Know Yourself and Seek Self Improvement Options

[fameONE]

Being able to freely roam around with worrying about a Drill Instructor bustin' my chops is a lovely feeling. Even better, being able to freely roam about the world as a United States Marine is like a natural high. I love every second of being part of the Scarlett and Gold. But last night, I was hit with a harsh reality...

Even though I finally got myself together, moved on and decided to do something positive with my life, I find that a lot of my so-called "friends" and acquaintances that I've met over the years aren't doing shit with theirs, and, have no ambition or motivation for betterment.

At this point, the last thing I want to be around is a bunch of pothead drunks. I grew up a hell of a lot in Recruit Training, thats for damned sure, but I'm fully aware that there is so much more to life than working a menial job, easing your way through junior college, occupying the same lame parties and not really seeing a better way.

This isn't meant to target anyone specifically or offend anyone. However, if it does strike close to home then, f**k, do some soul-searching or some type of ill reflection eternal type shit. Right before I left the Depot (Marine Corps Recuit Depot, that is), my idol (Guns DeLeon), made it perfectly clear that, now that I've earned my spot in the brotherhood; I'm better than most people.

I didn't really buy into that. Yes, civilians are nasty, disgusting creatures that don't know the meaning of physical fitness, but I don't walk around with a superiority complex. But lemme tell yous, after witnessing firsthand that many of those I use to kick it with aren't going to amount to anything, I understand that, well, I am better.

My question to everyone now is; What are you doing with your life? If you read this and realize that you're not on the up and up, then what are your goals?

[*Weird addiction*]

What am I doing with my life? Wow, FCUK YOU, I feel like a total loser.

I don't even know what my goals are.

F.U!!

[ghjgfkgfk]

i dont have any goals either

[danginja]

I'm doing a lot with my life actually just being the last year of my high school career. Engineering job making/test missiles such and such. I know what you mean when you say people are just wasting there lives right now just doing nothing. My brother is in the army right now and I bet when he comes back he'll have the same mindset as you do right now.

The hardest war is the war in ourselves.

[*Kathleen*]

The hardest war is the war in ourselves.

Ah yes, and that reminds me of this quote:

We're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War's a spiritual war... our Great Depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off.

:x ANYWHO to actually respond to the first post, it's funny because I won't ever hear the end of rants/tirades/schpiels like that from my dad, who served the Marines for ten years. I told him I was thinking of joining after high school, and he laughed at me. Anywho, I don't know.. I think I'm fairly content with how my life is going.. I don't drink or waste my time with drugs.. My only problem is the fact that I've set my goals so high in life that the possibilities for me are slim, and my parents see through that and try to avert me from them. Bah. I guess I'll figure it out. I'm only seventeen.

[*Weird addiction*]

You're 17? OOOPS!

[*Kathleen*]

Hahaha how old did you think I was?

[*Freaky Krazer*]

My goals are simply to get out of school and go to a good college, move to California and be a music teacher.

[*mipadi*]

My question to everyone now is; What are you doing with your life? If you read this and realize that you're not on the up and up, then what are your goals?

It's funny that you should ask this now, because I recently went through a "shake-up" of sorts with this very sort of thought in mind.

You might notice, Brandon, that I'm no longer on staff here, which is part of a new perspective on my life. You see, a few weeks ago, I took a step back and looked at myself, my goals, and how I spent my time and committed resources to achieving those goals. I realized I had some pretty lofty goals. Long-term, I wanted to get a good job (one that I really enjoyed, not one that necessarily netted me the most income, mind you), possibly with Apple, Google, or Sun—in other words, companies that don't just give jobs out. Short-term, I wanted to grab a good internship for next summer, away from my hometown, which is, incidentally, the same town in which my college is located. Such an internship would not only get me out of here, but it would also put me one step closer to a good job after college. I also had other non-career goals that I hoped to achieve in the near future.

I then looked at what I was doing to realize those goals, and I found that I was doing next to nothing. I was paying lip-service to pursuing these goals, but mostly I was just killing my time doing meaningless activities. I realized that I was going nowhere in life. I could stay on the same path and become a mediocre student, then work at a mediocre job; or I could apply myself and become extraordinary. I realized that the choice was up to me. I had a lot of potential I wasn't applying.

So I realized I needed a change—I needed to cut out my meaningless activities, and focus on what was important: school, my future job, my relationships with friends and families, and other related items. The first to go was, in fact, createBlog, which was an activity to which I devoted way too much time, and got very little in the way of returns. Other similar activities have since been cut out.

While I like people who are truly content and relaxed with their lives, it's hard to take someone seriously if they have no goals or plans for self-improvement. I think it's important for everyone to re-orient themselves from time to time. It's important to think about one's goals and figure out how to attain them.

[no-name]

i don't have any goals in life at the moment

[radhikaeatsraman]

i was just thinking about this last night. and i'm very, very scared. i may only be fourteen, but i guess i should be...shit. i don't know.

maybe doing well in school should be my primary priority, but i think i want to do more than that. =/

edit:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think Brandon necessarily means you have to have big goals for self-improvement. Something as "simple" as "I want to talk to my family more" or "I am going to read on a more regular basis" is a good goal.

hm. in that case, i want to lose weight. and i want to earn enough money to buy tickets to the 2010 world cup final. (which'll probably be sold out by '08. heh.)

[PrincessAda]

I don`t have many big goals in my life..since I`m young and still thinkin`..I just want to pass school and become a lawyer..

[*mipadi*]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think Brandon necessarily means you have to have big goals for self-improvement. Something as "simple" as "I want to talk to my family more" or "I am going to read on a more regular basis" is a good goal.

[*salcha4u*]

I have a 100 goals. (ALMOST).

I don't make any I know that are impossible to achieve, and even though I know I'm not going to achieve them all, I still know what I want in life.

[Retrogressive]

So I realized I needed a change—I needed to cut out my meaningless activities, and focus on what was important: school, my future job, my relationships with friends and families, and other related items. The first to go was, in fact, createBlog, which was an activity to which I devoted way too much time, and got very little in the way of returns. Other similar activities have since been cut out.

While I like people who are truly content and relaxed with their lives, it's hard to take someone seriously if they have no goals or plans for self-improvement. I think it's important for everyone to re-orient themselves from time to time. It's important to think about one's goals and figure out how to attain them.

I've been thinking a lot about this as well. Right now, I see someone who is basically lazy and unproductive. I'm trying to slowly start incorporating changes in my lifestyle. I've been reading more often and trying to expand my preferences; I'm also attempting to add a better exercise regime in my daily life. I understand that changing these things make me feel well rounded and prone to be intellectually stimulated enough to pursue interest in my school work. I'm not willing to give up ALL of my "meaningless" habits, because right now they give me happiness. Plus, I believe that I am still benefiting from them. However, I do understand that there will come a point in my life where I will want to seek things more challenging.

[yummy_delight]

What am I doing with my life? Right now, I'm trying to pass Precalculus since I failed that last semester.

My ultimate goal is to make a positive change in the world. I don't need to be remembered for it or get famous for doing it. I just want to change something in this world to make it a little better before I'm gone.

[Herizon Action]

I'm just trying to find a meaning.

[Gypsy Eyes]

very well said brandon. God I missed your posts.

I guess at this time I'm striving to be the best dancer and singer I could possibly be but in the end I want to inspire people to fight for their dreams and never give up, even if it's only through a stage.