What will I become?

I am very concerned about our country. Very concerned, exceedingly worried in fact, that we may be headed for economic collapse. Now you are probably saying to yourself, what does a psychology major know about the economy? And you would be right, sort of, if it were not for the fact that my growing fear has led to many hours of investigative research. If there is one thing I have learned, it is that you do not have to be Paul Krugman to understand the very basic and very real indicators that would lead one to believe that our financial system and the cultural climate that fuels it are the ingredients for a time bomb.

Right now, I can't help but feel as though Americans, collectively, are a blonde silicone breasted airhead from a cheap horror movie. Everyone in the theater knows that there is a scar faced ax murderer waiting in the next room, it seems so obvious, but she goes in anyway. And she gets slaughtered. Similarly, it feels as though we all understand the basic concept that a country with a run away train for national debt and an endangered species as a middle class is probably not a prime candidate for long term sustainability. Yet we do precious little to avoid catastrophe. We are knowingly walking into the room to get slaughtered.

We have fully committed ourselves to the pursuit of the American dream- the big house, the cars, the TV's, whatever it takes to make the Johnson's next door green with envy- and we will stop at no amount of debt to get it. Rarely do we ask ourselves, can I afford this? Though we should, because more often than not, the answer is NO.

As the middle class becomes a thing of the past, the unemployment rate soars, and teachers are laid off by the thousands, we come to understand that the magnates of the banking industry are given government sponsored bonuses, paid for with tax dollars. In my opinion, wealth should be directly correlated to productivity and the positive impact our work has on society. "Sure, those Harvard-educated bank CEOs work hard, but do they work 300 times harder than you?"- Sally Kohn.

We allow the thieves of the financial sector to pillage to their hearts content, to the point of unfathomable riches, but we don't understand the nature of the crime enough to even make an attempt at stopping it. By the we finally start to get it, it is far too late.

We eat the foods that not only make us look and feel terrible, but almost inevitably lead to costly health issues somewhere down the road. We think our health care system is a mess now, imagine what it will look like when all of the 300lb. 30 somethings (and there are tons, literally) begin to have the heart attacks they have dutifully earned. Who will pay for this? Gaze into this mirror for the answer.

And who will fix all of these problems? Not the 30-60 year olds. They got us into the mess in the first place. Certainly not my generation. When the promise of the American dream proves to be empty, merely a relic of the past, we will be too shell shocked to take any sort of action. How about the youth? Ah yes, the youth will save us. Nope, our education system sits at a dismal 18th in the UNICEF ranking. We will be lucky if those kids can differentiate their asses from their elbows. Maybe the South Koreans, perched at the top spot, will lend helping a hand. I'll ask when I get there, but don't hold your breath. We are on our own, and given our recent track record, that should be enough to scare you. It seems the only people alive in our country who ever really got it are now in their final lap. Please grandparents, save us before its too late.

I could go on and on criticizing whining, but you get the point. As a result of equal parts greed, ignorance, and corruption, we find ourselves in an awful mess. For those of you who are a bit older, can you remember a time where so many sectors- financial, housing, health care, education, to name a few- faced such dire circumstances? Am I being overly dramatic, or are we much closer to complete disaster than most people realize? I may not be an expert, but there are plenty out there who seem to share this sentiment. I worry that the recession, bad as it has been, may not have gotten bad enough. Did we learn our lesson? If we do not undergo a major cultural paradigm shift, I fear that things are going to get much, much worse. Arianna Huffington puts it bluntly-

America is like a patient in danger of suffering a massive heart attack. We may be able to postpone things with a bit of outpatient surgery, but we won't be able to avoid it without some serious lifestyle changes. The economic coronary isn't quite here yet, but it's on the way.

As for me, all I can do is try and learn a lesson from the failures of previous generations. Do I feel cheated to be starting my life of financial independence amidst such turmoil? Not in the least. In fact, as bad as things seem to be, my personal path to success seems pretty clear-

1. Buy a small 2 bedroom apartment, not a 4 bedroom house.

2. Continue to drive a Scion toaster car

3. Save 10% of my income, without fail.

4. Stay healthy

5. Pay off credit cards immediately

6. Wait until I am in my late 30s to have children

7. Adhere to the principles of minimalism whenever possible

8. Plan on never retiring, which is fine anyway, because the absence of productivity seems dreadful.

9. Possibly look into trading all of my American dollars for Danish krones.

and 10. Ironically, given the tone of this post, stay positive! The ship may be going down, but that doesn't mean I have to go down with it. In fact, I'm already building a life boat. Are you?

What will I become?

I began my day this morning with an oversized cup of coffee and an article on the advantageous habit of goal setting. They both got me pretty excited. In a comprehensive step-by-step guide, the author laid out directions for quantifying and organizing ambition and desire. "Man," I thought, "this is gold!". And it really is... provided you can clearly define what you want to accomplish in your lifetime. Though I gave it an honest attempt, I just couldn't seem to reach an appropriate level of concreteness. I want to be happy, successful, and healthy. Well, DUH. Who doesn't? It did not take much time before I realized that what I thought were goals, were really just ambiguous ideals. Then I got scared. Why couldn't I set long term goals for myself? It's not that I lack ambition, I'm just not a hundred percent ready to commit to a single life path. Some would say I lack direction. I say I'm keeping my options open.

Anyway, I was saved later in the day when I came across a chapter in "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" that encouraged readers to "think with the end in mind". In other words, what do you want people to say about you at your funeral? That you earned 6 figures, benched 350, and had a 60" 3-D television? Doubt it. Most people fall back on their core values when answering this question, and what could be more important to honor? According to Covey, author of "7 Habits", establishing these values is paramount to setting clear cut goals. After all, setting and meeting a goal that is inconsistent with our principles is clearly a waste of precious time. You can climb the ladder as high as you want, but if will do no good if its leaning against the wrong building.

So, I set out to define my values in a personalized mission statement. I recommend this activity to anyone and everyone, young and old, especially those who are unsure of their direction in life. Write your statement, print it out, and read it every day. If you are not shy, share it with others to ensure accountability. While I am still goal-less, I now have a set of values that I can use to guide my decisions. If I follow the rules I have set for myself, I have no doubt that goals will eventually emerge from somewhere within.

If you do decide to try this, please tell me how it goes! I find each and every one of you who reads this to be extremely interesting and valuable, and feedback would be of considerable value.

My Personal Mission Statement

If I am to be any one thing, let it be kind. May the people I come across, whether it be for a minute, a month, or a lifetime, feel better about themselves having met me. I hope to never forget that even the briefest encounter can have a lifelong impact.

I will not just live, I will live with consciousness, always striving for a better understanding of myself and my surroundings.

I will give money the respect that it deserves, but it will never have power over me.

I will use my knowledge and understanding of past experiences to effectively plan for what is to come, all the while maintaining a continuous appreciation and awareness of the present moment.

I will work diligently every day to become something more than what I was the day prior. For me, the most difficult envy to cope with is that which we have for a former self.

I will address those who oppose me with tact and my most open mind, focusing primarily on the opportunity for cooperation and mutual growth.

I will know when to apologize.

I will be flexible and adaptable in my opinions, as well as my actions. From here forth, if I am ever described as stubborn, it is time to reevaluate.

I will read. A lot. I will teach what I have learned.

I will live on my own terms, proactive to the end, never letting another person impose upon me their own definitions of success, wealth, prosperity, or happiness.

I may never adopt religion or concretely acknowledge the existence of god(s), but I will always remember that such concepts are of the utmost gravity to many people. No matter how difficult I find them to understand, I will respect all types of spirituality.

I will not take for granted the fact that my body is a miraculously complex system that has remarkable potential for longevity, as well as decay. I will treat it in a way that favors the former.

I am an adventurer and I will never, ever, stop exploring.

I will be courageous.

I will be humble.

One day, I will have mastered the intricacies of my life enough to invite another person to be a part of it. I will be a devoted husband to a talented and passionate wife. Together, drawing from our collective knowledge, wisdom, and life experiences, we will raise a family.

I will be a father, and one day I will teach my children all that I have learned. This will be the most important work of my entire life.

I will die one day, and if I have my way, my friends and family will hike in my honor into the Kawuneeche Valley outside of Grand Lake, Colorado. My ashes will dance weightlessly in the summer breeze as I am reunited with my grandfather and all those who went before me. People will say in earnest that my time on earth was well spent, that I was kind, and that my thirst for adventure was never truly quenched.

Internal Control

Take a moment to recall the last time your mood or productivity was compromised by external events. Perhaps an eagerly anticipated day outdoors was ruined due to adverse weather conditions, or maybe the movie you had been dying to see was unavailable at Blockbuster. Regardless of the scenario, it is common that we allow our mood states and productivity to be directly influenced by environmental or situational factors.

In relation to my own life, I am reminded of a recent trip I took to Texas with a few friends. While I knew from the very beginning that the purpose of the trip was essentially to party, my reaction to this realization was somewhat surprising. At home in Arvada I have been making a conscious effort to show ultimate respect for my body by exercising, following a healthy diet, and limiting, if not abstaining from, excessive alcohol consumption. In a way, the goal is to adopt these sort of behaviors as lifestyle principles, not merely a temporary burst of self improvement techniques. Sadly, taken away from my familiar surroundings, I found that good intentions were not enough to combat the relentless influence of my social surroundings. I failed to live up to my personal standards time and time again, and worse yet, the trend snowballed. Neglecting one promise I had made to myself made it that much easier to break subsequent personal health contracts. The drinking, overeating, and lack of exercise not only took a toll on my physical health, but my psychological well-being suffered as well. I became frustrated with the perception that my environment seemed dead set on contradicting the goals I had set for myself. It was not long before my demeanor and attitude became uncharacteristically negative. While I was not explicitly rude to the people around me, I was also certainly not as cheerful and positive as I generally aim to be.

Looking back on this experience, I am somewhat disappointed that I allowed my negative interpretation of the situation get the best of me, turning what should have been a fun time with friends into a period of self-judgment and disappointment. However, I am confident that there is an important lesson to be learned from all of this. If I am to be realistic and honest with myself, I could have made much healthier choices throughout the trip. I did not have to drink more than I had planned. I chose to. I did not have to eat unhealthy and oversized meals. I chose to. I could have gone running during down time, but I chose not to. Instead of being proactive and making healthy decisions, I instead opted to be submissive and reactive, letting my environment determine my behavior.

I find this subject of proactivity vs reactivity to be an especially salient one in our culture. Too often we attribute the outcomes in our lives to external factors- a teacher, a parent, a boss, the economy, the weather, God, sickness, fate, even the stars. To me, if one is to reach their full potential, it is critical to realize that much of what happens in our lives is a direct result of our own decisions, and while certain uncontrollable situations will inevitably arise, we have the freedom to choose how we react to these circumstances. Victor Frankl, holocaust survivor, psychotherapist, and author of Mans Search For Meaning, contends that "the one thing you cannot take away from me is the way I choose to respond to what you do to me. The last of one's freedoms is to choose ones attitude in any given circumstance". Frankl was a man who overcame the unspeakable cruelties of life in a death camp by finding a deep meaning in his own existence, and inevitably led by example to help others do the same.

Whether we are endowed with liberties and freedoms, as most Americans are, or forced, like Frankl, to exercise the one and only guaranteed right that cannot be taken from us, the point is the same. The most content among us are those who understand that state of mind can be a choice that comes from within, not necessarily a product of circumstance or environment. Likewise, the most productive people are those who are proactive and take responsibility for their existence by focusing primarily on that which they can control. For me, it seems that the most direct path to personal empowerment is to cease blaming people and circumstances when problems arise, and instead adopt the philosophy that allows us to search internally for workable solutions. I find it comforting to know that, in the end, we have the power to propel our lives in the direction of our choosing and the freedom to work diligently towards the realization of our dreams.

New beginnings...

It brings me great joy to announce that my hiatus from blogging has officially come to an end. In truth, I never should have taken a break to begin with, but I have found that returning to normalcy can have a considerably detrimental effect on the motivation to create. However, this is not to say that familiarity does not have its perks, because there is certainly something to be said for the type of respite I have enjoyed in recent weeks. Spending time in Colorado has allowed me to climb to the crow's nest on my ship of life and take a nice long look at the places I have been and focus intently on the direction I am now headed. Immediately beyond the wake I fondly recall my backpacking trip through South America and cannot help but feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for having experienced such an unforgettable journey. I do not know how, in this seemingly unfair world, I came to be one of the lucky few for whom dreams of grand adventure are realized, but I can say with certainty that I will not let the opportunity go to waste. On the subject of dreams and in the vein of corny analogies, I gaze over the bow to see a goal, one and a half years in the making, on the verge of fruition. Pending the acceptance of my visa application, I will be leaving the US once again in late May for a year of teaching English as a second language in Seoul, South Korea. At this juncture in my life, no path has greater appeal for me than working abroad in a wildly unfamiliar country. So, considering the many additional bonuses, including a substantial income, South Korea fits my current needs quite nicely. This experience will fuel the very real and evidently insatiable addiction I have to all that is strange and unknown, the undeniable urge I feel to escape from the monotony of the daily races. I am young, untethered, and blessed with the freedom to roam, but I know that it will not always be this way. Therefore, I have a personal obligation to explore the vast expanses of both the world as well as my inner self. I will spend the next few years in a state of constant discovery, always working towards the ultimate goal: to reach the point of self actualization, the complete fulfillment of one's true potential (http://psychology.about.com/od/theoriesofpersonality/a/hierarchyneeds_2.htm).

I will use this blog as a tool in this process, a way to express my thoughts, opinions, and experiences in an intellectually advantageous manner. Whereas "Explore Dream Discover" has previously been used merely as a mechanism to post travel updates, it will now have a much broader scope that may include, but not be limited to... opinion, social/political commentary, psychology, philosophy, fitness, nutrition, religion, poetry, fiction, journaling, Korean Culture, and more.

Finally, and most importantly, I want to express my gratitude to anyone who chooses to follow this blog. While I find writing to be a very personal activity, receiving audience feedback is remarkably beneficial. So, if you have something to say, please feel free to post it in the comments section and in return, I promise to keep current with my responses. As always, thank you for reading; I hope very much that you continue to do so.