significance. Simple journaling can help to break through the distraction and calamity of the day to day and guide us in reconnecting with our core goals and values. True self honesty may force us to face some of our unflattering behavior, in which case we need to recognize our responsibility and possibly make amends.
Self-reflection allows us to isolate our fears and outside influences and frees us to make deliberate choices about whom and what we want to become. Here is where we use what we have discovered about ourselves during our self-reflection to help guide us to better choices and behaviors in our future. Acting deliberately is harder than it may sound; it is easy to get caught up in an emotion or activity that will cause us to make unconscious choices and so it is good to have some tools to help keep us mindful of our real desires. Visual cues such as pictures or words that are inspiring and remind us of our goals are always helpful. Calendars, planners, and schedules are all good ways to help keep track of all of our responsibilities and make sure that we get them done. Surrounding yourself in an environment that is conducive to your desired behavior is important. Supportive friends and family who respect your personal choices will help you find and stay connected to your better self.
Lastly, but most importantly is the ability to forgive oneself. Mistakes will be made, sometimes the same ones many, many, times. It is important to be able to recover from them and not let guilt or disappointment perpetuate more poor choices. This in no way means that we should not be held accountable for our mistakes, it just means that we should not let them become who we are. Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, explains the Buddhist idea of prajna thus; “one thing can't be doubted, the 'possibility of a quality' is within us. It is called prajna. We can deny everthing, except that we have the possibility of being better.” In every moment we are given the opportunity to be our better selves, to make a better choice and rise to the occasion. This is a potential that we carry with us our whole lives, no matter our age or condition, we never lose it. People are capable of many great things if you give them the opportunity, why would this not be true for us? Believing in yourself and your ability to bring positive change in this universe is absolutely the most important thing. You cannot let your past weigh down your future. Another very wise person once told me that “you cannot judge a man by his worst, or his best, the real value of a person lies somewhere in between.” Human beings are very complex creatures, and to simplify them to their rights or their wrongs would be inaccurate. As important as it is to practice self-forgiveness, being able to forgive others their mistakes can be even more beneficial. Harboring anger or resentment toward others only brings you down, and it denies both parties of the opportunity to grow.
 
That's good, I'm sure you got an A on whatever the assignment was,lol, wish I had assignments like that, more of: write a lab report for such and such or read this book and give a critical evaluation, blah I hate having to over read books, but I I got off topic a bit...

I like that quote it's very true and I think keeping a journal is one of the only things that has kept me sane you wouldn't believe how many times I've felt better or found a reasonable solution to a problem by the time I'm at the end of a page or two

Bad behavior and negativity breeds more bad behavior and negativity, it's hard getting out of the cycle because after a while it just seems to fit you like a snug glove. It's really a moment by moment process to watch yourself and fix what your doing or thinking like you said

Forgiveness, calenders, to do lists, meditation and journals all essential tools if you ask me,good stuff:)
 

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