Comments on: Modern-Day Pinocchio: Exploring our own humanity

By: Valerie M

Valerie M — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 19:48:42 +0000

@ Jeremy: I knew you’d approve! And yes, I agree with you that whatever we do is independent of statistics. There’s no doubt that statistics is helpful, it’s just that we give it so much power. In the end it will never completely replace good old common sense and your trusty gut on what works and what doesn’t.

By: Jeremy Johnson

Jeremy Johnson — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 17:42:41 +0000

LOVE the data reference. I think I agree with the notion that we let statistics or ‘facts’ dictate where we are supposed to be going and as such, we become puppies on leashes. I think a better approach is to move toward what drives us and what we know add values independent of statistics.

Of course, when you then have that and you are looking to market it and ‘sell’ it to other people, statistics come in handy in knowing the response to what you’ve produced.
Jeremy Johnson´s last blog ..Approach Motivation and Avoidance Motivation

By: Valerie M

Valerie M — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 01:58:21 +0000

Hi Chris. Interesting comment, I thought a lot about it, but I’m still not quite sure how to answer. I’ll try my best to articulate my interpretation. I personally think it is human nature to want to improve. It’s innate drive that we can’t explain. In my humble opinion, there are two ways to express that drive: consciously and unconsciously. Unconscious people use external circumstances (e.g. to feel superior to someone else) as a reason for this innate drive for improvement, it seems. I personally believe that this drive is there to overcome basic human drives and to see beyond ourselves and our perceptions. An internal, spiritual challenge, so to speak. Well not overcome them, but to see them as they are and use them to our advantage … rather than blindly and unconsciously follow them. This may manifest itself in different ways, but the point is the same. I do agree with you that emotions are the key here. They tell us what we need to know, but they can get dangerous if we let them run us by not being conscious about them and reacting to them any which way.

I once read a quote: “We are spiritual beings having a human experience – not human beings having a spiritual experience.” I think it sums up what I’m trying to say and how I view this. For me it’s about experiencing and enjoying my time here, experimenting and seeing how far I can go, without forgetting where I come from and getting lost in the emotions and all the information you speak of. Obviously, I don’t know if this is the “correct” answer… if there is one… but this is what works for me lately. Not sure if I’m making sense or if I addressed your comment, but that’s the thoughts I got from reading it. Thanks for dropping by though, I really appreciate it. Be sure to share your link!

@ Jarrod: I agree 100% — it’s not about numbers and cold, hard facts. I often question… do the facts (or the statistics) come first or do we put them there? I feel like too many of us let the statistics dictate where we’re supposed to be going… then it’s just becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. It doesn’t have to be that way, though.

By: Jarrod@ Optimistic Journey

Jarrod@ Optimistic Journey — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 01:23:42 +0000

Along the journey of life we often lose sight of what it truly means to be human. Yes there are emotions involved, yes there are experiences and life lessons involved. Everything isn’t about facts, knowledge, numbers and computers.

Thanks, Val, for going beyond the realm to remind us all of this. Great post and thanks for sharing!!

Your friend,

Jarrod
Jarrod@ Optimistic Journey´s last blog ..You Know You’re Favored by God When…

By: chris

chris — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 19:41:34 +0000

Interesting article – you may have just convinced me to watch some episodes of star trek! You are right I wouldn’t say there was much difference – most people have the urge to transcend themselves to discover greater heights and explore their inner depths. Life is like that. What makes it complicated is that we are attempting to go beyond ourselves but what has to be considered deeply is why ?

Is it for positive reasons? Or negative?

Do we feel inadequate or are we trying to feel superior ?

Then we have outer circumstances that influence us!

Do they make us or break us? We are driven by our perceptions of the environment and many of these perceptions are a result of the scientific and religion information we’ve all to some degree imbibed.

At times its difficult to know what the truth is and with all the information that is available to us we can easily get overwhelmed and feel lost. Life can be manic at times and dealing with the psychological and emotional factors of growth arent easy. At times I feel that though everything is changing the part of me that is aware doesn’t. I think thebest to grow is to let your emotions guide you to the placeof joy and love and to constantly replace all negative thoughts with supporting ones. In many ways the only way to grow is to become more aware of who you are whatsrives your behaviour and hopefully in the process find new ways of perceiving and behaving which create an enjoyable experience of life that allows your essential humanity to express itself – the best version of yourself so to speak! If you have anything to say about what I’ve said which I admit ismore than I thought I would please do. I also write articles on my own blog so if you wanna have a look please do- I give you link later. Thanks again for your original article!