An Update

Connor L. wrote: You familiar with Robert Greene?

I am unfamiliar with him.

Connor L. wrote: I just have to become passionate. And, it's difficult to find that spark.

I don't think you have to have passion. You just have to decide to fight. Depression is what happens when you realize it's hopeless and give up. Depression ends when you decide to fight anyway, knowing full well there is no way you can win.
Right now somewhere in a hospital there is someone dying in horrible pain as cancer consumes their body, and they are filled with fear and sadness, there is also someone who will never surrender, and will never give up the fight even though they know they cannot win.

http://quittingadderall.com/running-with-bruce-lee-quote/

Bruce had me up to three miles a day, really at a good pace. We’d run the three miles in twenty-one or twenty-tow minutes. Just under eight minutes a mile [Note: when running on his own in 1968, Lee would get his time down to six-and-a-half minutes per mile].

So this morning he said to me “We’re going to go five.”

I said, “Bruce, I can’t go five. I’m a helluva lot older than you are, and I can’t do five.”

He said, “When we get to three, we’ll shift gears and it’s only two more and you’ll do it.”

I said “Okay, hell, I’ll go for it.”

So we get to three, we go into the fourth mile and I’m okay for three or four minutes, and then I really begin to give out.
I’m tired, my heart’s pounding, I can’t go any more and so I say to him, “Bruce if I run any more,” — and we’re still running — “if I run any more I’m liable to have a heart attack and die.” He said, “Then die.” It made me so mad that I went the full five miles.

Afterward I went to the shower and then I wanted to talk to him about it. I said, you know, “Why did you say that?” He said, “Because you might as well be dead. Seriously, if you always put limits on what you can do, physical or anything else, it’ll spread over into the rest of your life. It’ll spread into your work, into your morality, into your entire being. There are no limits. There are plateaus, but you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you. A man must constantly exceed his level.”

OB1Shinobi wrote: imo the "laws" are more like suggestions which only apply to certain situations

I never said they were all-encompassing. Nor do I think he wants you to think that way. They are tools, just like anything else.

i understand and im with you - here are some things that i have found have helped me manage depression

1) 30 - 45 minutes of intense exercize

ive seen you advocate exercise several times so i understand you already know this, i put it here first because it helps me personally

2) 45 minutes sunlight
sounds funny maybe but its totally true and it works especially well with # 1

3) healthy natural diet
this begins with food and beverages - in general a lot of fruits and veggies - mostly fish for meats, very very little in the way of sugars (except for whats in the fruits) or processed foods - i personally do my best to eat organic much as possible

*this also includes things like t.v. and music*

if it glorifies violence or battle or contention or hoplessness or fatalism or any idea that life sucks and people deserve to be treated badly then i turn it off - the excepton is what i consider warrior studies which center on being able to survive in a world which has an inherently predatory aspect -this is not glorification of violence this is analysis of it

for music my general rule is if i can listen to it and NOT SMILE then its not good music

the general idea is that anything and everything that i allow into my body or my mind has to have a definite and quantifiable nutritional value beyond "i like the way it tastes"

well flavored donkey dung is still donkey dung

4) creative expression
writing, drawing, paintin, playing music, dancing, martial arts, anything really that engages the imagination and can be used as a vehicle for self expression and self actualization

5) personally meaningful path of service to others
its up to the individual to determine this but the basic idea is to influence and interact with the world i such a way that one can look at ones impact and influence and say "i am making a positive difference - no matter what else is going on, im giving the best of myself to the best of my ability in the areas that i am able and i am doing it for the betterment of the human race specifically and the earth in general"

6) pursuit of personal excellence
"whatever my failures or shortcomings i am dedicated to being the best of myself and reaching my full potential in every area and circumstance of my life - OR AT LEAST IN THIS ONE AREA!

7) permission to love myself
sometimes my real problem was that i forgot that its ok to really love and accept and value myself just as i am with absolutely no qualifiers or conditions or restrictions or expectations of any kind whatsoever

therapy
therapy is no more or less than the opportunity to share with and sometimes get feedback from someone who you feel no obligation to live up to any expectations or wishes

its good if the person/people actually know something which will help them to help you

sometimes just meeting those other requirements is all it takes

whatever the situation they have to have your personal happiness at heart without any expecation from you
to feel any particular way about them
or to limit your actions in any particular way as a condition of the relationship

9) personal vision
often when people put their answers to 4 - 5 - 6 and 7 and blend them into a comprehensive whole they find their "life purpose"
this is the source for a personal vision and represents one of the greatest potential gifts you can make to the world as well as one of the greatest potential accomplishments you can hope to achieve

some of the most rewarding moments i have experienced have been moments related to my personal vision
(i dont have children)

these are some of the main things that i know are helpful and in general id just like to tell you that im supportive of you and im rooting for you and i have confidence that your contribution to the world is and will continue to be meaningful and valuable

Connor L. wrote: Agreed, "Red_Eye_Jedi".

You familiar with Robert Greene? I've finished reading his 48 laws of power

That book is foul. A psychologist that I work with describes it as the corporate worlds manual for how to be a sociopath.

Thats interesting, because not only do I feel more or less sociopathic for reading it, but in interviews, he wrote it as a book of awareness, whether you use them, or at least are aware of others using them its useful.

Mastery is a great book in my estimation.

Its funny that where you usually use the perspective excuse, you cant see it here.

Khaos wrote: Thats interesting, because not only do I feel more or less sociopathic for reading it, but in interviews, he wrote it as a book of awareness, whether you use them, or at least are aware of others using them its useful.

Mastery is a great book in my estimation.

Its funny that where you usually use the perspective excuse, you cant see it here.

Whatever his intentions for writing it, the way that it is interpreted and used is more often than not a literal bid for "power" by people who feel powerless or who do not understand what makes an effective leader. One of the most destructive and difficult work cultures I have ever seen in an organisation was as a result of that book. The general manager referred to it as the management bible.

as khaos pointed out though, it's worth knowing the material so you can recognize if/when it is being used against you...

when i went through counter terrorism/counter espionage training, the first thing we were told was "in order to counter something you must know how to do it."

it's a basic premise for security in general...know how a shoplifter thinks and acts in order to prevent shoplifting....


the same principle applies in all aspects....to defend against something you have to know how it works...to avoid being manipulated you have to know how to manipulate...

those laws will get you effed up in every part of your life
i think like maybe like ten of them are actually "laws" that will result in bettering yourself by following to the letter or in lessening yourself by disregarding completely

they all have appropriate applications or interpretations

for the most part they are for people who define power as "the ability to coerce or manipulate people"

if that is your understanding of power and the kind of power youre looking for then the 48 laws are a "must read"

Know thy enemy is one of the oldest maxims in warfare.