If you look into the eyes of people as you walk, you realize very quickly that we are all suffering from some form of mental pain, anxiety, frustration, fear, whatever it is.
Some more than others, as they say.
Some look totally disheveled, mentally, physically, and otherwise along the path.
Others look a little bit more stoic, but they still suffer.
So, in many religions, there is a belief that after I leave here, after I die, all of this pain and suffering will ultimately go away, and I will live in an ideal state.
But a question that was posed to me the other day, which I thought I would share with you, would I actually want this?
Because my pain, my suffering, it must be overcome.
Otherwise, I will disappear, obviously, into alcohol, drugs, God only knows, right?
But those that overcome this seem to somehow be better people, don’t they?
So the pain and suffering in life is a necessary component of growth.
We certainly don’t invite it, but it’s there naturally to be overcome, like any journey in a certain sense of the word.
So what am I to do?
Well, I think the first thing that one must do at the beginning of consciousness, one must realize that life is a journey.
Not all good, not all bad, but my journey, my individual journey, and my mission is inside of me.
What I’m supposed to accomplish in this piece of life is inside of me.
But how do I get it out becomes the great dilemma.
So some would say, well, you can educate it out.
Go to school, learn from the great philosophers, great scientists, and slowly you will gain knowledge.
But of course, people who have knowledge are not necessarily wise.
I was reading recently that during World War II, for instance, the Einsatzgruppen, which were the death squads that would go in after the German military occupied a region, they would go in and kill communists and intellectuals and Jews and whomever they thought would be dangerous to their totalitarian control.
And most of the individuals who headed up these groups were either professors or were lawyers, many of whom had Ph.D.s, so they were the best educated in Germany at the time who had volunteered for these tasks.
So somehow their education had not allowed them to have a Ph.D.
in humanity.
Their education had not made them more moral.
So you think to yourself, in my frustration, in my anxiety, why do I want to overcome this frustration?
It’s because I truly want to become a better human being, right?
And of course, along the way, it would be nice to make some money, maybe a lot of money, like why not?
But mostly, I think people want to become better to their friends, to their family, to the society at large.
Now, many, many corporate leaders, of course, leave their fortunes to the society because they want to leave some form of legacy that has value, that they can go forward with this.
So do not be frustrated by your frustration.
Get on with it.
But I think this requires practice because we cannot just acquiesce and say, I feel miserable today.
Long time ago, I think I mentioned before, I went to a yoga conference in India and the yogi there, he said, essentially, when I wake up in the morning, I can decide whether it’s going to be a good day or a bad day.
Now, of course, that’s very easy to say, very hard to do, because some days, obviously, it’s going to be a bad day, but I think what he was suggesting was that I’m in control of this neurosis called me.
I’ve been reading some books by Carl Jung recently, and gosh, this man has gone deep into the psychiatry and the psychology of being a human being.
And the books are profound in the sense that they make you question who you are and what you could become.
And he was big, of course, on some form of dream interpretation and other things.
But I recommend that you spend some time if you possibly can and have a look at some of his books.
He’s only one of many scholars.
I think we should read.
I had a student the other day, a young student, and I asked him, what are you reading?
And he said, oh, I don’t read.
I’m not reading anything.
And I thought to myself, the first thing that Carl Jung said is that if you’re going to be a good psychiatrist, you must have knowledge.
Knowledge of mythology, knowledge of society, etc.
And I guess this would totally extend to a business person today.
If you want to be a good business person, you must be knowledgeable.
You must have some understanding of the philosophical underpinnings of your society.
You must read.
No choice.
If you don’t read, you’re going to be basically infected by the Internet, which is inundated with nonsense, absolute nonsense.
I was reading recently that young people now are exposed to pornography, for instance, at nine or ten years old.
And that’s unfortunate for sure, but more importantly, it creates a total illusion as to what life or love is really about, right?
So that can only add to some form of neurosis or anxiety.
So in that case, ignorance is making a person more afraid and fearful of life.
And as we know, as we get older, certainly at 69, I know that a lot of the things I was afraid of are just not real.
They were real at the time, perhaps, that was public speaking or perhaps dating or perhaps social intercourse with business people, whatever it was.
I was fearful.
And those fears were just not real.
And then you realize who is in control of my piece of life.
I am.
Now, that is not to say that if a person has psychological problems, one should not go talk to a professional.
I think, why not?
Go talk to someone, but ultimately, unless you have severe mental problems, the responsibility of your life lies with you.
There is no choice, truly.
So the next time you speak with someone, and they get angry over seemingly nothing, in a certain sense, you have to pity them, because, who makes me stress?
I do.
Yes, there could be frustrations in the day.
Yes, I could just have had an argument with a colleague.
Yes, I could have lost money on the stock market.
Somebody cut me off in traffic.
Someone was rude to me.
It goes on and on and on, but I am responsible.
There is no other way to see it than this.
So the next time you take a walk, try to smile at people.
It’s interesting because in some societies, like in Poland or Russia, if you smile at people, they think you’re an idiot.
But if you’re smiling in Asia, people many times will respond back.
And I think it gives you a sense of warmth to realize that you can go forward in life and you can conquer this thing called my life with my anxiety and become happy.
I think I’ve mentioned before as well, I had a colleague who said to me once, it’s very, very easy to be unhappy, but extremely hard to be happy.
But you can be.
You can be happy, but it requires effort, it requires work, and obviously you need a balance.
If you have all the money in the world and no loved ones, no friends, just money, then obviously you’re not a happy man.
So put your anxiety and your fear in perspective.
The first affirmation I listen to every morning is gratitude.
I’m thankful to be me.
I’m thankful to be alive, and I’m thankful to have the opportunity today to work on me.
And you know what they say?
You know what they say.
Critical thinking is everything, especially when it comes to anxiety, which I intend to overcome in my life.
And critical thinking is great, truly great.
Gosh.
You take care.
God bless.
Bye-bye.