Helping Yourself ... With Knowledge

I was just thinking about ways I’ve found to help myself deal with big problems over the years. And I realized again that only two things have ever worked to get me out of a miserable place in my life. Those things are rational, realistic knowledge about myself and the world around me, followed by practical efforts to apply that knowledge.

The more I shed fuzzy, poorly thought-out ideas about myself and other people and life in general, the healthier and better balanced I seem to become. (And by “healthy,” I mean being healthy emotionally as well as physically, of course.) I have to focus energetically on what I deeply believe to be true about anything important. And for that, I must rely mostly on my own experience. That’s part of the key, for me at least. It’s important to tell the difference between beliefs I’ve somehow picked up without conscious thought, and beliefs that are based on my direct, personal experience. If I look at life with my own eyes, and trust what I’ve seen, and form my beliefs based on that information, I’m on my way to better days. Then I have to apply that knowledge through practical effort.

Sometimes I don’t know exactly how to apply what I’ve learned about myself. For me, the best way to start working at improving my life is just to, well … start working at it! I don’t mean to sound glib about that, but it’s really true. Just begin and figure it out as you put effort into making yourself a stronger, healthier, better-balanced person. In my experience, there’s really no way to anticipate all the questions and issues you’ll need to deal with until you get there. But trust yourself along the journey and don’t let go of that self-trust. Believe that you CAN figure out ways to get where you want to go in your life. And remember the wisdom of the great American writer, Henry David Thoreau: “I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavor.”

That’s what The Humanity Project tries to help you do. To find ways to gain knowledge about yourself, about your own true beliefs and feelings, and to encourage you to apply that knowledge so you can live a more satisfying, healthier life. In turn, that makes the world better because you are an important part of this world. All of our individual lives are intimately linked. The Humanity Project believes it’s my personal responsibility, and yours, to make sure we each are a strong, fully contributing member of this interdependent world that we share. – RSK