Is this how Calvin would act?
- Follow a strict information diet.
- We are what we eat – Input equals Output. Information we have consumed fights for control of our perception, so we need better control of our input. The information we consume should improve our comprehension, productivity, and holistic health. Entertainment is an extremely potent source of information, so we need to scrutinize everything we watch, hear, or read.
- There are endless ways to waste our lives. We can binge on information and fall into every rabbit hole. Just like the temptation of eating junk food, we can eat junk information. There is an endless supply of it. I’ve walked on many trails for much longer times than were useful.
- Stop watching the news!!! Producers of the news have perfected the art of injecting fear, depression, anxiety, frustration, and anger. They are especially effective at turning people against each other. Even if we just want to stay informed, do we really want that poison in our veins? No! But don’t worry, we’ll still learn about current events from everyone around us.
- Stop complaining.
- Complaints are wasted energy and time. We should replace complaints with improvement efforts. Silence during distress can enhance every one of our activities.
- I learned this lesson while playing Mario Kart with my kids, but I should have learned it earlier in my life. I found that if I stopped complaining about how the game was going, my performance improved dramatically.
- Stop living in fear.
- There’s plenty to fear in this life, but many threats never materialize. According to official authority figures, the ice caps should have melted, the ozone layer should be gone, and all the bees should have died. We should have been wiped out by viruses, nuclear war, communists, terrorists, killer bees! When the threat actually does knock on our door, our options may seem dismal, but we can still consider the future with optimism. If a force beyond our control pushes us in a new direction, follow it. The universe may be sending us a message.
- As an example, your job requires you to compromise your belief or instinct. This may be a message that you should not be there. Fighting the requirement may also be worthwhile and you can be an example to others.
- Our integrity is more important than following the crowd. Call their bluff. Don’t succumb to peer pressure. This may be good news. The universe is saying, “You’re ready for a better crowd.”
- Always seek enhanced comprehension.
- Truth is a light allowing us to see our path and the result of our choices. Truth can illuminate the monsters. Most people fear truth, but I like to see the dangers in my path or the more beneficial path.
- Always consider the likelihood that we need better information. We need to act on accurate and impartial information.
- Personalize our culture.
- Culture often isolates or marginalizes its adherents. We should consider activities, music, styles, art, fashions, and language as products in a commercial. Advertisers use psychological tactics (mind control) to convince us their products are popular, praiseworthy, beneficial, fun… They often hijack our instincts, especially our strong instinct to follow the crowd.
- When the news reported that Michael Jackson had died, I showed my kids a couple videos of his performances and expected them to see his greatness. They were not impressed, so I reassessed my opinion. Yes, I still think he was a great performer, but not the greatest. The media had programmed me to think that way. I had been shown hundreds of times by many people that he was simply amazing.
- This lesson is related to 1C. News programs are literally programs. They can condition us to accept culture and identify with specific groups. Most people act like parrots and just repeat news reports all day long. I love talking to people about other things, their personal interests
- Trust our experience.
- Electronic screens, literature, articles, music, and art can all present something artificial or misleading. When information contradicts our personal experience, we should not base our actions on that information (be very suss, as my son would say). This can be difficult due to peer pressure, so we often choose to trust someone else instead of ourselves.
- I was taught to trust authority more than myself. When I finally gained the courage to trust myself, I found true freedom. Everyone has their own brain.
- Stop judging people.
- We can learn something from everyone, from their mistakes and successes, from what we like and don’t like about them.
- Whenever I’m tempted to get frustrated with people, I try to remember my past mistakes, my past states of existence.
- Stop taking things personally.
- People act according to their perception and comprehension. Our actions show our psychological state and are not really about other people. If someone acts against me, it’s not about me. People project what haunts them!
Trusting authority more than ourselves, this is such a mind fuck. It has been the most difficult, but freeing thing I have ever experienced. While I don’t always agree with other people, I love hearing from those that use their brains and make their choices and beliefs about life, rather than what they were told they should choose and believe.
Excellent!
At my work, we’re supposed to base our actions and decisions on evidence and logic. But in the human world outside of work, we’re supposed to just trust authority.