I don’t usually read self-help books. In my limited experience of reading some, I recall a bunch of assumingly ‘truth’ pointers, a bunch of instructions and best-practices that one needs to apply in one’s life to become a ‘successful’, ‘smart’, or ‘better’ version of oneself.
It’s not that there is anything wrong with trying to be better. It’s the notion that with a bunch of instructions that one can change for the better – where I find unconvincing.
To change, everything starts with one thing, a prompt. For humans, that prompt can be a life gut-punching event, it can be sorrow, pain, whatever, that prompts a person to change. That is how human works. Rarely do we learn through happy exciting events. I sure haven’t, have you?
That is why we are on this earth walking around doing a bunch of things, making a lot of mistakes, get ‘machine-learned’ the human way, and develop from there.
I sometimes think this reality is a kind of Matrix that human race is created to be trained in. Similar concept with machine learning, but with personal, emotional consequences.
Recently I got ‘trained’ quite a lot. By ‘recently’ I mean 5 years up to now. But the most important thing I have realized so far is this: I have some inherent problems that I need to fix – mindset, framework of thinking, and how I react to certain things.
Yeah, realizing this is not easy at all. The most difficult part is probably realizing that I have problems. But I think so far life has been kind enough to point out a few things for me, directly or indirectly, violently or non-violently. In a larger perspective, say, considering 7 billion living souls out there, I know I have it easy. Alhamdullilah.
The most recent problem I realize is that I walk way too fast. This has led to a certain mishap to my left foot. In the past 6 months I have had incidents with both of my feet. And during those days of swollen feet and creepy fear of something may be unfixable underneath the skin, I realize how important and magnificent these little muscles and bones and the whole neural network that works up and down my body really are.
I recently discovered Youtube original series called The Age of AI. Among its producers is Robert Downey Jr. Known for his role as Tony Starks, but he is much like you and me when it comes to this topic: an outsider. There is no Jarvis. And frankly the concept of Jarvis is interesting, but I think I need to do more reading before being qualified enough to discuss this matter.
Anyhow, I have not watched the whole series yet. I have only watched 2 eps, but would highly recommend it to anyone interested. The series doesn’t go too technical, it’s more like ‘here are a bunch of applications and how it can help us humans live less difficult lives’. And it is much more inspiring & engaging than how I just put it.
Anyways, the reason I mention this series more or less has to do with how amazed I am every time I learn about ‘us’ – we humans. Not the robots or AI. Those are just fragmented attempts of recreating or extending our existence, at very basic level.
Might do a more lengthy writing version on this series.
Yeah coming back to the point, strained foot aside, I think I need to write down a bunch of things I need to change about myself, before repetitive lessons in more violent and harsh forms come to life. Adjust my behaviors and thinking pattern before getting rejected as a failed model.
If anyone reads + get that joke, I appreciate your existence.
haha.
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