Think for yourself, not about yourself

[Traitorfish]

I have just been struck by how arrogant the notion of "not thinking about yourself" is, or, at least, can be. It denies the validity of both introspective thought and contextual self-awareness, implying- presumably unintentionally- a belief in already attained, acontexual perfection. Am I seriously miscomprehending something, or is the OP simply in possession of a flawed philosophy (especially given that he himself acknowledges the necessity of the introspection which it proscribes)?

 

[CivCube]

There's a difference between introspection for your happiness and introspection for how to validate your ego. There's a big fuzzy grey area between the two, but finding that out is doable. Once you know it, you know it, and you're able to pursue your life for its own sake.

 

[Earthling]

Am I seriously miscomprehending something

No, you're right, and I think what's missing is a bit of context. I think an essential problem of the thread is that the OP's message is almost more of a rant/criticism that might best be aimed at a small subset of people/posters who won't necessarily even read nor agree with it, and the points don't really go for everyone.

For instance, in general, I don't think it is the case at all that older forum-goers are necessarily more reasonable, rational, better-spoken or anything like that. Often especially in the context of a videogame forum the best expertise and strategies come from very different demographics, and when you go anywhere on the Internet, crazy views and aggression know no age boundaries. And a large number of the best debaters and discussion instigators around in my view would be under 30 for instance, and many older ones are some of the worst.

 

[Traitorfish]

There's a difference between introspection for your happiness and introspection for how to validate your ego. There's a big fuzzy grey area between the two, but finding that out is doable. Once you know it, you know it, and you're able to pursue your life for its own sake.

The OP doesn't really make that distinction, or at least not sufficiently so as to make it a clear point. I'm sure it's not what he meant (at least not consciously...) but the OP can very easily be read as a call to individualism-without-introspection, rather than to reasonable introspection. He seems to be trading one form of narcissism for another.

 

[Skwink]

More people telling me what to think.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

How to think actually.

 

[Dachs]

you can't make me think

i dun wanna

 

[.Shane.]

Man, I meant to come back to this, but hadn't a chance until now.

Lots of interesting thoughts.

I have just been struck by how arrogant the notion of "not thinking about yourself" is, or, at least, can be. It denies the validity of both introspective thought and contextual self-awareness, implying- presumably unintentionally- a belief in already attained, acontexual perfection. Am I seriously miscomprehending something, or is the OP simply in possession of a flawed philosophy (especially given that he himself acknowledges the necessity of the introspection which it proscribes)?

In the OP itself I noted that there are times to revisit and reflect. I still do that. The point is to move past the point of self-absorption. To get where you are comfortable and confident enough w/ yourself to act on your developed instincts.