A not very timely note
This was a blog I once wrote during my high school and early college years. I keep it around for nostalgic purposes, but it is quite obviously no longer updated. I am looking to make a more professional blog presence in the future, but I still like to look at where I was mentally at certain points in time.
- G. Jan 2013
- G. Jan 2013
Monday, October 13, 2008
"Self-Restraint" by G.
Just recently I was reading the news and saw yet another incident that caught my eye. A seventeen year old boy was stabbed in a parking lot; it turned out to be over some girl. Anger is one of the most dangerous emotions, but having self-restraint can prevent many things, including extremes like this one. Especially in today's world, with the various diverse thoughts and ideas of the collective, there is bound to be conflict. Many people worry about things that they can't control. But the one thing that is constant is that you are almost always able to control your own actions. We should spend less time worrying about the many factors that are beyond our grasp, and work to shape and control our own behavior. The truth is, we can't truly change other people, but perhaps by controlling ourselves other people will take notice and try to take some kind of action in their own lives. Self-restraint is a powerful skill, and just the act of witnessing it can cause people to think a little bit. If those two guys had the sense to think about what they were fighting about before anger lead one of them to use a knife, a promising future would not have been tragically cut short. It's a extreme example, but we can't deny that we all have our flaws and restraining them is better for ourselves and everyone else.
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5 comments:
And how do you propose people work to develop this trait?
Haha I wrote this on the fly and forgot the most important part xD.
I think self-restraint is something that people have to think about before hand. Like, if they know that they have anger issues or if they like to start fights, then they have to make a conscious effort not to let things happen as they usually do. A good idea would be to detach yourself from heated situations and look at the big picture. But this would be emotional self restraint.
I would call the other kind behavioral self restraint. It's the kind that makes you finish that five page report before watching television. To develop this kind you need to have a solid idea of what your true priorities are. If a person wanted to get in shape, drinking gallons of soda and eating bratwurst for breakfast probably isn't wise. People could start small, by accomplishing small goals through restraining other things that provide instant gratification. But eventually a balance can be achieved, and self restraint wouldn't be something you had to think about; it would be incorporated into who you are.
As you said, we can only control our behavior. Many times I've wished to make others do as I wanted to, but failed nearly each time.
Right On!
Though you should add that bit of detail in thats all :)
@ DoM: Yeah I'm guilty of that too, and most of the time it never works.
@ Whale: That's what I get for feeling guilty for not writing anything so I rushed it xD.
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