See, I have a prosaic view on life; I don't worry about things that are out of my control. It was originally one of the "no stress" tips I picked up in high school. (Junior year, what's with full course load at high school, half-time load at the local community collage, working a total of 25 hours a week, and juggling the couple of clubs for which I was an officer.) Few people manage to successfully incorporate new life philosophies, but I seem to have managed well thus far.
In any case, now I have become this person who doesn't worry about things outside my control. This also means that I do worry about everything that is remotely in my control. [Is my sister going to pass math, and should I be tutoring her? (She is prepubescent, so if you're thinking anything naughty, you need to get help before you go to jail.) Is my mother going to keep the house, and should I be supplementing her income with my own? Is Amy going to find a job or will she fall into debt if I don't lend her some money? Will Beth navigate around Europe without troubles or should I be calling her more often (than say, never)? For myself, I have my internship planned out, my courses planned out, my bachelor's planned out, and eventually, my Ph.D. thesis on the horizon. Somewhere there, my retirement/pension plans are in the works, too. In the meanwhile, there's also the question of stocking up food in the apartment so I don't starve, when is a good time to vacuum the apartment, and all the other little errands that all normal people have to do but some seem able to put in the back of their minds.] I now have four todo lists for home, with items and subitems, and two todo lists for work--which doesn't even make sense since I'm just an intern!
So the only time when I feel like I don't have to worry about them is when my mind is controlled by someone else. Sure, the things themselves could slowly go out of my control, and then I wouldn't worry about them, but new things will inevitably pop up. Instead, if I'm simply not allowed to worry about things. Well, why then, of course I have to listen and not worry, right?
Perhaps I have taken the coward's way out. But I am not asking to have all my worries taken away forever. Some people get drunk. Some people get massages. Some people do drugs. I personally prefer to be hypnotized (since that's the closest thing to mind control). Is that a mind fuck? Sure, in the truest sense. But is it necessarily worse than some other people's choices--or stranger? I would say not.
Besides, I will readily admit that I'm just one of the little people.
(Three posts in one day is a bit much, isn't it?)
You might find NLP interesting as a subject. Do a google search on the acronym; plenty of material out there.
ReplyDeleteHnnnngh. NLP. It's an interesting idea, and I'd want to learn it just for the sake of knowing the technique, but hypnosis is a far more attractive thing, both in its overt 'control' and its simple 'active vs. passive' nature. NLP is subtle nudging people might not even be aware of. Hypnosis is overt, enveloping, intentional control that has to be submitted to.
ReplyDeleteS'why I prefer hypnotic control. (NLP might be useful for reinforcing it, but hypnosis is just too damn hot to ignore.)
Anyhow (got sidetracked), saw a link to the blog on CollarMe, figured I'd glance around, ended up posting on the grammar Nazi post and figured I should post elsewhere too, because my entire intent was originally to check out the mind of the girl interested in hypnosis, not get into a debate about language. :P
(That level of obsession about control would actually be nice to have at times. I am not nearly as controlling about my life, and thus I'm not nearly as successful.)
@Bruce King: I don't think NLP would really do it for me. Part of the attraction is of course knowing that I am under hypnosis, like being beside myself and telling myself to struggle even though I'm not going to... if that makes any sense. I have to test the strength of the mind control before I would be willing to give in and not worry.
ReplyDelete@Joel: Yes, then in college I went on to overload on courses, hold two 20 hour/week jobs, and generally schedule my time by 15-minute blocks. (I am particular about my personal planner now, if I use one at all.) Of course, I'm reaping the rewards of that now in many other ways and am generally considered successful amongst my peer group, but I certainly miss the simplicity of letting someone else handle all the details of your life. And being able to trust that person will do it at least as well as you can.