The Rubinshteinic Strategy to Living -- How To Think For Success

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(Philosocom Success Subcategory)

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I am a strong believer in the notion that our lives are our property, and (mostly) not at the control of anyone else (unless there are exceptions, such as military service, prison, or formal school). Beyond the mandatory authorities of others, your life belongs to you and thus you have the right to manage your life in any way you see fit, in order to accomplish whatever goal you wish to achieve.

That's as long as it does not violate the law, thus making you a criminal for life, forever condemning your liberties even after punishment. Anyhow, when you reach adulthood, you are technically free from any obligations, other than what you make yourself, if you are loyal to your word.

I decided to pursue writing philosophy for life, because it is one of the few things that actually makes me feel satisfied, happy, even. And believe me, I tried different activities before. The attempt to pursue other activities on a regular basis has made me a sadder man than I am today. This lack of purposefulness is something I had a great difficulty of handling, and perhaps other people may share this with me. The emptiness that can found even in doing fun activities all day.

Because my life belong to me, my strategy in life is to abandon anything that I believe to be logically unnecessary or a liability. Distractions that aren't not for rejuvenation purposes, in order to build up a legacy of philosophy that will create a win-win situation, are such examples. People who are there only to socialize and nothing more productive than that are also examples. I just want to work and to love.

I don’t think the strategy I chose, however, fits everyone. It only fits those who are capable of spending most of their lives as modern-day monks, who rarely step out of the house, rarely have an active social life and so forth. I don’t propose this strategy as something that anyone should consider — only those, and I dare say, “strong enough” to endure long periods of solitude, while working on something they like, even until the end of their lives.

This strategy, therefore, is a trade you make -- you give up on the variety of life in the name of optimal productivity in the one or few field/s that make you feel proud you exist. A sensation that is often hard to find, but is extremely valuable once attained. Work requires sacrifice, remember that. Philosophers have a sacrifice of their own to make. Even work towards a serene life takes something to be traded.

The “full world” or the "full life" means little to me due to the fact it feels, at least to me, very empty. It is full of sparkles, lights and sounds, and yet it seems to be devoid of essence, of functionality that goes beyond monetary investment and entertainment.

By the "full life" or "full world" I refer to:

* An active social life.

* A life of hedonic pursuits.

* A life aimed at finding love.

* A life that revolves around the idea of financial materialism.

* All those combined make the "full life".

These are two things that can be achieved at the comfort and safety of one’s residence, nonetheless, as long as one is satisfied enough. I call this issue "The same result problem". You can just imagine a colourful and shiny cup that has nothing in it -- that how the larger world appears to me. It seems so vivid, and yet so hollow, like a fictional location known as New Pork City. I'd like to build an article empire in it, to make it a little less devoid of depth. I think it is a well-deserved quest for my sacrifice.

Some, with legitimacy, may claim that this strategy is flawed due to the fact that the two worlds can be combined, AKA, the "full life" and the "life" one uses for optimal productivity. However, a good response can be the claim that the "full life" does, to an extant, limit our optimal productivity. It's enough to just see for yourself how many articles I wrote. In the same length of time one could have sufficed less writing, which means, the search for optimality is greatly hindered. It's one of the reasons as to why it is lonely at the top.

And of course, there is the biggest enemy of all writers; one that could break the reasonably-longest of deadlines, which is the notorious Writer's Block. It could be a fact that this Block is most present when there are other distractions from one's writing, and much if not most of these distractions are found the more one is attached to the External World -- to friends, to romantic partners, and to anything that involves something bigger than yourself, AKA, than one person, even if it's purely online. This is how easily the quest for optimality in one's endeavours can be erased by too much external attachments.

(Note "The external world" refers to the societal realm of reality, and not to "The World Beyond the Mind". The societal realm is defined by intersubjectivity)

All of this concludes the motive behind the life strategy I have planned for myself—optimal abstinence in the name of optimal creation. I do not do this because I despise life or anything related to that. On the contrary, there is so much time to be spent honing my skills for you. If it is true that perfection cannot be attained, what can be achieved, however, is realistic optimality. Realistic optimality is something I'd like to call: The state of "Much", compared to "As much as possible", which isn't realistic. We should aim for the former and not for the latter, as that is both productive and reasonable (AKA realistic).

And the motive itself, what is it, exactly? What is the motive for the Rubinshteinic Strategy? It is a question I try to ask myself every day, to the point it pretty much comes automatically: "Was this day a waste?" The motive is to answer negatively to this question. Nothing in the modern world makes me either more sad or afraid of the possibility that a day could have been spent better.

You can claim that it is just one day, but it really isn't if you let it slip too much, like a cigarette that marks the gradual decline of your health; it becomes a week, a month, and ultimately, a large portion of your life; a portion that could have been used otherwise.

The point of the Rubinshteinic Strategy to Living is to seize much opportunities as you see fit, and yield them for productive work, in order to minimize wasteful moments. The more successful you'll prove yourself to be, the more people will appreciate you and deem you relevant, thanks to your work and contributions.

Bring them benefit, and they will be grateful. Should they be too ungrateful, discard them from your life if you'd like, as they might not be worthy of your time. Don't work to be a people pleaser. Work to prove that you matter as well. And to matter, you must give something away.