How Does Your Philosophy Affect Your Life?

[DriftingCrow]

I was thinking today about my life philosophy and how it's been affecting how my life's been playing out.

When I was in middle school, my mom was really unhappy and left my dad for awhile, and eventually tried to kill herself by swallowing a bunch of pills. My dad found her almost dead in her apartment, and had her taken to the hospital where they pumped her stomach and then put her in the mental hospital for awhile. After she moved back home, she was just so angry all the time-I could actually see this big black aura around her whenever she came into the room. I was always just like-what's the point of living if you're always going to be that angry? and just vowed to never be like that.

So, every morning I just wake up and say "I am going to have an awesome day! Nothing is going to bother me! I love life!" And, it works; I'd say about 90%  of the time I am just in this incredibly awesome mood (although if you just saw me on the street you probably wouldn't notice, because I just don't smile all the time). I even have to kind of hold back my mood sometimes, because I think it freaks people out a little. People always look a little taken aback when they ask "how are you?" because I mostly answer "I am GREAT!  " when people just normally say "I am fine" or "good".

I just find everything to be beautiful,  I am like the guy in American Beauty with the plastic bag blowing in the wind. I used to work at a sandwich shop, and it would always take me forever to slice up the green peppers, because I think the insides of them are so stunning, that I always just take forever examining the insides and thinking about how cool it looks.

To me, every day is just this completely unpredictable adventure. I kind of picture myself just being on a surf board out at sea, and I might be veering towards one direction, but if the current changes I won't fight against it, I just go with the current to see where it's going to take me next.  I feel extra excited now, because  I can feel the current changing and I know I am about to experience my next adventure.

I think in the last few years of my mom's life, she took on this philosophy too, because she was able to get off all her medications and she was super happy all the time, and life was going great for her. That's why I don't really feel bad that she got killed, because she was at the top of the world at the time.

[Mosaic dude]

Sounds like a great philosophy.

Mine is that I'll do what I want (well, as long as it's not hurting anyone!) and I won't let other people's expectations dictate what I do.  I also learned a few years ago that life is easier if I focus on the positive things in it.  In the beginning I did actually find it quite hard to get into that mindset, but I stuck with it and it got easier until it became a habit.

My philosophy honestly does make me happy.  It lets me live as a man even though I can't pass, apply for jobs I want even when I don't think I can get them, and try things even when I think I'll most likely fail.  When I don't succeed at something, I can go away with my head up knowing I gave it a damn good try.

[AdamMLP]

I don't really have a philosophy per se, but I do often think that it's better to be hated by other people than to be hated by yourself.  When I tried coming out to my parents before they were worried -- quite naturally I think -- about other peoples' reactions to me, and how I might get a lot of hate from being trans, and that was my response.  I think that if I didn't have that mindset then I wouldn't act or dress the way I do, that I would try and fit in and be a girl, which would ultimately make me completely miserable and hate myself.  People might accept me quicker, but I wouldn't be me.  I would go stir crazy if I tried to fit in with people, because I'm stuck in some half-way house at the moment in terms of transition, but I can cope with it fine because they all know the real me, they just put the wrong label on it.

I don't always end up living by it, I suppose I get a little socially awkward/anxious or something sometimes, and that does affect me, so I really should start abiding by that more.  For example, I wonder that if I had cared less about what people would think about me then maybe I would have been a better driver and not crashed my moped, but I was too scared of people getting angry at me for holding them up, so I just went for it, and got plowed into by a van.  It's stupid, I lost my moped so I'm totally reliant on my family to get me around again, it'll really come back to bite me when I get car insurance next year, and I might lose all my money if my insurance company manages to screw me over like they're trying to.  I could of lost my life as well if I hadn't been so lucky.

[FTMDiaries]

I do often think that it's better to be hated by other people than to be hated by yourself.

Great philosophy. Love it.

I think that if I didn't have that mindset then I wouldn't act or dress the way I do, that I would try and fit in and be a girl, which would ultimately make me completely miserable and hate myself.  People might accept me quicker, but I wouldn't be me.  I would go stir crazy if I tried to fit in with people, because I'm stuck in some half-way house at the moment in terms of transition, but I can cope with it fine because they all know the real me, they just put the wrong label on it.

Alex, that's precisely what I did for 21 years. It did drive me stir-crazy, to the point where I just couldn't take it any more. I spent all those years hoping that if I could just try this one more thing, I would finally figure out how to accept being female and I'd be happy within my own body. Well, that didn't work. I'm so pleased for you that you've figured this out already.

My own philosophy is very simple: I follow the teachings of those two great 20th Century thinkers, Bill S. Preston Esq. and Ted 'Theodore' Logan, who advised us to "Be excellent to each other... and party on, dudes!". That's all I need in life. That, and an old British tradition: "An it harm none, do as thou wilt".

Oh, and of course... LLAP  \\ //,