The Commenter’s Bonfire

A conversation regarding ideas for a better life

Photo by Kevin Wolf on Unsplash

I can’t stress enough how happy I am that several stories grabbed the attention of people that are willing to share their point of view with me and the rest of the readers.

The last two stories I’ve uploaded, received comments full of controversial ideas. As a result apart from my 50 claps, I am feeling the urge to answer them all in one story with the hope that we can continue our conversation.

So grab some coffee (or a cup of tea) and gather around the bonfire of comments.

From the story “What If You Are Not Enough?”, commented by Andalib Samandari

Well written. I wanted to comment here —

If your motivation for action is a fundamental belief that you are missing something essential (expanding on “I am not good enough), you will be acting out of fear, competitiveness and a need to prove your worth. While you can certainly get a lot done with those in the tank, you might end up making yourself more unhappy depending on what that fear motivates you to do. A more productive approach might be questioning, why do I feel inadequate? Who/what am I trying to prove my worth to?

I agree with your premise. I believe that your train of thought is heavily guided by the circumstances each individual face. For example, If you are stagnant, especially for a long period of time, thinking about your own motives won’t affect your life in a practical way. Most likely, it would result in an overthinking routine. Sometimes the “why” comes by acting upon a thought.

I’ve experienced this first hand when I was a student and wanted to be able to talk to whoever girl I liked — thinking the “why” at that particular time won’t do much. The “why” becomes more evident every time you act consistently.

You mentioned that the motivation behind an action could be fear, competitiveness or need for approval.

Again, this heavily depends on the situation at hand. If you are working consistently and reach a point that you are fed up, questioning your motives and going inwards becomes essential. But If you are at the beginning of your journey, anything that makes you take action is good enough.