The small moments are everything.

It's the seemingly meaningless moments that constitute your life.

It's the small decisions that lead you to the big wins.

So many are focused on the end result that they can't build from scratch.

You dont realize that it's ALWAYS the small decisions that have an impact on your life.

It's that fraction of a second where you decide to hit the gym that are gonna get you the results you wants.

It's that fraction of a second where you decide to stop allow disrespect that make you stronger.

Your ideas are meaningless if you don't pursue them relentlessly Every day, at every moment.

We get stuck in our routines and forget that if we don't enjoy every second, we won't enjoy any of it.

You don't build a house with one block of concrete.

You build it brick by brick.

One moment after the other.

If every moment is negative then the end result won't be any different.

Understand that it's about keeping the joy at all times.

Understand that happiness and satisfaction are end results.

They're part of the journey.

They're what makes everything so beautiful.

Open your eyes stop chasing the future and start enjoying your present.

I promise you that the future will automatically be brighter if you do this.

It's not about having a plan.

It's about following each step.

It's about not giving up.

You don't control the past nor the future but you control the small moment that is the present.

Basedonia Blog is almost ready.

It contains two articles so far, more to come in the coming days and weeks.

1- The comeback of "How to Bury Your Old Self"

Link: https://basedonia.com/how-to-bury-your-old-self/

2- Guest post from the man himself Atlas:

Link: https://basedonia.com/how-to-divide-conquer-us-vs-them-method/

Cheers 🥂

This might be a long post.

You've been warned.

Enjoy the read.

Collective identity and why it can't replace your ego

Before we get started:

Personal Identity - how you identify among others, how you stand out, your ego, your self-perception.

Collective identity - what makes you fit in society, the way you're categorized by the mass, your stereotype.

Good. That's out of the way.

Here is the issue we're dealing with; most have a tendency to neglect personal Identity and focus on their collective one.

How so? You'd ask.

Because let's face it, when you read that, you agreed but didn't feel concerned.

HAHA. I'll answer you.

The thing with collective identity is that, you as an individual don't really see it.

Which is normal.

You're self-absorbed (I hope you are), but maybe a little too self-absorbed to reflect on yourself.

Weird?

Not so much.

It's absolutely normal for us to think that we're special.

It's normal for us to think that we're different and doing things differently. Because we've been conditioned to by society.

Now, I don't think I should expand on that. (Comment expand if you think I should)

Anyway.

Here is the thing, we tend to subconsciously set standards that we think are our own but are largely shaped by what we see around us.

Most of the goals we set for ourselves are nothing but copies of the achievements we've seen someone else reach.

However, the problem begins when (willingly or not) many (similar) profiles start following the same path.

Stereotypes are created and we end up being one among others rather than THE one among others.

Rat race.

Why?

Because all of you will try to be THE one. Yet all of you will become the same.

Get it? Collective identity.

That's when even when one stands out, he's still just the best of many others doing the same.

Now here is the thing:

Why would people fall into this?

Why would someone so stupidly become like their peers in their quest to become unique.

Answer: Lack of self-awareness.

You wont find yourself by looking outwards and analyzing others.

You wont find yourself in the social conditioning.

You'll find yourself buried deep in your subconscious because society works in a way that kills the self; slowly but surely.

That's the system were fighting against.

Back to topic.

Where do you find yourself then?

In isolation.

Mindful isolation.

Goal driven isolation.

Self-discovery oriented isolation.

Replace isolation by reflection and it's still valid.

Is that too vague?

Two words:

Meditation.
Journaling.

"Oh but everyone says that"

Sure.

Nobody says why.

Here is why:

You wont find yourself on the surface.

You wont find yourself during your inspirational moments but rather when you're short of it.

That's when you get to know yourself the most because in the face of idleness, in the absence of conditioning, when everything external runs out:

You finally reach yourself and understand it better.

And it's not easy nor simple.

Because at first, it's overwhelming.

But it's by giving it time that you start understanding yourself better and grasping the full extent of your person.

The quest to fulfillment isn't external.

All of it is within you.

I won't say this enough:

You are the architect of everything around you.

Awareness exist on 3 levels

1) Actions - Be observant of everything you do (working, walking, talking, eating, bathing...)

2) Thoughts - Watch your inner commentary keenly (positive / negative, spiritual / worldly, past or future oriented)

3) Emotions - Notice how your moods & feelings change throughout the day. Observe the subtle causes, catalysts or inhibitors.

The list is in increasing order of difficulty.

Another way to look at it is body, mind & heart.
Stop doing things like a zombie - Be watchful; alert, aware & conscious - from the easiest to the subtlest.

To be continued...

Practicing Presence:

I lie in bed ready to fall asleep. The dim hum of the air conditioner vibrates my eardrums. The light glow from the kitchen ignites my rods and cones in my eye. I feel the soft bedsheets beneath me. Thoughts from the day race through my mind.

This is my new Now.

A nanosecond passes.

I notice a small tightness in my lower back, and close my eyes. The air conditioner still hums, the thoughts change to thinking about tomorrow, the sheets become ignored by my touch senses.

This is my new Now.

A nanosecond passes.

The tension dissolves and I feel my heartbeat. The air conditioner is background noise and I start paying attention to other sensations within my body. My thoughts start flowing, and questions pop into my mind wondering if this is what the Buddhists call bodyscan meditation.

This is my new Now.

A nanosecond passes.

I notice my breathing, and bright visions of a sunny day enter my mind. I hear the sound of crickets outside vibrating my eardrums, and my body shifts a bit, subtly changing the pressure on my legs. I feel sensations in my calves and my mouth tastes the aftereffects of the toothpaste.

This is my new Now.

A nanosecond passes.

I feel the pillow on my ear, and I start planning out how I will type up this very telegram post you're reading. I wonder if that'll break my presence, but realize there's always a new present moment to experience.

This is my new Now.

A nanosecond passes.

I feel a pain in my left temple from within, and drill down into that pain until it dissolves. I feel like a healer. My breathing slows and I hear the air conditioner click off, only leaving the slight buzzing sound from the blood flowing through my brain that you only hear when it's completely silent. My ear itches.

This is my new Now.

A nanosecond passes.

I try to make an unbroken, contiguous experience of nanoseconds, observing each sensation rise and fall.

This is my new Now.

I wrote a 2000 words post about the day something clicked and I simply deleted it.

Because by the time I finished I figured out that each one of us has a different path.

Because my circumstances don't matter but my choices do.

So instead of telling you about the time life turned it's back on me, I decided that I'll only be talking about how I got out of it.

So here is how I got out:

I faced death.
I faced betrayal.
I faced a point of no return.

I understood that even if nothing was worth it.

I was worth it.

I still am.

And so are you.

You're worth fighting for because you matter.

Focus on your well-being. Avoid what hurts you. Seek balance.

That's my best advice.

Someone asked me how to deal with embarrassing moments in the past

We all have done things that we’d like to forget. Things that to this day make you cringe when you think of them

The 3 easiest ways to deal with past embarrassments

1. Realize that you’re only embarrassed when you think about it. It doesn’t matter 99% of the time, only when you dwell on it. Humans have 6,000 thoughts a day, don’t get stuck on this irrelevant one, don’t dwell in any negative ones

2. While you’re remembering this embarrassing moment realize that literally no one that witnessed it is thinking about it right now at the same time as you. The moment is more significant to you than to any of the parties involved and the chances that anyone is even remembering it at the same time as you are slim to none. You’re all alone.

3. Simply start owning every mistake of the past. Turn everything into something funny to laugh at or a sign of progress. Sometimes the stupid shit you did IS funny. Other times it’s proof that you’ve grown.

Learn to suck it up and do better next time:

I recently got fucking rekt while playing poker, lost a considerable amount.

What frustrated me the most is that the last hand I lost was to someone who didn't even know what he had.

A beginner that was just calling my bets hoping I had nothing when his hand was far better than mine.

Announces he has a pair, ends up with a straight flush.

Anyway, without getting too much into details, I had lost to a man who had no idea what he was doing.

Ngl that pissed me off.

Then I remembered something I tell you often:

You shouldn't worry about what you can't control.

I played well and still lost, what was I going to do about it?

Yeah, nothing.

Composed myself and left.

That image kept coming back to me in the days that followed.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that all I had to do was to suck it up and do better next time.

Not only was his way of playing irrelevant but I also realized that even if he knew his hand, he was still winning.

Thing is we tend to easily complain about luck, circumstances and all that shit we have no control over.

Where does it lead?

Damn right, leads nowhere.

I'll do better next time.

Have a great weekend Basedonians.

PS: I'm feeling generous today, I'll be offering my program for free to the first person that shows up in the comment section.

My buddy Vilson just started his telegram channel make sure to check him out

https://t.me/vilsontalks

I'm reworking my old thread on how to deal with regrets. Expanding it further into a blog post. Should be up this afternoon.

New blog post; guest post from Boss Your Day

https://twitter.com/EgoDriv/status/1442866483491651589?s=20

Nothing fixes itself.

Don't be delusional.

Believing that time will do "its work" and that things will be great if you give them time is a delusional belief.

It shows a lack of responsibility.

This is the last thing you should worry about.

Time does its work after you're done doing yours.

Time doesn't fix everything.

You fix everything then give it time to see results.

Using time as an excuse not to put in the efforts is weak and delusional.

Always reminds me of this line:

Don’t waste time, or time will waste you.

The top 10 strategies of mass manipulation:

1) Distraction:
In order to manipulate people, one of the most powerful weapons is distraction. Shifting your attention to less important or insignificant news actually allows you to divert your interest from much more vital issues which, in this case, take a back seat.

2) Problem and solution:
Showing a certain topic as a problem allows you to create a solution that is often unpopular and has already been decided a priori.

3) Graduality:
In some cases, in order to manipulate the masses, it is necessary to do it gradually. In the case of the elimination of certain basic rights, for example, it is better to eliminate them in small doses so as not to provoke protests from citizens.

4) Delay:
In this case, some reform takes place, ensuring that in the short term, although negative for citizens, it will be positive for all. In this way, people are less likely to protest, waiting for the benefits. When it turns out that these benefits were false, it will already be too late and people will have become accustomed to change.

5) Infantilising the public:
In advertisements and political speeches, people often tend to talk to the audience as if they were children. In this way, the critical faculties of people who are more likely to accept the message are eliminated.

6) Using emotions:
Messages that try to manipulate the masses do not invite reflection but, on the contrary, are based on emotions. In this way, rather than rationality, we focus on the subconscious of the recipients who may perceive the general message but not all the details, thus neutralising the critical aspect.

7) Keeping the audience ignorant:
An ignorant public is the best ally of mass manipulation. For this reason, the deterioration of the education system is a very powerful weapon for controlling citizens.

8) A willing public:
The media are used to showing how superficial, ignorant and vulgar fashions and trends are. In this way, citizens are made to get used to mediocrity.

9) Reinforcing the feeling of guilt:
This strategy of mass manipulation tends to make people believe that all their problems come from themselves. Instead of rebelling against the system, citizens will therefore think that they are directly responsible for what is happening.

10) Knowing the human being
The system has a vast knowledge of the human being, thanks to the progress made, and therefore manages to have greater control over the citizens.