Writer's Block: Take my advice

[johncomic]

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Worst: “Tell the truth about what you really want. The universe will honor your intentions and align itself to help bring it about. And others will appreciate your honesty.” I followed it even though my rational brain told me not to, but my gut intuition told me to go ahead. It could've turned out somewhat worse, but how it did turn out could not remotely be called “good”.

Best: “You will never regret having kids.” Thanks, Doug.

Comments

[ginsu.livejournal.com]

The universe will honor your intentions and align itself to help bring it about.

Oh, man. This is right up there with "if you're good, Santa Claus will leave you toys on Christmas Eve."

[johncomic.livejournal.com]

And yet this belief is naggingly persistent. Either there are people out there actually getting results with it, or people who are good at finding new ways of making money off of promulgating it [e.g., The Secret] Either way, even in the face of spectacular failures such as my own, it refuses to die.

[ginsu.livejournal.com]

And yet this belief is naggingly persistent.

Because it's easy.

Given the option, people usually choose to believe whatever is comforting, not whatever is true. And there's very little comfort in the reality that the universe is not sentient, doesn't know or care that you exist, and isn't going to help you, so you are going to have to figure out what you need to do to help yourself (which is usually goddamned hard).

I readily admit that I deserve whatever dubious and/or withering looks

Hardly. It's the default idea that we all start out with, because that's the kind of world parents/school create for us. Do a shitty job, get an F. Do a decent job, get a C. Do a great job, get an A. And there's not much doubt about what constitutes a shitty or decent or great job.

Unfortunately, that paradigm ceases to work very well once we leave the parent/school-created bubble of nonreality. It has to be replaced with another and a better one.

[johncomic.livejournal.com]

BTW, I readily admit that I deserve whatever dubious and/or withering looks you may have cast my way after reading this initial entry...