1y, Posted for: Whole Community
Podcast on Going Deeper: Purposes
Posted by: Linda Tym
{"ops":[{"attributes":{"color":"#222222"},"insert":"The organizing idea of this podcast is the importance of clarifying and evaluating our purposes – not only those in our daily lives, but also those that are significant to our long-term wellbeing. In other words, the podcast invites us to consider "},{"attributes":{"color":"#222222","italic":true},"insert":"in what ways"},{"attributes":{"color":"#222222"},"insert":" and "},{"attributes":{"color":"#222222","italic":true},"insert":"to what extent"},{"attributes":{"color":"#222222"},"insert":" we can and should strive to achieve our goals. The problem of living within a capitalistic and dysfunctional society means that we must be realistic: we need to take care of our health, to have an income, and to contribute to our society. It’s equally important, however, to have a conscious sense of self and to strive to develop to our full capacity. Even within a problematic world, living a healthy life of purpose is essential to our wellbeing. "},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#222222"},"insert":" "},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#222222"},"insert":"This podcast helped to crystalize the significance of purpose in my life. I sometimes struggle between having significant goals, but getting “bogged down” with the mundane, daily life duties and responsibilities that seem to interfere with those larger goals. In some ways, the challenges of the past few years (COVID; job change; family; etc) have developed new tendencies in me that I do "},{"attributes":{"color":"#222222","italic":true},"insert":"not "},{"attributes":{"color":"#222222"},"insert":"like. My attention span is shorter; my intellectual perseverance is lower; my sense of self is weaker. Listening to Dr. Nosich and Dr. Elder discussing the importance of "},{"attributes":{"color":"#222222","italic":true},"insert":"both"},{"attributes":{"color":"#222222"},"insert":" daily life and larger goals and the importance of developing our capacity to our fullest extent was a great reminder for me. I also was deeply moved by the discussion about not bullying ourselves for having made the best decisions we could based on our thinking "},{"attributes":{"color":"#222222","italic":true},"insert":"at that time"},{"attributes":{"color":"#222222"},"insert":". It helped me to recognize that different purposes may co-exist and that context matters, but I "},{"attributes":{"color":"#222222","italic":true},"insert":"can"},{"attributes":{"color":"#222222"},"insert":" reframe my purposes and reclaim my sense of self. I can seek a better balance between daily responsibilities and my larger goals to achieve my full capacity. It might not be an immediate change, but I can rebuild my attention, perseverance, and sense of self and will achieve the goals that are within my capacity to achieve. "},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#222222"},"insert":" "},{"insert":"\nMy questions that I’m still wrestling with are:\n- If we use the Intellectual Standards to assess our goals, how do we balance and choose goals appropriately for different contexts (short term goals versus long term goals)? \n- To what extent should we align our purposes within a dysfunctional world and to what extent should we simply live separately? \n- What are the best ways to determine my actual capacity?\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":" "},{"insert":"\n"}]}
Posted by: Gerald Nosich
{"ops":[{"insert":"Hi Linda,\nYou gave a strong clear explication of the organizing idea of the podcast. I noticed you used the words \"I other words\" in your first paragraph, and then you gave an exceptionally clear elaboration/explanation. I thought, from your use of those words, that you were going to give an SEE-I, but you didn't. But this is not a criticism, just an observation. There is no obligation to give an SEE-I. I bring it up only because it might be good practice to include an example (to make the point more concrete) and an illustration (to help me get a picture of what you are saying).\n\tI am glad you took seriously the point about not bullying yourself. If I don't pay close attention, I myself have a tendency to think I should do things very well every time. It's an unreasonable standard to hold oneself too.\n\tYou mention factors that, in your judgment, are getting you bogged down. Psychological research seems to show that our will power is like a muscle. If we use it too strenuously or for too long, it gets tired and it won't continue to work no matter how hard we push on it. In fact, pushing on one's will power and doing so for a long time are pretty good ways to "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"reduce"},{"insert":" our will power.\n\tI like your 3 questions. They seem like the key questions to face in trying to achieve one's goals. I wish I had straightforward answers. You can make the second one much more pointed by amping it up: What are reasonable courses of action to take in your life if you live in Stalin's USSR? What is it reasonable to do? What do intellectual courage and intellectual autonomy look like in a severely dysfunctional society?\n\tTo me, an important consideration in addressing your 3rd question is the extent to which I am often exhausted or, worse, depressed. Those have many causes, of course, but one of the causes can well be that I've been pushing myself beyond my capacity to deal with stress.\n"}]}