Sunday, October 21, 2012

Chapters 7 & 8, Discussion Question 3


One concept that I found to be interesting is that of developing a playful spirit. I find this idea to be valuable, and one that I need to improve upon. Though I seem to have a light and playful spirit on the outside, I do not follow some of the techniques that the book presents, such as: Don’t blame yourself for everything that goes wrong or doesn’t pan out, learn to say “no” without feeling guilty, or take on a new role which is more enjoyable than the present one. I often find that I get trapped in my negative thoughts, and I take situations too seriously. I need to learn to relax and take undesirable situations for what they are, and to try and focus on the positive aspects. Another interesting part of this concept is a technique that I found to be contradictory. It is the one that suggests hanging a sign in one’s room or workplace that reads: Success is happiness! I find this puzzling because earlier in the chapter, the book states that some people place a great deal of stress on fear of not succeeding in achieving their goals, and lose sight of the fact that they are not playing for fun. So, if one feels as though he/she is not succeeding in something and it is causing him/her distress and unhappiness, why should he/she put up a poster equating success to happiness? I found this to be confusing and conflicting to the previous section.

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