100 Ways to Understand and Say No to Badness

By Ricardo Steinkohl

To do good things requires knowing yourself and at least something about others. These are both substantial activities and experiences in life. It takes learning (sometimes unlearning) and also to know there is pacing as to how these things can and do happen.

It is not intended to primarily aspire to great achievements, although things sometimes feel that way and I can honestly say to have experienced peaks and lows and found my way to travel back and forth without overshooting either way. A nice way to look at it is to be able to navigate that which we are already doing, and of course, there can be room for more if wanted.

The happenings of the various types of people and situations, and yes, issues, are very much relevant to the understanding of ourselves. They are not all significant but accumulate they will, and knowing who one has been, one would think it a desirable prospect to explore. If some already have a good idea, then all is well and good for that purpose. But the experiences I have had in life are varied, and although dramatic enough, I seem to have escaped going into the haphazard category—although it seems sometimes I scratched upon it.

The background is not as important as the realities in which we are all involved. Sometimes heavy, sometimes easily and enjoyably manageable, it is okay to face the range of things with a confident—if not cautious—approach.

I believe it is safe and rewarding and sometimes emotional and difficult. But this book has a positive purpose. And with the often-used expression to those who accept it, “with a little help from above,” this overview of how not to feel buried in this complicated life is a concise push to what seems important. And resting and relaxing and utilizing energy that way is certainly included in that.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 4, 2022
• ISBN: 9781662483745

Book preview

One

Inherent Discipline

Motivation is not a habit. But certain types of actions are typically supported when oppositional views are presumed. This is a bad habit and a group activity and continues. We will never get over our tug-of-war camaraderie. That is not a gentle understatement. It is inherent to our beings. And there may not be absolute correctness in many circumstances. But the contrast I am making is about the efficacy of our perfunctory functional performance parameters (that is a mouthful).

And it is not even about the level of accomplishable things, as they do go on, and on a regular basis. There are many observably terrific things that continue to go on, if not profusely but in many places. It is about the accomplishments of one’s own efforts; the general methods one has in their life; the satisfactions of stylistic differences as they are, in some way, an enhancement; and finally, the solid recognition that one has practiced and reinforced.

It is about reaching some accomplishment or relief or even a measurable, if not contentious, comparison. This is not abnormal, and there are a few main genres of happenings and then there is the salad bar.

And if there doesn’t seem to be a lot about actual work discipline here, it is stipulated, but what we like about ourselves has a significant natural component—often positive, sometimes not.

Two

The Quality of the Future

A person with his or her environment, their relation, place, and relevance to their community and surroundings and also other extensions and connections. The aptitude and personal affordability of fitting in. But that does not tell all. Few things do. There is the compatibility of style and mutual appreciation. Not cause, not a defense but functioning. The great range of things possible and people capable and willing.

It could be expertise or amusement or some type of fortitude or energy or chemistry in certain conditions. The combinations and single things we can all as individuals identify and continually differentiate in our own lives and with some social observation, somehow have it demonstrated. For harmony or comparison, it happens.

In some sense, it’s like news, something that will have our attention and energy for a while and you don’t know for sure if you are going to need it somehow. But mostly, it would be welcome, except for the sometimes-overwhelming surprise factor that responsibility too often is, even if the emphasis and effort of the pugnacious showing up of it was initially misplaced. The completing of necessary and also enjoyable and desirable things comes with news, wrongly directed responsibility, and even self-expectation in the great promise in our own lives and also the future that there is that much out there and around for us to have and be with.

This is where our own view of quality comes from. To deal with things and get rid of problems, even with the understanding it is a continual process, leaves us (if not temporarily exhausted) with a sense of self, a good sense, and with a current view of the future, presumably ours also. For some, that is the only thing.

But what goes along with that is something everyone can personally conceive is being there with the qualities of it—the idea of a sense of place with relation to others with an acceptability of the hopefulness of things. It is putting oneself there in some real way with the positive things and views already attained that are reasonably considered to be identified with as who you are and want to continue to be. It is the acceptability of which is not determined in the here and now. A good view of these things is part of our projection of the future. You can’t take a picture of it, but you can imagine you.

Three

Superfluous Elaborating Belaborer of Adequate Things

With some dramatic adjectives and sometimes-excellent, sometimes-mediocre quips about real-life situations. These are colorful expressions or colorfully expressed things, sometimes with intent.

What a wonderful way of characterizing things. Some of these real-life characters find their way forward in their slightly beyond self ways of telling their stories or versions of things that pass as stories or data or facts and even sometimes acceptably entertainment.

As all things would have it, we all have some relevance. For what explanatory purpose or personal or social pursuit or mandate, one has to learn what a filter is. And upon finding this out, then proceed to learn how to use it. And with many years of good effort and some correctness of discovery, education, and guidance, it may fall upon the individual to not use newly gained clarity in a deliberately malicious way. That is for the other person to do so as not having blame on oneself. Or is that a wrong use of filtering? Selective, nonpersona, block out the negative or deflect.

All good, but much is actually reflecting historical avoidance. Maybe not typical, colloquial, or culturally traceable but defensive just the same. Gen X may be a label to indicate a result of a period of technological and other transition but clearly smacks a generic overbearing phenomenon that numbs things in advance of the otherwise planned numbing and avoiding of the things we don’t like.

We don’t like to be overidentified because it comes with glitches, but also, we don’t want to be completely isolated. It fades who we are. So how boring and outrageous are the credulous dramatists, of various sorts and styles, and how temporary are the meanings they purport? How much do we extract of what is supposed to be there and how much do we continue to fabricate in our own outlook?

If sometimes things are too much, there is usually plenty of situation to escape from it. But maybe we know that and need to not necessarily explore all the concentrated flavors of things available and sometimes opt to not participate in it.

Four

Weights, Oil, Pictures, Communication, and a Cot

For physical experience, a multipurpose medium of expression, a welcome back and forth, and the ever-fleeting but ubiquitous restfulness.

And love, epicureans, stoics, laughter, and ludeness. Attempts at dealing with wantings and understanding them. And as usual, not fully understanding them. And as standard, not fully being equipped to deal with them.

So what is life all about if it is not to be able to reconcile with all the faults and inadequacies? To accept that badness exists. To have a way of managing things so that suffering can be kept to a minimum and the rest of it can have some hope of being adequately manageable.

Because dealing with life as it is, in a mostly non-struggling way, is by most measures and comparisons considered successful and rightly so. And what also needs to be dealt with is how we understand and deal with our own personalities. We all have one, and it would require looking at what influences it in some honest and not punitive way. This is actually something that goes to others as well as ourselves.

Five

If People Were only the Way I Thought They Were, instead of Weird, Crazy, Stupid, Silly

This would be a remarkable misconception if it were not for that they presented themselves that way and pushed the extremes of self-acknowledgment and idealizing positive views from everything from themselves to how anything and everything they know, know about, is and works and how complete and inevitable all life is for them.

It is difficult to be simple and straightforward about how things and people are,