Self-control, desire and a bit of chaos theory (or why we don't feels safe anymore, but without Selena Gomez)
Just in case you are confused, I start with the song:
So, self-control, is what I am complaining about today. It seems that living your life and getting in touch with your emotions is seen today as in get your emotions wildly out of control and showing the whole world that you are a passionate person. Well, this looks to me like when you learn about fire and you start to burn everything around because this is what fire is doing. Getting around this argument is the old saying that guns and knives do not kill people, people kill people. Do not blame the tool. We will always find ways around it, doesn't matter what is the restriction. In the samurai times, wearing a sword will get you killed, while having a hammer, an axe or a spade would not. Every peasant could have one of those, and still walk the road. Guess this, were more people killed by swords or by agricultural tools? I think you know the answer. And while some ninjas were peasants, not all the peasants were ninjas.
Back to the present, trying to restrict or not people from having knives, guns, or any other designated weapon, will never work. Why? Because doesn't matter how many successful collection events police will do, or how many times they will spot-check us, this is irrelevant in the end. There will always be ways to conceal a weapon or use it. What I think they should do, they should check the root of the problem. Why are people joining a gang, why is someone deciding to buy and keep a knife? We all know the answers, even if some chose to ignore them. Young people join gangs because it is cool because this is a quick way to gain money, respect, or safety. If somebody will care enough to offer real opportunities for young people to spend time doing cool stuff, or to learn some interesting ways to make money, or to create real connections, then most probably the gangs will become a relic of the past, in the same way like Yakuza is now seen in Japan. Yes, there will still be some doing the 'bad' stuff, but providing choice is a powerful way to change the future of many children and teenagers. When there is only one defining option to get out and make easy money, that will be the obvious choice, right? As a child, I remember that we were using to go out most of the day, playing with a ball, or playing some card games, chess or checkers. We used to go to camps, and we were going to clubs (still remember fondly the one where we were making model planes, or learning about electronic devices and circuits - never been more proud of myself than that time when I made a device to switch off the light when I was clapping)
As for taking the easy way out, not only teenagers but adults too take this shortcut. Seems that our society wants to ingrain in our brains the motto: I want it, I get it, right now. Fast food, fast life, fast cars, and the examples are many. We want everything and we want it now. Delayed gratification is an alien concept to most of the people I know. Classical strategy, back from the times of Alexander the Great. Would you win a battle, but lose the war, or rather lose a battle, but win the war? Be hard on yourself now, and achieve discipline, in order to be great later? For people who find it hard to save money, a little test, I have this cool contest that I can do with my friends. We start with a saving account and we transfer 0.01 on the first day, 0.02 on the second, and 0.04 on the third day, doubling it every day. The winner is the one that saves for the most days, as in the end, we have quite a nice amount of money saved in our accounts. I dare you to do this for more than 2 months. A good plan is a long plan, divided into many small ones. Make a 10-year plan, Divided by every year. Make a yearly plan, and then use three months bits to keep yourself accountable. There is even a book called 'The 12 week year' which is surprisingly good and helpful. I do not know about you, but for me, I got really excited when I see the possibilities, and the potential results, and when I go step by step, getting close to every one of my objectives, there is some power and some excitement that is more related to the journey, than to the final target.
And the good news is you that can start early. As early as the age of 2-3, if you research the marshmallow test, you will find a surprising amount of interesting information. You can see, educate, adapt, and prepare with new skills. Some can be useful, and some can be just for the fun of it. I think every child should, if possible, learn how to swim, how to play chess, how to train and learn some martial arts, or sky, or see a real horse. Anything that can teach you how to wait, how to endure the lack of something in order to get much more later. This is like preparing for greatness. Go for the long-term plan. Any little effort, multiplicated by a factor big enough, will bring impressive results.
Wow, starting to talk about the lack of opportunities, switching to fast versus slow life, and ending up with the long-term plan. So typical of myself.
Started to walk early,
eager to see the sky,
I often said why,
And my questions,
Minions or bunions,
Taking a taxi to my
maxi heaven, crypto or not,
two peas in a pod,
a lightning rod,
until the Master came and said:
get out of bed, and remember this
the question is more important than the answer, miss!
I stop here for now, see you tomorrow,
George