Choices

1. 73

   Hauntyposted 14 years ago

   "Always try to have a map for yourself that gives you the widest and richest number of choices. Act always to increase choice. The more choices you have, the freer you are and the more influence you have."
   
   I don't know whether to agree with this. What do you think?

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   1. 60

      paradigmsearchposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Reality isn’t that simple. In some cases, yes. But in others, narrowing the parameters is the way to go.

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2. 71

   Cagsilposted 14 years ago

   Every choice you have or can make has a path which leads forward or backwards. You have to be open minded to see the path and have the ability to see a bigger picture view, so you know where that path ends up.
   
   Thus, choices are not always the best thing, but most of the time, there are additional choices that have yet to be seen because of a cloudy vision.

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3. 80

   camloposted 14 years ago

   I always remind myself that I don't have to do anything. There are always choices. If you don't like doing something, just stop doing it and do something else - it's easier done than said, I've found.

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4. 73

   Hauntyposted 14 years ago

   I was reading a list of statements devised by people who believe it is beneficial to pre-suppose they are true and act accordingly.
   
   The presuppositions:
   
   People are not their behavior.
   More choice is better than less choice.
   People make the best choice they can at the time.
   Every behavior has a positive intention.
   The meaning of the communication is the response you get.
   We already have all the resources we need, or we can create them.
   There is no failure, only feedback.
   Modeling successful performance leads to excellence.
   If you want to understand - Act.
   
   I tend toward thinking these are useful beliefs, however, the "choices one" is tough.

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   1. 60

      paradigmsearchposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      The presuppositions:
      
      People are not their behavior. * False. Yes they are.
      
      More choice is better than less choice. * True I think.
      
      People make the best choice they can at the time. * True by definition.
      
      Every behavior has a positive intention. * Extremely false re: just about every criminal act ever committed.
      
      The meaning of the communication is the response you get. * Not always. Mis-communication happens all the time.
      
      We already have all the resources we need, or we can create them. * False, reality has limits.
      
      There is no failure, only feedback. * False. When you are dead, you're dead.
      
      Modeling successful performance leads to excellence. * Makes sense.
      
      If you want to understand - Act. * Makes sense.
      .
      .
      These are just my quick responses. I would be happy to consider changing my mind to any after further thought/clarification/whatever.

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   2. 71

      Cagsilposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      My answers are in bold within your post.
      
      Btw- interesting discussion.

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5. 60

   paradigmsearchposted 14 years ago

   Many of these suppositions could be a thread in itself.
   
   I’ll check back tomorrow.

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6. 73

   Hauntyposted 14 years ago

   Thanks for considering them, paradigmsearch. The assumption is that the statements do not have to be true in order to be helpful beliefs. If you accept (choose to believe) they are true, you get more control over your life.
   
   
   
   People do not respond to reality, they respond to their experiences of it. Due to changes in circumstances, their behavior changes all the time. If you think someone is not his or her behavior, they just act like that because of the situation they are in, you can choose to respect the person and try to change the behavior in order to make them a better human being.
   
   
   
   What you said in the first place makes sense to me.
   
   
   
   Agreed. This is kind of like the next one, as making the best choice implies a positive intent imo.
   
   
   
   So you believe in absolute evil? Every action has a purpose. I can't imagine a situation when you act without a positive intent, the idea that your action will somehow make your or others' life better in some way. Of course the action is not necessarily positive, only the original purpose is. That's why I think evil = stupidity. You do wrong when you are stupid enough to do more harm than what good you can gain out of it.
   
   
   
   I think this means, it doesn't matter what you originally meant by what you said, the meaning is always in the other person's perception. The purpose of your communication is to get your point across to the other person. So it's meaning is what it means to him or her, not your original point. So I think that if we are still not on the same page after this, it either means that you really have a different opinion or it's simply because I failed to make you understand mine.
   
   
   
   This presupposition is empowering because if you believe it, it prompts you to act towards your goal. Scientific progress seems to me to be the result of some people believing the limits of reality are to be determined only through experimentation rather than a pre-conceived decision of what is possible.
   
   Let me know what you think. I'm open to a new perspective.

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7. 60

   paradigmsearchposted 14 years ago

   Everything I’ve just read here makes sense. It all depends upon which gestalt/framework in which each supposition is placed.
   
   I’ll add a couple more well known ones. Note how they appear to contradict each other, but not necessarily so.
   
   “The early bird gets the worm.”
   
   “The second mouse gets the cheese.”
   
   
   Oh, and my favorite one for the day:
   
   “He who probes unseen places needs protection.”

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