Although I suppose I can see the resemblance.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized on March 27, 2014 by jonathandavidjacksonwrites.
The message of this book is essentially the same as many other things you’ve probably read or heard. Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, parts of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Sane New World, Song of Solomon; it’s all there. Those are all great works, and it doesn’t do the message any harm to hear it again in a different way – rather, it reinforces it. The message, by the way, is be mindful of what you’re doing, breathe slowly, and don’t worry so much about stuff because none of it really matters anyway.
I did get something new from this book, though: a new definition of a selfless act. Anything you do that you get joy from is not selfless, because you’re getting joy from it. There’s nothing wrong with that – Mother Theresa no doubt got joy from saving orphaned children, and that was great, but it wasn’t selfless. It was a win-win situation for both her and the orphans. A selfless act is something you do for someone else when you *don’t* want to do it, and only they get a benefit. Generally, selfless acts are a bad idea, then, because it’s just going to build resentment or anger or perhaps a feeling of unappreciation within you that’s going to come out on that person later, so what seems like a lose-win situation is actually a lose-lose situation. For this reason, you shouldn’t subordinate your desires to someone else’s except in the most exceptional circumstances.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized on March 21, 2014 by jonathandavidjacksonwrites.