Welcome back to OBV! Glad to have you here. I hope your work is going well. I meant what I said — keep in touch!

ari

Well, the day you left this comment was my lucky day for being found by you. No, I mean that. You are exactly the type of person I wanted to reach, affirm, and work with.

Yes, validation is always powerful — at least for me, that is the #1 thing that really helps me. Whenever I’m saying something, I’m looking for validation. Someone to tell me that what I’m saying or feeling is valid, that I have reasons to think/feel that way, and that it’s OK to think/feel so. I really need to write a blog post about this….

Anyway, I really hope you keep in touch, Cynthia — I followed your Twitter profiles. If there is anything I can do to assist your work — like telling your stories or getting people’s attention on something — please let me know.

ari

Glad you thought it was a useful post. I certainly thought the idea was illuminating, and it made sense. This is what’s fascinating and difficult about personal growth. One advise does not fit all. Everyone’s at different places (in fact, as Avani and I discussed, everyone’s at multiple spots in the spectrum at once) — and as we change, so do our task/challenge to go a step further.

It goes on to show that ultimately, individualized approach is ideal for personal growth (and studying, too, like school — mass education cannot be as effective as individualized approach).

ari

In other words, many people might sense that they feel certain ways, and that they need to do certain things that might lead them ultimately to greater happiness in life.

But your article reminds us all not to look too far up, but instead, to just focus on things just above us, the things that are in reach.

For example, your use of junk food versus suicide. To say that eating junk food is bad and so should be avoided, is to assume that everyone is in a position to even want to eat healthy. But that’s not necessarily true. Sometimes eating food that our taste buds like feels good enough to stop and make us think of something pleasurable.

A completely honest, and quite useful, post.

Dereck Coatney´s last blog post..Can Twitter Help Promote This Fundraiser?

Right. It makes me think of the analogy of “inner child” — I can visualize how we may have not one but several inner children stuck inside. They represent the underdeveloped areas of ourselves. And they are at varying levels. I know, for example, that I used to have a teenager me stuck inside when it came to music — rock music being something we acquire taste for around that age — that led me to make a lot of immature decisions. I finally realized he was there and nurtured him to grow up more — and I feel less insecure about that area of my life.

It’s rather fascinating, don’t you think?

ari

I found the scale fascinating as well, as I can see how well it applies in real life. I look forward to reading your post! I am subscribed to your blog, but please feel free to e-mail me when you publish it as well.

ari