Never mind nature or gimmicks: Get back to yourself in 2021

Gimmicks are everywhere.

They mostly can be found in marketing ploys.

They’re mostly alright, too, provided you understand that like magic tricks, they aren’t real.

It’s like lightning in winter.

It only seems to happen when it’s warm and the atmosphere has some turbulence.

Now wintertime lightning isn’t a gimmick because it’s a real thing; it’s just rare.

Self-help for better or worse cruelly can become a gimmick.

The self-help programs that seek to have you copy behaviors of other people who are considered successful, can be cruelest of all.

Self-help should be restricted to what you can do for yourself.

It’s not self-help if someone else is providing help.

It’s worse when someone else, such as a writer on behalf of someone else, is espousing the behavioral traits of people considered successful. Success means wealth to most people, but that is not my definition.

Do you want to be like anyone other than yourself?

I didn’t think so.

So, why try things that have worked for other people if your heart is not truly into it?

Life is hard.

You hear that all the time.

That saying is not a gimmick because it’s a truism.

I do not like it when people try to sell you their method for dealing with life when it throws you a curve ball.

Reactive behavior is supposedly not optimal. It’s better to have a plan for when life becomes hard, or so some self-help experts say.

Via social media, there is now more data in the world than we know what to do with.

I would suggest being reactive in what turns out to be a good way for you is a behavior we should aspire to.

If you have a plan and the plan doesn’t account for the possibility of the hardship that befalls you, what choice do you have other than to become “reactive”?

Don’t be defensive Bob.

I’m not being defensive, I’m being reactive.

And when something bad happens, I’m trying to react in such a fashion that affords the best possible outcome and future for me.

If that’s being defensive and also reactive, then I guess I am guilty as charged.

People turn introspective during winter.

I suppose that to a degree I’m doing that now.

My plan is to continue writing this post, while being defensive and reactive as necessary.

Now, this is me reacting to my brain switching gears as once again, there is no point to what I’m saying other than, don’t be a lemming. Don’t be someone that everyone else already is or has been. Be you. Whatever that is. At the end of the day that has to be good enough.

If you agree that college degrees have expiration dates, why would you want one?

If you know that and agree it is reality, if you still feel there is temporary gain to be had from having a degree, I guess you can just get another when the expiration date for the first one is nearing arrival.

Some people claim it’s good to get a degree so you can find a better job.

There is no guarantee that a degree will get you a better job or even a job that is one you like. If the worst happens, if you end up getting a degree in something you end up not being able to stand, you quite possibly will find yourself working 40 years in a field you merely tolerate at best.

A life, like a mind, is a terrible thing to waste, especially if you’re wasting it because you fail to see the value of being defensive and reactive.