Scott Free Thinking

I believe there is a drastically thin line, for those who are working to understand themselves, between having a state of stability to having a state of bipolar instability. Looking back, it almost feels as though I went through one of those transitions. After months of writing and writing, it seems as though perhaps this blog has had a majorly positive affect on me. During my time building this project into something that matters to me, I have noticed that by simply sticking to items that are positive and “marketable” to write about, I have effectively made myself a bit more positive and marketable as an individual.

One of the first blog entries I ever wrote for this blog was Maladpative Formality, written November 15th, 2006. In it, I expressed my view on manners, politeness, etiquette, and the general tediousness that our common culture has placed on such things. Over the course of the past year, my ideas on manners have changed a lot. In that early entry, I described etiquette as a set of rules, where, “These rules have helped to create, especially here in America, a culture of elitism, overachievement, and fast paced economic drivel.” Looking at it now, it is certainly a possibility.

An older individual I know recently brought the topic of etiquette to my attention, noting that compared to the last several decades there seems to have been a general sort of deterioration between how children are raised; more children are being taught less manners than ever before. Given my personal experiences with accidentally offending adults I have known, and my etiquette disasters and mishaps - it is no surprise to me that society as a whole may be growing sick of the whole ordeal. It seems a lot more suitable to say, though, that manners & etiquette can be used as a clever teaching tool to mobilize a greater degree of hospitality in our youth.

Manners and the general, common definition of politeness is most definitely not the problem at all. The problem lies at the heart of how these things are being passed onto our children. They are being taught without a particular color of discpline, a methodology that stresses habit over concept, as if you were teaching someone elementary arithmetic. In learning about the sort of karmic idea of the Law of Attraction, gratitude is emphasized as one of the most positive emotions one can feel. Gratitude creates an echoing benefit beyond its initial occurrence that is mutually advantageous to all parties involved. The importance of saying “thank you” for a gift should be more important to the person receiving the gift than the person who gave it.

In utilizing the output of your language to be more effective, not just for others, but for yourself, you are burying the seeds and laying a foundation for a better train of thought that will soon follow. Noticing your reaction to any given situation and then gauging that particular result with the comparison of the person you would like to become will be a first step to improving any given mental problem you may have. The simple act of stopping your initial gut reaction and then putting firm energy on yourself to alter that course of action to something more positive will have an incredible long term effect that you cannot begin to imagine until you have been doing it for a substantial period of time.

When I think about all that has happened to me over the recent past, there is not many words I can think of to truly describe it. I have truly transformed, but it seems to have happened almost without anyone(including myself) truly noticing the subtle shift. The bizarre benefits of having a job with the public have begun to spring up. I have taken a job that is very similar to one I had just two years ago, but the way I am handling this one is a bit different. With even less people to keep me motivated to stay there, there is nothing more than a mental energy that develops of my own. Much of the time we pass through life relying on other people to regulate the emotional state of our environment. At this job, it is up to the people who are there to create that environment for themselves. Much of the time, people will often fail to create their own positive personal work environment. And as a result, a mean virus of negativity sweeps the workforce populace. I refer, of course, to a low paying job of being an amusement park ride operator.

I’m currently happily with my girlfriend of about a year now, but the first several months were fairly difficult at places. While some people are shunning away emotional maturity and leaving behind insecurities for a better relationship, that is something I have had to come to terms with during the past year. Getting upset at the right time can mean the difference in the success of a healthy relationship. Being calm at the right time can help tremendously as well. Knowing when to care and when to leave another to their own self destruction is an important skill that can be developed through a lot of practice and a simple process of acting, observing, then reacting again. The difference, in any area of your life, is so subtle.

Whether you have a goal involving work, career, weight, health, love, or whatever, it doesn’t matter what the subject is, the difference between success and failure is very, very subtle. If you are wanting to build an adequate holding of stocks and assets, the subtle fact of purchasing the right stock at the right time can mean the difference between gaining thousands upon millions of dollars, and losing that same amount. If you work an hourly wage job, are you working through that job with a positive energy? If it’s a low paying job, are you doing everything possible to sufficiently improve your financial situation(and not just working more hours)?

It might be one thing to sit here and strongly preach away the importance of making the right decisions at the right time, in only slight degrees, but that also means that perhaps it is not that easy. If you lack confidence in one area, you will often find yourself in a fluid state of dissatisfaction. Whatever you do, do it with confidence, and do not doubt yourself that you are on the right path. Sometimes holding that quality is more important than making the right decision. Making the wrong decision to learn from it and approach the same situation later with more integrity and wisdom is sometimes the only thing you can do. Just remember that you can always hold any experience as a learning experience, one with which you do not ever have to give up.

Persistence pays. In December of 2002, I had first approached a friend of mine, Stephen, about a project he was doing. I was in my freshman year of high school, and in P.E. class he was discussing with another individual the possibilities of making another installment to his movie series, Howloween. I told Stephen about a bit of my knowledge in film making, and the beginning of our future production company had begun. Over the next three years, I went on an incredible journey.  We were not ever trying to be the next Universal Studios, we just wanted to make films.  The people I met, the places I found myself in, and the state of bliss I have experienced telling stories on-screen were some of the best times of my life so far.  A peak we experienced after 2 years would not have happened if it were not for the persistence of working endlessly on something we loved.

Even if you only have a limited amount of time, it is important to do everything you possibly can to accelerate the process of moving upward and onward in your goals.  After months of chasing and pursuing money and material achievements, I have come to realize that money is not as important to me as I originally thought.  In my recent discussion about passion, it became very important to ask the question of: if you had nothing else in your life, what is the one thing you would want to pursue?  Then a second question: is that what you are doing now?