Allow me to explain my thoughts:
Regarding Rule #1- For me, this rule is about being honest with your innermost wants and desires. I, like many, have fallen prey to self-doubt leading to second guesses that prevented my Confucius-inspired 1000 step journey because I shunned the first stride. In a recent post, I wrote that the practice of "keeping up with the Joneses" was a counterproductive inkling that should be avoided in favour of contentment. Bearing that in mind, if encountering something external to your present life strikes your very core, urging your feet to move in a direction, and you deny that urge because you feel you either cannot have it, or worse, feel you don't deserve it, then do yourself the proper and banish it from your thoughts. It will save you a boatload of grief. If you cannot banish the urge, plot course and move in a direction that will ultimately get you closer, regardless of the difficulty or risk. You likely cannot banish it because your desire is too powerful.
Obviously, this advice doesn't apply to everything, illegal and immoral impulses in particular.
Regarding Rule #2 - I am a MASSIVE fan of this rule! Should you query my children or wife, I am most confident that they would attest to my overuse of this sentiment. Far too many times, in far too many situations, questions remain unasked due to some self-imposed, unrealistic fear of reprisal for simply making a request. My personal application of this rule sounds more like, "Well, if you don't ask the question, you already know the answer." IMHO, this phenomenon stems from an outdated notion that to ask for help is a sign of weakness ... Balderdash! For centuries, humans have survived through cooperative efforts that necessitated the request for help to succeed. From my view, the idea that a person is seen as weak or needy because they request assistance is a notion whose time as passed and should be eradicated for eternity. If a person needs help, let them ask, no judgement attached. if a person feels they don't need help, let them alone, with no judgement attached. It really isn't all that complicated.
Regarding Rule #3 - There's a saying I've heard people use from time to time ... "I'm getting nowhere. It's 3 steps forward and 2 steps back." Being empathetic, I've always felt for people when they say this, although I'm pretty sure those words have never crossed my own lips. I have always been goal driven, and as such, I practiced what I preached to my students and athletes by putting one foot in front of the other in the pursuit of those goals. I found that despite my best intentions, I would occasionally take 3 steps forward and 2 steps sideways, but I always took solace in not losing ground previously gained. Rare were the occasions when I would find my progress going backward, although those times most definitely occurred, but they were the stuff of rollercoasters, the downs being relatively short-lived. Inevitably, I righted the ship and pressed on in the desired direction. I guess what I'm rambling on about is a person cannot simply complain about their present situation ... provided that the parameters are controllable ... and expect things to improve. Action is required to create movement. Its the primary Newtonian Law of Motion, "An object either remains at rest or continues to move at a constant velocity, unless it is acted upon by an external force." As long as your will to progress exists, you will. Of course, the key ingredient is patience. As they say, "Rome wasn't built overnight!"
As always, you're welcome to disagree with my thoughts.
I guarantee that I won't argue with you, but I also guarantee that I won't change my mind.
I'm quite fine with us being on opposite poles on this.
If you already agree with me, at worst the 10 minutes you consumed reading this post simply affirms your understanding, and we'll both be happy and content with our rules.
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