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It's not that "everything's your fault" though. It's that improving your life is your own responsibility, regardless of whose fault your circumstances are, beca
by CadmiumYellow 4y ago
It's not that "everything's your fault" though. It's that improving your life is your own responsibility, regardless of whose fault your circumstances are, because nobody else cares as much about your life as you do. It's not a statement about avoiding interdependence, it's about the fact that sitting around waiting for circumstances to change or for someone else to help you is not a practical way to improve your life because most of the time nothing will happen. I think of this is a variation on the serenity prayer, which is the single best piece of advice in the English language in my opinion: {insert higher power here} grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. AA is full of clichés because they're true.
- adamhp 4y agoThis reminds me a lot of stoic philosophy. The book "The Obstacle is the Way" is a nice little primer on it. There's a story in there where a man is falsely imprisoned for decades. He spends that entire time learning law and is eventually able to argue for his release. I never verified how true the story was or how it might have been embellished, but even if it's a fake story, the point still resonates with me. You can either give up and accept your lot, or you can spend your time trying to work towards your goal. You can't change that you were falsely imprisoned, or born in a third-world country, or any other shitty situation in life. You can only choose what to do moving forward. (Sometimes actual mental illness can make this nearly impossible though).