Tag: identity

Child or Adult?

On By seancovellIn Health and Wellness, PoliticsLeave a comment

Are you an adult or a child? This topic has been discussed much in the media with regards to the current state of millennials. According to Goldman Sachs research, over 30% of millennials (born between 1980 and 2000) live with their parents. The average age of marriage for the generation is 30, compared with age 23 in 1970. Fewer millennials have licenses and cars compared to previous generations. These are all major economic changes that will affect the economy in a major way. And while the law states that a certain age makes someone an adult, in reality, I believe that most people, not just millennials, lack the maturity to be considered such. Here are 20 ways to know that you’ve graduated from childhood into adulthood.

  1. You take responsibility for everything that happens in your life. It’s the highest level of maturity.
  2. You focus on the present and future much more than the past.
  3. You have stopped blaming your parents and upbringing for where you are in life now.
  4. You no longer blame others for the emotions you allow yourself to feel.
  5. You understand that you own your own body and must take responsibility for it and what it produces.
  6. You realize that your primary responsibility is to take care of yourself. That responsibility does not belong to another individual.
  7. You understand that people have different identities and that your values are not theirs.
  8. You stop focusing on trying to change others before yourself.
  9. You realize that everyone is working in their own self-interest, but even the honeybee, which does the same, brings life to the many plants while it serves its own needs. This is a positive thing.
  10. You take care of your physical health and work to improve it daily.
  11. You avoid making excuses about why you “should” do something but “can’t”.
  12. You only associate with those who bring value to your life.
  13. You are working on refining your philosophy daily.
  14. You look for opportunities instead of problems.
  15. You never beg for anything or ask anything of another without offering something in exchange.
  16. You are constantly looking for ways to add value to others through the marketplace.
  17. You have the desire to grow yourself so you can serve the ones you love.
  18. You keep your word and pay your debts.
  19. You do what you believe is right, not because someone is telling you it is.
  20. You have decided to live a great life that you have designed because you are the architect of your life.

 

Identify Yourself (Actually, Don’t)

On By seancovellIn Health and Wellness, Politics, UncategorizedLeave a comment

This article will be redundant. It is done so to drive my point home…

There are a few things in life that will significantly impact the direction and quality of your life. The first, I believe, is your personal philosophy. Your philosophy about life is the major factor in how things will play out for you. A close second, and perhaps much more relatable and relevant to people, is with what group or groups you tie your identity to. How you identify yourself reinforces the story you tell yourself and others about who you are. I’m going to suggest to you that this is a mistake. By tying your identity to a group rather than who you are as a human and an individual can significantly diminish the quality of your life. I realize this will be controversial, but in order to progress as humans, the tribe mentality of our ancestors must disappear. This will not happen until people take control of their own fate, rather than living within the expectations and ideology of another group.

My reasoning behind this argument is simple–the story that you tell yourself about who you are impacts your beliefs and values, thereby influencing a major part of life that you should take responsibility for and think critically about. For example, if your identity is tied to an extremist religious group like ISIS, your values about how you should live and act towards others are not compatible with human life and liberty. You have significantly limited yourself and your world view. Let me suggest that your religious practices, whatever they may be, are not your identity. The same goes for any political organization that you affiliate with. I would advise against it becoming tied to “who you are”. By doing so, you are hampering your potential as a human.

I like Bruce Lee’s philosophy towards different styles of fighting. He refused to identify himself with one or another, instead taking the best from all different styles. Bruce Lee was a dedicated learner. His desire was to be better tomorrow than yesterday or today. That should be a common belief for all humans. By limiting yourself to a certain group, I believe you are limiting your potential and also allowing group mentality to influence your world view about how to act towards others. I have been known to say that you are not your thoughts. You are the one who listens to them. Likewise, you are not your religion, political affiliation, race, gender, sexual preference. I would advise against identifying with any group. It is this tribe mentality that causes so much pain and suffering. Islam vs Christianity. Gay vs. Straight. Male vs. Female. White vs Black. Conservative vs Liberal. It’s time to stop labeling and limiting yourself. To expand as an individual you must ditch the labels you have allowed to be placed on you. You are not a group. Groups do not think–they produce a way to think about things. Groups do not have rights (although they claim to). Only individuals do. Act like an individual and identify yourself as one.

So how should one identify? What story should they tell themselves about who they are? If it is true that you become the story you tell yourself, I strongly suggest getting a better story. So who are you really? You are a being that cannot be labeled. You are a gift to the universe. You are infinite potential. You are a factory producing infinite energy, love, compassion. Want a better world? Want a better life? Get a better story…and stop identifying with a group. You are not a group. You are a unique individual. You own your body and your mind. Do your own thinking. Drop the labels.

In Liberty,
Sean