Quote:
Originally Posted by Shamou  You are quite correct KH Rising...
Here are a few more quotes by Robbins on that same subject...
Though we’d like to deny it, the fact remains that, what drives our behavior is instinctive reaction to pain and pleasure, not intellectual calculation.
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Exactly. That's why I think a truly successful person, a truly fulfilled person - not this short term pleasure crap - is one who intellectually decides what drives them, what their goals are in life, who they are, what their values are, exc.., and disreguards pain and pleasure in the pursuit of something greater.
If you live a completely reactive life (like most Americans) you will indeed be ruled by pleasure and pain, because those are the short term realities that you are living with, and you can't see beyond them.
If you live a proactive lifestyle, pleasure and pain will not affect you, because you have defined what you are shooting for in the long term, and you can see beyond them.
An example of this is procrastination. A reactive person, who is ruled by pain and pleasure will of course procrastinate a project because they are avoiding short term pain as much as possible, and they associate the project with pain. A proactive person, who has defined their goals, values, principles, has direction and sees beyond pain/pleasure does not procrastinate, because they have given up the short term pain/pleasure model of living and replaced it with a long-term, principle-centered life.
As someone asked above, does short term pain = long term pleasure and visa-versa. I would have to say no. When you have a defined purpose, a mission in life, and know the principles and morals you live under, you don't see hard projects as pain. You almost see through the elusive gains and losses of short term pleasure/pain and both of them lose their effect on you. It's cool and it's really changed the way I live.
Erock