Questioning Insecurity, Whatever, Traits, Big, and Motivation

 

“Remember that your young adult child must live his own life, and that means solving his own problems. If you step in, you short-circuit the process of your child's emerging maturity. Your caring role is to give love, acceptance, encouragement, and guidance WHEN requested. Many parents find this more difficult than stepping in to solve the problem.”

-- Ross Campbell

Do you think adulthood is a manifestation of childhood insecurities?

If you bring your “childhood insecurities” with you into adulthood, then yes.

Is being concise effective because it emphasizes proper prioritization?

No. By definition, being concise is giving a lot of information clearly and in a few words. Being brief but comprehensive. It has little to do with prioritization unless you’re discussing prioritization.

Can you say "whatever" instead of "however"?

It has a different meaning. “Whatever you want is fine, however, it might get you killed.”

Do people believe that "you cannot be both rich and happy"?

For the most part, you can be both if you are truly happy before you are rich. Money seems to buy happiness, but it really doesn’t. One needs to strive for true happiness always and in all things, regardless of their circumstances. If you aren’t happy before you are rich, you probably won’t be happy afterward.

What happens when the world is full of truth?

There will be no falsehoods.

Why is "forgive and forget" such a bad idea in most situations?

Because most people are incapable of doing it. You can forgive, but forgetting is another issue. Forgiving isn’t bad, but forgetting can put you right back where you were, trying to forgive them… again. We have a memory for a reason.

“When we respond to our pain and suffering with love, understanding, and acceptance—for ourselves, as well as others— over time, we can let go of our anger, even when we’ve been hurt to the core. But that doesn’t mean we ever forget.”

-- Sharon Salzberg

What is the difference between 'what ever' and 'whatever'?

“What ever” is grammatically incorrect. “Whatever” is the correct term.

What is it like when people call you by your chosen new name?

Why would I choose a new name? I was given my name for a reason. Most people were given names for a reason. If you don’t like it, I suppose you can change it, but you’ll always have the real name in your personal history. We’re back to, “You can forgive, but you can’t forget.”

Can mind reading be done without the other person knowing what you're doing?

Yes.

How can we create a society where men are free to express themselves in a variety of ways, without being judged or discriminated against?

There will always be those who judge and discriminate. My question for you, however, is why you left women out of this question. Should they not have the same rights?

What causes people to lose motivation when things don't go their way?

Frustration.

Can it be true that people usually change for two reasons, it’s either they have learned a lot, or they have been hurt a lot?

Isn’t being hurt a way of learning? If so, then we change for only one reason: We learn. Even in failure and mistakes, we learned about failure and mistakes. We learned what we did and tried not to repeat the reason. The same goes for attaining goals, only we learn to try to repeat the reason we attained the goal. Learning has a lot to do with change.

"Things change a lot. Within a blink a mountain flattens and a river dries up. Nobody knows who he'll become tomorrow.”

-- Yiyun Li

What is it like to be in the 80th percentile for the psychological trait of achievement-striving?

According to the Air Force, I was in the 90th percentile. It made me smile. That’s about it. Of course, I was more “smart” than I was “intelligent” when it came to testing. I was great at using “good sense” on the questions.

Who should ask a person about his/her decision not to want children?

Anyone. The person has the right not to answer.

What are some examples of things that are always either true or false but never in between?

Everything is either true or false. If you look for anything “in-between” you would have to include fantasy. But, even that will, sooner or later, be proved to be either true or false. 

What can we learn from racists?

Hate. Not our greatest emotion.

Do atheists need a higher power to teach them morals and ethics?

They have morals and ethics, they simply don’t buy into the “God” thing. Exercising those morals and ethics is another issue. 

What is an evidence-based atheist?

A liar. There is no evidence to prove or disprove the idea of God. Faith, on which both sides base their thought processes, is a belief in something for which there is little or no proof. So, for everyone else, an “evidence-based” thought for either of them is non-existent. Both sides are betting on being right. The only difference would be a belief in life after death. If this is true, one side wins. The problem is, that we won’t know until we die. 

“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”

-- Christopher Hitchens

How do you say something is twice as big as something else?

"It’s twice as big as something else."  Whew! That was a hard one.

Why are humans inherently selfish?

Because we aren’t parented to share and be selfless. Selflessness might come later in life if you learn your life lessons. Most people don’t. We continue on to death wanting what we will go into debt for, not realizing that debt makes us someone else’s slave. Nowadays, debt is not something most people can escape from. I was lucky enough to have parents who always paid cash, or doubled up on payments to stay out of debt. I have followed in their footsteps.

Can we not try at least to discourage the deluge of lying and nonsense on here?

Oh, you can try. Unfortunately, the League of the Perpetually Offended will be offended by that.

What is the difference between being smart and being intelligent? How much do the two terms overlap?

I’m not the most intelligent guy, and I admit it. But, I am pretty smart. I was ranked in the 90 percentile of Air Force personnel, which got me a slot in the Intelligence field. It wasn’t that I knew the answers on the test, but I was smart enough to figure out what was close. Intelligent people work by the regulations. I looked at the regulations and found a better way. You can be both intelligent and smart, but it is a rarity. 

If you had a specialized receiver or wormhole, could you travel back in time?

No.

What are some common mistakes that math teachers make when starting out?

Believing that point nine times infinity equals one. I told my son to tell his math instructor he was an idiot. My son actually told him, and then my son got mad at me. It turns out you need an “X” factor to make it work. The "X" factor, in this case, is laziness.  No kidding.  Does it occur to anyone, that "point one" times infinity, is missing in this equation?  It simply vanished?  Bullshit. I'm not the most intelligent person, but any smart person can figure this out. If you're defusing a bomb, let me know if you buy into this.  I'll leave you to it, about a mile away.

"In the case of an infinite decimal, again standing in for the kind of infinite sequence of terminating decimals we saw above, we identify the sequence with its limit. This is what we mean when we say that 0.999... = 1 — the sequence of terminating decimals 0.9, 0.99, 0.999, 0.9999, and so on, converges to 1, so the repeating decimal 0.9999... representing the limit of that sequence, is said to be equal to 1."

-- Andy Kiersz

Why does one feel motivated at first when trying to quit procrastinating, but, later on, falls back into the old habit of delaying things?

It is difficult to teach an old dog new tricks, even when it is ourselves. It is so much easier to procrastinate and motivate ourselves to do those things we have fun doing. Work, not so much.

Can something be a lie but still seem real at the same time? Is there such a thing as false truths?

Yes, but it only seems real. And, a “false truth” is still a lie.

As a self-learner, how do I manage my time to learn multiple subjects?

Just as in school, you need to allocate a certain amount of time for each subject. School, usually, allocates an hour for each subject. It depends on how good you are at grasping concepts. You may need more or less time.

What are the benefits of writing answers to your own questions?

“Aha! I knew it all along! Of course, I could be totally wrong.”

What is the self description comparative matrix of eastern approaches to understanding the self?

"What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?" You could at least put a hyphen between "self" and "description," and capitalize the word "Eastern" for us. 

What is Plato’s conclusion about self?

Try this:

“Plato, at least in many of his dialogues, held that the true self of human beings is the reason or the intellect that constitutes their soul and that is separable from their body. Aristotle, for his part, insisted that the human being is a composite of body and soul and that the soul cannot be separated from the body.”

-- Springer.com

Editor's Note

(Re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card)

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch - it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either view any more right or wrong than the other. Opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form their own opinions, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider an alternate viewpoint.

I fervently hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions while engaging in peaceful and constructive discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning those opinions offered. After twenty-three years of military intelligence, I believe that engaging each other in this manner, and in this arena, is a way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience... and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. Following his service career, he spent 17 years working with the premier and world-renowned Western Institutional Review Board, helping to protect the rights of human subjects involved in pharmaceutical research. He also served 8 years on the Board of Directors for the Angela J. Bowen Foundation.

Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As a weapon for his war on intolerance, he chose the pen. He wages his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's personal, spiritual path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteered as the lead chaplain at a regional medical center.

Feel free to contact Pastor Tony at: tolerantpastor@gmail.com