Many people mistake realism for pessimism because it seems devoid of hope. Hope is a self deception and often usually a lie that people believe in because realism is too difficult to process.
Despite what you believe realism is not the same as pessimism, nor is it the opposite of optimism. It's a realistic view based on past and present evidence, critical thinking, logic, and the correlation of all of those things. It does not include self deception, delusions or preferred definitions.
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I don't attack people for how they choose to go through life as far as coping mechanisms. If you're a hopeful person or an optimistic person that is 1000% your business and it has nothing to do with me or anyone else. As I am constantly saying ... DO YOU.
It is not something you have to justify to anyone and you don't need to argue with people about how they choose to move through the world or what mechanisms they use.
That includes NEGATIVE people and doombringers and seetheposters.
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For the 1000th time: you DO NOT NEED TO INTERACT WITH ANYONE OR ANYTHING that you see in your feed or anywhere else online. Mind your own business and focus on your own life, your own needs, and your own space to express yourself.
If something is too upsetting for you, ignore it. If something is too realistic for you, move on from it. If people are too negative and nasty and broken or dysregulated for you, let them go or ignore them.
Self care is IMPORTANT and more necessary than ever.
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SelfNESS is key.
Many people think selfish and selfness are the same, they are not. Selfish is doing something for yourself at the expense of another. SelfNESS is doing something for yourself so you can be better for others. Focusing on your own needs and health is important if you're to be able to care for others and be your best for your loved ones.❤️
Focus on YOU, not on what other people are doing, saying, believing etc. You need to bolster YOURSELF in whatever way is best for YOU.
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Angry people will ALWAYS be angry. You cannot reason with people who choose anger over all else. I'm not going to keep repeating what Seneca said about anger being akin to madness ... you can look up all that stuff. It's not your job to try and FIX or CONVINCE people who choose madness. It never was.
Your job is to be the best you can be for yourself and others. To protect yourself and those you love. To be strong, focused, sane, and well minded. Such people will always find each other. ❤️
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@thewebrecluse It's true. I am always angry. Or rather, I should say, I always _feel_ angry.
After a long, long time of being always angry, I learned that every emotion has a sensation you can feel, and that sensation is what most people think the emotion is.
But those feelings are just how we _sense_ the actual emotions, which also have an associated choice, strategy, action.
...
@thewebrecluse
I can _feel_ angry, but I _choose_ strategies based on the emotions I want to carry out.
It's hard. But it's part of being a complete, sentient adult.
Emotions are tools.
They are not an excuse.
Our minds are tools, too, and we can make intelligent decisions where we _choose_ what strategy to operate under.
@thewebrecluse I mess up sometimes. Anger can be very loud inside one's head, and some of us have deep grooves worn into our minds that anger has flowed through so long that it's the easiest thing to feel. It takes conscious effort to choose to redirect it towards something constructive.
The answer to things that take effort is to put in the effort.
All we see took effort, and all we'll ever be will take effort too.
@AskTheDevil You have always been very forthcoming about yourself. That kind of frankness and self reflective honesty is something that is rare in most people and something I pay attention to. It seems to take more strength than most people have to admit where they are flawed, where they have weaknesses, where they need to improve and actually recognize what improvement would look like.
As you say ... everything is about effort but before that it's takes recognizing the need for it.
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@AskTheDevil Most people don't recognize the need to put any effort forth into themselves. They would rather blame everyone else or redirect their anger into things they are powerless to change because it makes them feel something tangible ... instead of directing that anger into purpose to change themselves which can feel very ... intangible until change happens, until change become apparent ... but true change, real and permanent change, takes years ... decades even.
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Very true. And also, what's that old saying "Would the people who say something can't be done please get out of the way of the people doing it?"
: )
Some of us want to be happy or in a little bit better world than we found it. Why waste time on all the reasons they can't?
@AskTheDevil Most people are exhausted and lazy ... yet they seem to have plenty of energy to be angry about everything, to argue with strangers online, to spread their negativity everywhere. All of those actions take a ridiculous amount of energy and that energy could be much better spent.
The mind is a terrible thing to waste ... isn't that the old saying? Yet most people waste 99% of their minds on nonsense and fruitless endeavors.
The most important work is the hardest to do.