The Good Life

It's been a little over two months, but I've finally come back to Authentic Happiness and Dr. Marty Seligman. Well, actually, I came across an article by him and another man, Steve Pinker, the author of The Blank Slate, recently. Such a timely occurrence, too. I've been getting extremely bitchy lately. I could blame the bitchiness on my circumstances (college "choices", boring school, etc.), but that'd just be a giant cop out. Therefore, no excuses. I've been in a funk lately, and that funk is solely my responsibility.

Anyway, the one part of Seligman's theory that I've really been missing out on lately has been the Good Life part of the Good, Pleasant, and Meaningful Triune. In the past few weeks, I haven't really been using any of my skills or talents. I've more or less been sleeping, reading, and eating (ie I've been very hedonistic). Not much to talk about. Not much of a LIFE¹. Time to dig myself out of the existential gutter and start chugging away again. Though, I have to remember not to forget the bare bone essentials of existence, either.

The reason this funk has gotten me so worked up is that I've been reading the blog of Scott Young recently (he's 18), and through his site have been pointed to several other people. All of these people seem way, WAY more awake, alive, and aware than I am (and once again, they're our age). I feel like I'm frittering my life away. Not because of my circumstances either. If that were the case, then sure, I could feel a little better. I feel like I'm a giant power source, but instead of hooking myself up to a laser, I'm attached to a 1000 watt search light. Which one is going to do more damage? Admittedly, a lot of my thoughts about what I'm capable of have to do with my inflated sense of grandiosity and self-worth (because, and I admit this, I'm an ass sometimes [most of the time?]). However, if there's just an inkling of truth behind my thoughts, then I'm capable of far more than I'm currently doing. Far more.

I don't feel like I'm living my life to the fullest. When you only have one life to live, that's a sin.

So here I am, again at square one. What are my strengths, according to Seligman's test?
1. Self-control and self-regulation
2. Love of learning
3. Caution, prudence, and discretion
4. Judgement, critical thinking, and open-mindedness
5. Spirituality, sense of purpose, and faith

Let's take this list and turn it into a life worth talking about. In the meantime, I hope everyone's enjoying their life. The one life we are given.

Namaste.

¹ I realize that the fact that I was so taken aback by that comment must mean that I feel there's an inkling of truth behind it. Otherwise, the comment would not have offended me at all. I would have just shrugged it off, as if someone had said, "Dave, you're a conservative bastard," or any other bit of hogwash that's completely false. I suppose that's something else I should work on in the coming weeks. Or perhaps play on? :)