Dem0

Hmm, I reconsider joining the team. Thank you. Haha, luckily I don't own a car at the moment so the risks are minimal

Give me your opinions should I begin a new hobby, football. (Not soccer) I'm 23 years old and this is my first year as a dentistry student. By the way it has been great so far! I have been to one football training and it was very nice. I like the sport very much but I fear I might get serious injuries, particularly to my hands which will be vital in my career. I don't know how often serious injuries do happen, but it is possible. The coach said they are very rare, but it really didn't convince me. Please share your thoughts! I would like hear what you have to say. My own thoughts are that I'm not going to join the team but it will be a shame because it would give me much pleasure. Thanks, Dem0

I find it almost funny that there are these situation e.g "now it would be rational to say or do *something*" but I won't just do it. My emotions are quite neutral on the specific case even when the thing I see is important. In other words, the emotional leverage *to do or say* the right thing is almost non-existent in some cases. For example today me and my classmates were playing sports and I noticed that our playtime was almost over and the other team was coming to play. So I did say that we should now stop, but with little conviction, because I didn't really feel like saying so. Why bother, is what I often ask myself. This was a silly example, but I hope it gave this a little more light. Do you agree with me that I should just do the right things even though my emotions are not in-line with my rational thinking, *values*, perhaps because of my old irrational thinking? Hoping that one day they will be more and more in-line with my thinking? The thing that worries me in here is that I seem like *a fake* while saying or doing things that don't that seem to be from **me**. I feel it's fake and I strongly believe others see it also. There's no conviction in my words because the supporting emotion is not there. Moreover it's wearing to push oneself to right action when there's no emotion to back it up. Did you get my point? I will gladly clarify if needed. :-p

Oh, yes, I overexaggerated it a little. Sorry for that. I'd be happy for just to a neutral state of mind but not anything less, if there's no reason to be feeling anything special. I've been reading a lot of self-help books before finding objectivism. I remember many of them saying that one must accept whatever one is feeling at the moment etc. Nowdays I see it much more beneficial to find the roots of my emotions. It is quite difficult at times to find the real honest reasons for some emotions where they are accumulating from. But it just isnt't nice when there really is no reason to negative emotions, or I can't introspect honest enough to find the real roots. One thing I want to ask also is how much can one be in control or their emotions? The thing is that when I'm feeling fear/tension it's tough to do the virtues required. At times me doing virtues turns to passivity, when I'm not doing the things required because I'm feeling the opposite emotion that the virtues requires eg. courage. When I do the virtues even if the emotion isnt't right my actions come off as unnatural and edgy. Maybe they will transform to be more flowing if I do them constantly for many years. My motivation to do virtues drops because some of my actions come off as unnatural, in other words I'm not feeling the emotion that the action imposes and I feel like a fake. I see it is my happiness atstake when I'm not excercising the values of my mind to the physical world. But still I'm not doing them because of fear of rejection from the world is too great. Wow this sounds so melodramatic! And I think I answered to most my own questions but don't be scary to share you opinion! I'd appreciate it.

I have some trouble understanding this: How is the happiness that you gain by doing virtues affected by irrational sense of life? For my own experience I can say that my emotions are true happiness without any sign of negative sense of life. It's times when I'm not doing anything special eg. just taking it easy or in the morning when I wake up, I feel this emptiness and fear without any particular reason. And I have to think almost every morning that there's nothing wrong with the world to get that empty feeling away. It doesn't go away each time even if I can assure myself that everyting is okay. Don't get me wrong, I'm dot depressed, it's just bugs me that I can't wake up every morning feeling excitement towards the world and not this fear/tension without a reason.

I disagree there anything cynical in my post since this is how I think it is. I remember Peikoff having said that it may be impossible to change one's sense of life and perhaps he is right, can't really tell is this the case since I don't have any evidence about it. Thanks for sharing.

Hey all, Whats is the point of changing one's values and overall philosophy in life, if one's sense of life has been miserable for many years? When man's emotional reactions to the world are fear, hate, guilt etc. and it's hard or even impossible to change the sense of life. So what the point of recreating ones's values trying live a happy life when the underlying emotions are always negative and may never change? Thanks, D